The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering offers the Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and a joint program with the School of Computer and Information Sciences leading to the Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering (CpE), both degrees being granted by the College of Engineering.

The fundamental objectives of the Electrical Engineering Degree Program are:

Electrical Engineering is among the fastest evolving disciplines in our technological society. The engineering developments in electrical technology have provided, in a substantial way, for improvement in the standard of living of humanity. The domain of the Electrical Engineer reaches from massive electrical energy systems to microscopic integrated circuits; from life studies in bioengineering to satellite communications systems; and from the control of electromagnetic radiation to the control of information flow in a computer. The Computer Engineering program is geared to students who are interested in the design of digital computing systems, integrating both hardware and software design components.

The highly diverse and rapidly evolving characteristics of these fields require a thorough understanding of fundamentals as well as flexibility in the design of individualized programs of study. Therefore, emphasis is placed on mathematics, humanities, social sciences, basic sciences and engineering sciences during the first two years while sufficient flexibility is provided at the senior level to allow a student, in consultation with an advisor, to prepare a specialized course of study in two areas from the broad field of electrical and computer engineering.

The fundamental objectives of the Computer Engineering Degree Program are:

• To provide a comprehensive educational program in computer engineering, founded upon strong basic instruction in science, mathematics, and hardware and software engineering fundamentals.
• To provide students with the background, means, and opportunity to plan and conduct experiments and to apply appropriate techniques for data collection, analysis, and interpretation.
• To develop within students necessary computer engineering design skills, including the capacity for problem formulation, background research, solution generation, decision making, implementation, communication, and teamwork.
• To continuously refine the curriculum and course contents to implement new engineering technological trends including computer architecture, parallel processing, hardware description languages, VLSI, software design, digital communications, computer networks, and the Internet, virtual instrumentation, image processing and digital signal processing as well as new design methodologies, and state-of-art design/analysis tools.
• To provide students with the background needed to identify global, societal, legal, and other key issues in arriving at ethical decisions in professional life.
• To ensure that students completing the program will be able to enter successfully a chosen field in the computer engineering profession or to continue their education at the graduate level.
• To instill in students an attitude in life-long learning to enable continuing career success in a changing technological environment and to prepare them for professional registration and licensing.

In the Computer Engineering Degree Program, sequences of courses are chosen from Electrical and Computer Engineering and from Computer Science that produce an in-depth treatment of digital logic and systems theory. In addition, a means is provided in both degree programs, through the Electrical and Computer Engineering Design Laboratory, for a student to pursue a design topic outside of, but related to, the formal course work. General Education electives, in two broad areas:

(i) Humanities and Fine Arts,
(ii) History, Social, and Behavioral Sciences, provide breadth to the educational experience of Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering students. These electives must be planned, in consultation with an academic advisor, to reflect a rationale appropriate to the educational objectives of the Departmental Programs, while conforming strictly to the requirements of the Articulation and General Studies Committee of the State of Alabama.

A minimum of 18 semester hours, comprising three courses in each of the areas (i) and (ii) above must be successfully completed. This selection of General Education electives must include at least one (two-course) concentration in either area (i) or area (ii).

Moreover, in area (i), at least one course must be in literature and at least one must be in the arts; in area (ii), at least one course must be in history and at least one course must be from disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences.

Students in Electrical Engineering are required to become Student Members of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) when they enroll in EE 301. Students in Computer Engineering are required to become members of either the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) or the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) when they enroll in EE 301. Through participation in the activities of such technical organizations the student becomes aware of the activities of electrical and computer engineers in society. An excellent opportunity is provided to students for contact with practicing professionals as well as fellow students.

Any Electrical and Computer Engineering student interested in pursuing a career in medicine or bioengineering should consult with an advisor as to an appropriate sequence of courses which will meet the minimum requirements for entry into medical school or the necessary life sciences background to enter a graduate program in bioengineering.

The attainment of the BSEE or the BSCpE degree will allow the graduate to enter the professions of electrical engineering or computer engineering directly, or to continue their education at the graduate level.

The Bachelor of Science program in Electrical Engineering is accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, 111 Market Place, Suite 1050, Baltimore, MD 21202-4012, telephone: (410) 347-7700

*Students with an adequate ACT/SAT score in English Composition will not be required to take EH 101 as a prerequisite to EH 102.

*Students with a sufficient ACT/SAT score in English Composition will not be required to take EH 101.

**EE technical electives must be selected from EE 421, EE 422, EE 423, EE 424, EE 427, EE 439, EE 440, EE 441, EE 443, EE 444, EE 465, EE 469, EE 470, EE 448. CIS technical electives must be selected from CSC 410, CSC 411, CSC 412, CSC 413, CSC 414, CSC 415, CSC 433, CSC 434, CIS 439.

***Senior lab may be chosen from EE 425, EE447. 

1. Thesis Option 33 cr
   
2. Project Option 36 cr
   
3. Course Option 36 cr

The details of each option are contained in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Guidelines for the MSEE program.