Electrical Engineering

MSEE Degree Requirements and Procedures

This is a summary of the various requirements for the M.S.E.E. degree. Please read this entire page carefully, noting all requirements and deadlines. Although some of the procedures indicated below are to be carried out by the faculty advisor or the Electrical Engineering Department, it is the student's responsibility to see that all requirements are satisfied and deadlines met.

Second MSEE Degree: Please note that students who have already earned a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering at another university are not eligible to earn a second MSEE at the University of Washington. Consult the Advising Office if you have questions about this.

Satisfactory Progress: In order to continue in the program, students must continue to make satisfactory progress as determined by meeting university and department course, exam, registration, and other requirements as stated on the MSEE and PhD advising web pages. Faculty and department advising staff are available for clarification and assistance. If students are considered by faculty to not be making satisfactory progress toward a degree, the first step will be to send to the student an informal notification from individual faculty or from the EE Graduate Advising Office. Discussion and exploration of issues will hopefully resolve the issues. If a student continues to fail to meet expectations for performance and progress, the department will proceed with formal actions recommended by the Graduate School per Graduate School Memorandum No. 16.

Annual Review of Graduate Students: The EE Graduate Advising Office reviews Master's students each Spring Quarter, and reviews Ph.D. students each Autumn Quarter. Students and faculty advisors are contacted only if a student's record indicates concerns.

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

All Master's students must complete 45 credits. A minimum grade of 2.7 is required in each course that is counted toward a graduate degree. A minimum GPA of 3.00 is required for graduation. Students may apply a maximum of 3 credits of EE 500 and a maximum of 5 credits of EE 599 toward the MSEE. 1 credit of EE 500 is required. 1 credit of EE 592 is required.

FACULTY ADVISOR

Students should have a faculty advisor within the first quarter of study, and should notify the Advising Office both when an advisor has been determined and if there is a change of advisors.

Master's students will need a minimum of two faculty signatures on the final degree application, so it is important to involve a second faculty (in addition to the advisor) in the program of study so that s/he will be prepared to attend the oral presentation in the case of the M.S. Project or M.S. thesis, and will be prepared to sign for the degree for any of the Project, Thesis, or Coursework options.

MSEE PROGRAM OF STUDY

Before the end of the second quarter in the M.S.E.E. program, students should obtain and complete the appropriate Program of Study form The Program of Study Form must be signed by the student's faculty advisor, who must be a regular, joint or adjunct faculty member and a member of the Graduate Faculty. The POS form should be submitted to the Advising Office.

APPLICATION FOR MASTER'S DEGREE

Before the end of the seventh week (sixth week in summer quarter) of the quarter in which you intend to complete your degree, you must file with the Graduate School the Application for Master's Degree.

The application process will generate a Master's "warrant". The Advising Office will notify coursework option students to pick up the warrant and collect the required(2 minimum) faculty signatures, usually about 2 weeks before the end of the quarter. Thesis and Project option students' "warrants" will be given to the faculty advisors to take to the oral presentations and the Master's warrant will be signed there.

After the Master's Degree Warrants have the required faculty signatures, the forms must be returned to the Advising Office 2 DAYS BEFORE THE LAST DAY OF THE QUARTER. The Advising Office will then confirm the graduation to the Graduate School by the last day of the quarter.

If students do not complete the degree requirements during the quarter in which the Master's application was filed, a new application must be filed for another quarter.

SCHEDULING PROJECT/THESIS PRESENTATIONS

Students must schedule a Final Examination or Project Presentation to complete the requirements for the degree. The completed thesis must be presented to the Graduate School; a project write-up is not filed with the Graduate School. Thesis students may arrange for a preliminary check of the thesis format by dropping off the thesis at the Graduate School in G-1 Communications Building.

After the project or thesis presentation, the faculty (2 minimum) will sign the warrant and return it to the Advising Office, and the Advising Staff will send the signed warrant to the Graduate School.

SUBMITTING THESIS TO GRADUATE SCHOOL

The Graduate School publishes a manual Style and Policy Manual for Theses and Dissertations, which outlines format requirements. This manual should be read thoroughly before a student begins writing the thesis.

The thesis must meet all format requirements before being accepted by the Graduate School. Thesis advisers are available in the Graduate School and students are encouraged to consult with them throughout the thesis preparation process; students may arrange for a preliminary check of the dissertation format by dropping off the thesis at the Graduate School in Communications Building, G1, 685-2630.

It is the student's responsibility submit the completed thesis to the Graduate School, G1 Communications Building, by 5 p.m. on the last day of the quarter. Appointments (15 minute) for final submission should be made by phone: 685-2630.

CONTINUATION TO PH.D.

Students who are initially accepted only to the EE Master's program (effective for students who entered Winter Quarter 2003 and thereafter) and who wish to continue for the Ph.D. program in Electrical Engineering, must formally apply to the department for admission to the Ph.D. program. (If in doubt about the initial admissions offer, students should check their original department offer letter, or consult with the Advising Office).

An application for the Ph.D. should be submitted to the Graduate Advising Office no later than one quarter before completion of the Master's degree. A 3.5 GPA in the Master's program is required (but does not guarantee) acceptance to the Ph.D. program.

Students should submit a complete application package that includes two UW EE faculty reference letters and a Statement of Purpose.

APPLICATION TO PH.D.

Return to Graduate Student Page

Updates or corrections to this page should be sent to fjones@ee.washington.edu.

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