Electrical and Computer Engineering, M.S.

The Master of Science program in Electrical and Computer Engineering (MSECE) consists of a minimum of 31 credit hours beyond the baccalaureate degree, of which a maximum of six hours can be transferred from a graduate program from another university with the graduate coordinator’s approval.

In addition, students are required to maintain acceptable performance; all master’s course work must be completed with a minimum GPA of 3.0. A student receiving one “C’ in the course work will be warned that his/her performance is unacceptable and that the student will be reviewed by ECE faculty, which will also suggest corrective. A student receiving two “C’s” will be dismissed from the program, pending review by the ECE faculty.

Students enrolled in non-thesis option are required to do a graduate project supervised bu an ECE faculty member. The student’s plan of study must be developed in conjuction with his/her thesis/project advisor or Graduate coordinator and filled with the Graduate Coordinator.

Admission Requirements

In addition to the UALR Graduate School admission requirements, the applicants for the M.S. program in Electrical and Computer Engineering must also meet the following criteria:

Education: An applicants must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited Electrical and/ or Computer Engineering program with an undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0 or 3.3 on the last 60 credit hours. An applicant with a bachelors degree in a closely related discipline with an undergraduate GPA of 3.3 on the last 60 credit hours may be admitted upon recommendation of the electrical and computer engineering faculty.

Standardized test scores: An applicant may submit the GRE scores in support of the aplication. A 60% percentile on quantitative reasoning will be expected.

English language requirement: International students must satisfy the Graduate School TOEFL or IELTS tests requirements.

Statement of purpose: An applicant must submit a statement of purpose (not to exceed two pages in length) that indicates the appplicants intended area of reserach and the desired outcomes upon completion of the program

Recommendation letters: An applicant must submit at least two letters from referees who are qualified to evaluate the applicants academic potential

Applicants who do not meet all the admission requirements may be recommended for conditional admission. Conditionally admitted students must fulfill the requirements of the UALR Graduate School and those specified in their letter of admission to achieve regular admission.

Early Admission Requirements

Undergraduate students may apply and be accepted provisionally into the MS program any time after completing 75 or more hours of undergraduate course work. However, at least 90 hours of undergraduate coursework must have been completed by the time the first graduate Electrical and Computer Engineering course is taken.

Students must satisfy the minimum university requirements for admission to an early graduate program.
Students must be majoring in the BS in Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering
Students must have completed 40 hours of ECE Courses with a GPA of 3.3 in those courses
Students must be recommended for admission by the Electrical and Computer Engineering faculty

Transfer Credit

A maximum of six hours can be transferred from a graduate program from another university with a graduate coordinator’s approval.

Program Requirements

Core Courses

Student is required to take 24 hours of graduate level courses (27 hours of Non-thesis option) subject to the following restrictions.

At least 15 hours must be taken in fields associated with electrical and computer engineering
Up to 9 hours can be taken from graduate programs in the following STEM areas: Physics, Mathematics, Computer and Information Sciences
Up to 6 hours can be taken from graduate courses in management sciences
Students enrolled in early entry Masters can count up to 12 hours of graduate course work taken as part of Bachelors in Engineering and Computer Engineering degree curriculum

Early Entry Electives

Students who have been admitted to the early entry graduate program in the MS in Systems Engineering may use 12 hours from the following courses as electives toward BS in Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering. The same courses can then be used as electives toward MS on Systems Engineering.

Research Methodology/Ethics

This will take 1 Credit hour and students can select either of the following.

SYEN 7101 - Research Methodology
SYEN 7112 - Research Ethics

Master’s Thesis

This will cover 6 credit hours.

Graduate Project

This will cover 3 credit hours.

SYEN 7385 - Systems Engineering Graduate Project

Master’s Thesis/Project Advisor

The advisor is the faculty member who supervises the student’s thesis work or project. Any tenure track electrical and computer engineering faculty member appointed in the Systems Engineering department may serve as an advisor. A tenure track faculty members outside the Systems Engineering department may serve as thesis/project advisor with the approval of electical and computer engineering faculty appointed in the systems engineering department.

Master’s Thesis/Project Committee

The Thesis/ Project Committe will be guide the students progress towards completion of the thesis/project as well as examine students thesis/project in the Thesis Defense/Project Presentation. The committee shall consist of the Thesis Advisor who chairs the committee, and a minimum of two additional committee memebers. A majority of the committee memebers shall be electrical and computer engineering faculty appointed in the systems engineering department

Thesis/Project Proposal Defense

Students choosing the thesis option must present their research proposal to their Master’s Thesis Committee one semester prior to their final thesis defense. Students choosing the non-thesis option must present their project proposal to their Master’s Project Committee well ahead of their final project defense. At the completion of the examination, the Master’s Thesis or Project Committee will vote to either pass or fail the student. Students who fail the proposal defense will have to repeat the defense. If the student fails the proposal defense for a second time, he/she will be dismissed from the program

Thesis/Project Defense

Students choosing the thesis option must submit a written thesis in accordance with the format defined by the Graduate School. Students choosing the non-thesis option must submit a final project report as per the requirements defined by their Master’s Project Committee. Students must orally defend their completed thesis research or project work to their Master’s Thesis or Project Committee. At the completion of the examination, the Committee shall vote to either pass or fail the student. If two or more negative votes are cast by the committee members, the student is considered to have failed the exam and will be dismissed from the program.

Graduation Requirements

Pass thesis proposal defense / project proposal defense.
Pass thesis final defense / project final defense.