Academics

Students pursuing a Masters degree in the Electrical and Computer Engineering program can choose either a thesis or a non-thesis option.

Under the thesis-option, a student needs to complete 30 credit hours of course-work which includes 6 credit hours for a thesis under the supervision of a thesis advisor. The remaining 24 credit hours (8 courses) consists of required and elective courses determined by the individual concentration track selected by the student. The typical duration of a Master’s thesis program is 2 years.

Under the non-thesis option a student is required to complete 36 credit hours of coursework consisting of required and elective courses determined by the individual concentration track selected by the student. The typical duration of a Master’s non-thesis program is 5 semesters (a year consists of 3 semesters (Fall, Spring, Summer)).

Students with a Bachelor’s degree pursuing a Ph.D. in the Electrical and Computer Engineering program must complete 72 credit hours consisting of coursework and a dissertation. Minimum requirements are 36 credit hours of coursework and 15 credit hours of dissertation. Of the remaining 21 hours at most 12 credit hours can be unstructured coursework (Directed Research, Independent Study or Doctoral Research), and the rest could be Dissertation hours or regular coursework.

Students entering the Ph.D. program with a Master’s degree are permitted to transfer up to 36 credit hours of combined coursework and thesis. In this case, the minimum requirements are 12 credit hours of coursework and 15 credit hours of dissertation. Of the remaining hours at most 12 credit hours can be unstructured coursework (Directed Research, Independent Study or Doctoral Research), and the rest could be Dissertation hours or regular coursework.

UCF undergraduate students accepted in the Accelerated Masters Electrical and Computer Engineering program should follow the academic guidelines of a Masters program, described above. Students in the Accelerated Masters program are allowed to apply up to 12 credit hours from their Bachelor’s degree towards their Masters degree. A maximum of 6 of the 12 credit hours can be 4000 level (senior undergraduate) classes. The rest must be at the 5000 level (graduate) classes. A grade of "B" or higher must be earned in the 4 classes. A student pursuing the Accelerated Masters program should meet the requirements of a non-thesis or a thesis Masters degree.

For more information about the degree requirements for the Masters, Accelerated Masters and Ph.D. programs please visit the graduate catalog at www.graduate.ucf.edu and review the academic guidelines for the EE degree or the CpE degree.