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Graduate Programs in the Department

Graduate work in the department leads to the Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in many different specializations of Electrical Engineering.

Master of Science

The masters degree is primarily a coursework oriented program.

Admission requirements:

GRE and B.S. degree in electrical, computer, or biomedical engineering, physics, mathematics, or computer science. GRE may be waived for candidates who earned the B.S. degree from an accredited U.S. program with a GPA of 3.00 or higher. Preparation in related fields such as mechanical engineering or in the life sciences may be acceptable.

Program requirements:

Thesis or nonthesis option—minimum of 30 credits in science and engineering with a minimum of 16 credits in graduate-level electrical engineering courses. One credit of the departmental seminar (ELE 601 and/or 602) is required of all students. Up to two credits of seminar may be used toward the 30-credit master’s requirement. Individual programs are designed in accordance with students’ backgrounds and interests, but require departmental and Graduate School approval. For the thesis option, the thesis counts as six to nine credits. For the nonthesis option, a written master’s examination and one course involving significant independent research and a substantial paper are required.

Accelerated Five-Year B.S./M.S. Degree Program

The course offerings are structured such that it is possible to complete the M.S. degree program in one year. Please contact the departmental Director of Graduate Studies directly for further information on this route.

Doctor of Philosophy

The Ph.D. degree is a more research oriented program.

Admission requirements:

GRE and M.S. degree or equivalent in electrical, computer, or biomedical engineering, physics, mathematics, or computer science, or a related field. Exceptional candidates may be admitted directly from the B.S. degree.

Program requirements:

A minimum of 72 credits beyond the B.S. degree. The M.S. degree may count up to 30 of these credits; the remaining credits are split between course work and dissertation research. Students with an M.S. in an appropriate field complete between 18-24 dissertation credits; students without the M.S. may take between 18 and 30 (in either case additional dissertation credits may be taken for no program credit). A qualifying examination is required. A comprehensive examination is required after all formal course work is completed. Two credits of the departmental seminar (ELE 601 and 602) are required of all students. These credits may not be counted as part of the 42 credits required beyond the master’s degree.

Tuition and Fees

Tuition and fee information is here, at the Enrollment Services web page.

NUWC-URI Master of Science Program in Distributed Network Systems
The University of Rhode Island will offer a three year, part time Master of Sciences Program to NUWC employees with an emphasis on the technologies associated with Distributed Networked Systems (DNS) starting in September 2007. Core courses (four) will be taught on-site at NUWC (CCRI Newport) with the remaining classes taken at URI.

International Engineering Program
The Graduate International Engineering Program allows the student to earn dual Masters or Doctoral degrees with our partner university in Germany, the Technische Universität Braunschweig. Please see the Graduate International Engineering Program website for more information.

Mailing List
The department maintains a mailing list where information relevant to the graduate programs in the department is sent. All graduate students should subscribe to the list with their preferred email. An archive of this list is available here.

Additional information and/or Department Tour
Prospective students are invited to tour the department to see our research and computing facilities. Please email us at grad_prog@ele.uri.edu or call us at 401-874-2506 for more information or to arrange a visit.

Apply Online
Prospective students are invited to apply online.