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Programs

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering offers graduate work leading to the MS and PhD degrees in electrical engineering and the MS in diagnostic imaging. The faculty emphasizes graduate research and instruction in the general areas of electronics and computer systems, optoelectronics, silicon nanoscience, signal/image/audio processing and biomedical imaging, diagnostic imaging, superconductivity and solid state, sensors, networks, electromechanical systems, robotics, and bioinformatics. The faculty serve as directors or key researchers in leading national centers such as the Center for Biomedical Ultrasound, the Center for Emerging and Innovative Sciences, the Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, the Laboratory for Laser Energetics, and the School of Medicine and Dentistry. Outstanding opportunities for graduate student research and training are available at these on-campus centers and in the other departmental laboratories. Research is supervised by members of the faculty and often, though not necessarily, forms the basis for the master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation.

Information about faculty and research can be found on the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering website.

AdmissionsLink to section

Applying to Master's ProgramsLink to section

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at the University of Rochester offers a Master of Science in electrical engineering and a Master of Science in diagnostic imaging. The following materials are required:

  • University of Rochester graduate program application form
  • Personal Statement (upload to the application database)
  • Three letters of recommendation (upload)
  • Official transcripts (upload)
  • Official copy of English proficiency test (TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo) results
  • Any supplemental material you want to provide (upload)
  • Optional GRE score (If GRE score is self-reported, an official score report from ETS is required for verification.)

Applying to Doctoral ProgramsLink to section

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at the University of Rochester offers a PhD in electrical engineering. The following materials are required:

  • University of Rochester graduate program application form
  • Personal statement (upload to the application database)
  • Three letters of recommendation (upload)
  • Official transcripts (upload)
  • Official copy of English proficiency test (TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo) results
  • Any supplemental material you want to provide (upload)
  • Optional GRE score (If GRE score is self-reported, an official score report from ETS is required for verification.)

AcademicsLink to section

Master's Degrees and RequirementsLink to section

The MS degree requires 30 hours of graduate courses at the 400-level or higher. There must be at least 16 credit hours in electrical and computer engineering coursework exclusive of research or reading courses.

Each MS degree candidate must declare a concentration of study in one of the research focus areas of our department. Concentrations are organized as three-course sequences. The goal is to provide depth in at least one area, as opposed to a random sampling of courses, with the expectation that students should be able to follow the current research literature in at least one research concentration upon graduation. The areas of concentration are machine learning/artificial intelligence, musical acoustics and signal processing, signal/image processing and communications, biomedical/ultrasound, VLSI/IC microelectronics and computer design, superconducting and solid-state electronics, optoelectronics, quantum engineering, robotics, and diagnostic imaging.

Each MS candidate may choose to complete six to 12 credit hours of research and write a research thesis (Plan A) or take an MS exam (Plan B), which allows for zero to six credit hours of research.

Plan A, Thesis Option

All thesis students must successfully defend a thesis. The defense must be conducted by a committee of no less than two ECE faculty members and one outside faculty member.

Plan B, Exam Option

All part-time and non-thesis students must pass an MS exam, which can be a term project, an essay, or an oral exam. The exam must be conducted by a committee of no less than two ECE faculty members. The exam must be completed by mid-December for fall degree conferral or by mid-April for spring conferral.

PhD students who wish to receive an MS degree can satisfy the MS exam requirement by successfully completing the PhD comprehensive examination and submitting an MS program of study for 30 credits.

Doctoral Degrees and RequirementsLink to section

The PhD degree requires 90 credit hours of graduate study (60 credit hours beyond the master’s degree), including 24 credits of ECE coursework meeting a department requirement of four courses in the student’s chosen concentration area and two other courses outside the concentration area. Students are encouraged to begin research early in their programs. The comprehensive examination, taken by the second to third semester of study once the concentration requirements have been met, is required for continuation in the PhD program.

All doctoral students must pass a PhD qualifying examination and submit a satisfactory written PhD thesis proposal after their third year of full-time graduate study. Students who have passed the PhD qualifying exam are assisted in matters pertaining to their thesis research by a faculty thesis advisory committee. The research advisor serves as chair. The committee meets with the student at least once each year.

Graduate Course TitlesLink to section

  • ECE 400: Computer Organization
  • ECE 401: Advanced Computer Architecture
  • ECE 402: Electrical Engineering Fundamentals
  • ECE 403: Advanced Computer Architecture for Machine Learning
  • ECE 404: Multiprocessor Architecture
  • ECE 405: Ising Machines: Principles and Practices
  • ECE 408: The Art of Machine Learning
  • ECE 410: Introduction to Augmented and Virtual Reality
  • ECE 411: Selected Topics in Augmented and Virtual Reality
  • ECE 413: Introduction to Hardware Security
  • ECE 417: Robot Motion Planning and Manipulation
  • ECE 418: Mobile Robot Estimation, Mapping, Navigation, and Interaction
  • ECE 420: Introduction to Quantum Information and Science
  • ECE 422: Nanoelectonic Devices
  • ECE 423: Semiconductor Devices
  • ECE 425: Superconductivity and the Josephson Effect
  • ECE 427: Superconductor Electronics
  • ECE 429: Audio Electronics
  • ECE 433: Musical Acoustics
  • ECE 436: Nanophotonic Devices
  • ECE 439: Electroacoustics, Audio Reproduction, and Spatial Audio
  • ECE 440: Introduction to Random Processes
  • ECE 441: Detection Estimation Theory
  • ECE 442: Network Science Analytics
  • ECE 445: Wireless Communications
  • ECE 446: Digital Signal Processing
  • ECE 447: Introduction to Digital Image Processing Using Python
  • ECE 452: Medical Imaging – Theory and Implementation
  • ECE 454: Quantum Information Processing
  • ECE 458: Algorithmic Aspects of Computational Imaging: Mathematical and Machine Learning-based Methods
  • ECE 460: Digital Radio Engineering
  • ECE 461: Introduction to VLSI
  • ECE 468: Advanced Analog CMOS
  • ECE 469: High-Speed Integrated Electronics
  • ECE 470: Digital Audio Effects
  • ECE 472: Audio Signal Processing
  • ECE 473: Audio for Gaming
  • ECE 475: Audio Software Design I
  • ECE 476: Audio Software Design II
  • ECE 477: Computer Audition
  • ECE 478: Revolutions in Sound
  • ECE 480: Advanced Audio Amplifier Design
  • ECE 481: Clinical Imaging I
  • ECE 482: Clinical Imaging II
  • ECE 484: Deep Learning in Imaging
  • ECE 485: Inverse Problems in Imaging
  • ECE 486: Imaging Labs
  • ECE 487: Entrepreneurship for Engineers
  • ECE 489: MS Research Seminar Audio/Acoustics
  • ECE 491: Master’s Reading Course ECE
  • ECE 494: MS Research Internship
  • ECE 495: Master’s Research in ECE
  • ECE 495A: MS Research in Absentia
  • ECE 495B: MS Research in Absentia Abroad
  • ECE 501: Practicum in Augmented and Virtual Reality
  • ECE 594: PhD Research Internship
  • ECE 594T: PhD Transitional Internship
  • ECE 595: PhD Research in ECE
  • ECE 595A: PhD Research in Absentia
  • ECE 595B: PhD Research in Absentia Abroad
  • ECE 597: ECE Colloquium
  • ECE 895: Continuation of Master’s Enrollment
  • ECE 897: Master’s Dissertation
  • ECE 897A: Master’s Dissertation in Absentia
  • ECE 897B: Master’s Dissertation in Absentia Abroad
  • ECE 899: Master’s Dissertation
  • ECE 899A: Master’s Dissertation in Absentia
  • ECE 899B: Master’s Dissertation in Absentia Abroad
  • ECE 986V: Full-Time Visiting Student
  • ECE 987V: Part-Time Visiting Student
  • ECE 995: Continuation of Doctoral Enrollment
  • ECE 997: Doctoral Dissertation
  • ECE 997A: Doctoral Dissertation in Absentia
  • ECE 997B: Doctoral Dissertation in Absentia Abroad
  • ECE 999: Doctoral Dissertation
  • ECE 999: Doctoral Dissertation in Absentia
  • ECE 999B: Doctoral Dissertation in Absentia Abroad