III. BACHELORS DEGREE PROGRAMS

1. THE UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM IN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

The undergraduate electrical engineering program leads to the degree of Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. The program provides a thorough study of fundamentals of electrical circuits, solid state electronic devices, electromagnetics, digital computers, and signals and systems. The engineering courses in these subjects are based heavily on the mathematics and science courses taken during the freshman and sophomore years.

The mission of this program is to provide undergraduate students with a broad-based background for a career in electrical engineering so that they are ready for immediate employment in industry or government, or for graduate study.

The program's objectives include

1. Instilling a broad-based understanding of the fundamental technical subject areas associated with electrical engineering.
2. Requiring technical depth in at least one area of specialization, and allow for elective opportunities in other areas.
3. Developing problem-solving skills with modeling, analysis, design, and computer simulation as tools.
4. Providing a broad educational component that complements the technical content of the student’s major discipline, including multidisciplinary experience, humanistic and societal issues and communication skills.

A major change in courses and degree requirements was introduced for students entering as freshmen in September 2000. The new semester-by-semester program in Electrical Engineering can be found at EE Curriculum.

Opportunities exist to select elective courses during the senior year from among the following specializations:

Telecommunications and Information Science, which deals with the communication and control of information. This specialization includes internet, WEB, LANs, WANs, multimedia. Current work emphasizes coding for encryption (secrecy) and multi-channels, telephone systems, wireless information networks, communication networks linking computers, speech recognition and generation, and restoration of blurred and noisy pictures.

Electrical Power, which deals with the design of electrical machines and the description of these motors and generators as units in large systems. Included in this specialization are methods for the transmission and distribution of electric power, and the design and analysis of systems to detect and prevent faults and to provide other safety measures. (Most electives offered on Brooklyn campus only.)

Systems & Control, which deals with and automatic controllers that use information to improve performance of physical systems such as electronic regulators for automobile engines, automatic pilots in aircraft, and manufacturing robots.

Computer Systems, which deal with the design, construction, and utilization of digital computers, and the relation of software to hardware. This specialization includes the special circuits and devices that are used in computers and the mathematical theories for their design and description (e.g., switching and automata theory).

Solid-State Devices, which deals with the design of transistors, integrated circuits, and other components used to generate, amplify, and switch electrical signals and electrical power. Included in this specialization are methods for the interconnection of these devices in order to carry out prescribed signal processing and computer functions as well as the study of the application of basic principles from physics and chemistry to the development of new devices.

Electromagnetic Fields and Waves, which deals with the analysis and design of antennas, microwave components, lasers, optical fibers, and acoustic signal processors. A special current application is wireless transmission in cities and buildings. This specialization is also important in the study of factors which influence the propagation of radio and radar signals through the atmosphere and into space, of sound signals in the oceans, and of seismic vibrations from earthquakes or from test explosions used to detect mineral deposits in the earth.

2. THE UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM IN COMPUTER ENGINEERING

The undergraduate program in computer engineering draws on the strengths of our departments of electrical engineering and of computer and information science to provide a focus on computer system design with integrated understanding of computer hardware and software.

The mission of this program is to provide undergraduate students with a broad-based background for a career in computer engineering so that they are ready for immediate employment in industry or government, or for graduate study.

The program's objectives include:

• Instilling a broad-based understanding of the fundamental technical subject areas associated with computer engineering.
• Requiring technical depth in at least one area of specialization, and allow for elective opportunities in other areas.
• Developing problem-solving skills with modeling, analysis, design, and computer simulation as tools.
• Providing a broad educational component that complements the technical content of the student’s major discipline, including multidisciplinary experience, humanistic and societal issues and communication skills.

A major change in courses and degree requirements was introduced for students entering as freshmen in September, 2000. The new semester-by-semester program in Computer Engineering can be found at CompE Curriculum.

The BSCompE program contains a technical concentration consisting of two technical electives and a concentration laboratory/project, which allows the student to develop a professional specialization. Examples of possible specializations are listed below and others may be constructed with approval of the program advisor.

• Control and Robotics
• Data Communications
• Microcontroller and Embedded Systems
• Integrated Circuit Design
• Computer Architecture
• Artificial Intelligence
• Software Engineering

3. THE DUAL UNDERGRADUATE MAJOR IN ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING

This program is called a dual major and combines all the required course work for the undergraduate programs in electrical engineering and computer engineering as well as three elective courses. It provides students with a broad-based electrical engineering background along with a more focused study of advanced computer hardware systems. While the greater diversity of this program requires 142 credits instead of the 128 credits for a single major program, some students may be able to complete it in 4 years.

4. BS/MS HONORS PROGRAM

Students having outstanding records may be admitted into a BS/MS Program which leads to simultaneous award of the Bachelors degree (in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or computer science) and a coordinated Masters degree (in electrical engineering, electrophysics, computer science, computer engineering, system engineering or telecommunication networks). Depending on the student's preparation and objectives, completion of the two degrees may come as early as the end of the fourth year of study. The accelerated pace of this program may be achieved through Advanced Placement, Credit by Examination, summer course work, and research participation.

5. BS MINOR in ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

The EE minor will consist of 15 credits (minimum) of EE-prefixed courses. The courses can be any EE courses subject only to the pre-requisite requirements.

• A grade of C- or better is required in EE2004 (note that, with the definition above, all who take this minor must take EE2004), and a GPA of 2.0 or better in the entire major is required.
• The EE minor will not be open to CompE students.
• A minimum of 8 credits in the minor must be taken at Poly.