Electrical Engineering, M.E.E.

Colleges  > Cullen College of Engineering  > Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering  > Electrical Engineering, M.E.E.

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The Master of Electrical Engineering (MEE) program is a non-thesis master’s program, which provides advanced level instruction emphasizing engineering practice.  The MEE program offers an opportunity for the practicing electrical engineer to obtain a graduate level degree having a focus on engineering design, systems operation, manufacturing, and management.  The opportunity exists in the MEE program for specialization in one of four areas of strength in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.  These areas are:  Control and Power Systems, Electromagnetics and Microelectronics, Electronics and Computers, and Signals and Communications.  In addition, the student can select from non-electrical engineering courses, including courses in the Cullen College of Engineering, the College of Business Administration, and the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.  In this way, engineering disciplines as well as areas such as Management, Mathematics, and Computer Science are included in the program.  The option exists for the completion of a project on a practical engineering problem under the supervision and guidance of a faculty member.

There are also two specialty programs: Industrial Power Systems (IPS) and Telecommunications. 

Admission Requirements
	1. Unconditional Admission
	2. Conditional Admission
General Requirements
	1.Transfer of Credits	11. Reinstatement
	2. Official Advisor	12. Time limitation
	3. Advising	13. Withdrawal Due to Medical Reasons
	4. Enrollment Hours	14. Withdrawal from the Graduate Program
	5. Reduced Course Load	15. Change of degree objective plan within the department
	6. Academic Honesty	16. Change of major
	7. Cumulative Grade Point_Average (GPA)	17. Graduation
	8. Major Grade Point Average (MGPA)	18. Enrollment after Graduation
	9. Four-C rule	19. Curricular Practical Training (CPT)
	10. Leave of Absence	20. Notes
General Course and Program Requirements
	1. Course Requirements
	2. Industrial Power Systems (IPS) program
	3. Telecommunications program

 

Admission Requirements

 1. Unconditional Admission:

• A bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, or in a closely related field, from an accredited institution, with a grade point average of at least 3.0/4.0 (or equivalent) for the last 60 hours of the undergraduate degree and on any coursework completed since graduation.
• General GRE scores must be submitted.  While no minimum GRE scores are used to exclude students, typically students entering the program have GRE scores greater than 146 on the Verbal, greater than 155 on the Quantitative, and greater than 4.0 on the Writing Assessment.
• International students must submit an official TOEFL score of 92 or better.
• Three letters of recommendation on official letterhead with mailing address, phone and fax numbers, and e-mail of the recommender.

2. Conditional Admission:

• Same as above, except the grade point average may be between 2.6 and 3.0 with high GRE scores.
• Must be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States.
• The conditionally admitted student must earn a grade point average of at least 3.0 on the first 12 semester hours of graduate work after enrolling at the University of Houston.  A general petition needs to be submitted to change conditional admission status after the first 12 hours.

 

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

1. Transfer of Credits

A student may transfer up to 6 hours of graduate-level work completed elsewhere or at the University of Houston upon the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies.  The student will need to file a general petition within one semester after admission to graduate program.

(Courses in Technology programs cannot be transferred.)

2. Official Advisor

The Graduate Director will serve as your official advisor at the beginning of the program.  Students may declare any ECE faculty member as an official advisor on a general petition at any time during the course of the program.

If a student wishes to change his/her advisor, the initial advisor must approve the change to a new advisor via general petition, with both the old and new advisor signature

3. Advising

Graduate advising is mandatory upon admission into the graduate program in Electrical and Computer Engineering, both prior to the first registration and in subsequent semesters.  The official advisor should approve all proposed coursework during registration cycles before each academic semester. All approval of coursework must be done by completing the Graduate Academic Advising Form. Failure to complete this form may result in administrative disenrollment in courses not approved.

4. Enrollment Hours

Early enrollment is highly recommended for all students.  Classes fill up quickly and may not be available during the early semester rush.  Department enrollment deadlines as well as the official calendar are posted on the Department web site.  General information on supported enrollment hours can be found at the following college website, http://www.egr.uh.edu/graduate/policies/?e=gradpolicies1.

Be aware that courses taken for personal enrichment will not be counted towards the degree plan and must be approved by the advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies prior to enrollment.  Enrichment hours cannot be used towards the required total number of hours when an assistantship is being received.

• Non - supported (US/Int’l.) students must maintain enrollment of at least 3 hours (US) or 9 hours (international) during each Fall/Spring semester.  Summer enrollment is not necessary (no special permission is required).
• Supported (US/Int’l.) students must enroll full time in each semester (i.e., Fall, Spring - 12 Hours, and Summer - 6 Hours).

See details at http://www.egr.uh.edu/graduate/policies/?e=gradpolicies1

5. Reduced Course Load

Requests to enroll below the minimum number of hours required may be granted for non-supported students on a one-time basis.  Students must have filed an approved degree plan showing that all degree requirements have been met and a reduced course load form from the ISSSO office (Int’l only).

Reduced course load may be requested for a one-time approval.  Students are required to enroll full time if additional semesters are needed. 

Please note that full-time enrollment prior to the start of the semester is required for all students seeking an exception to enrollment requirements.  The Department will adjust the enrollment once the petition to enroll below the minimum hours has been approved. 

6. Academic Honesty

Students are to maintain and encourage high ethical standard practices among peers and with the general public by observing all accepted principles of academic honesty.  However, when case(s) of academic dishonesty occur, the Department will enforce the academic honesty guidelines that are written by the university.  Academic honesty policy and procedural information are available in the student’s handbook and on the web site below.
http://www.uh.edu/provost/policies/uhhonesty_policy.html

7. Cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA)

This average is on all courses attempted at the university during the graduate program.  Students must maintain an overall GPA of 3.0 or better in order to remain in good academic standing for the graduate program.  An academic stop will be placed on the student record when he/she fails to maintain this average.  The student will receive an academic letter from the department outlining the reinstatement procedure each semester until the GPA has reached 3.0 or better.  At that time, he/she must seek the academic advisor’s assistance on the removal of this stop for future enrollment.

• Cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) for supported students:
  • The cumulative GPA must be 3.0 or better at all times in order to maintain eligibility for assistantships or in-state tuition waivers when applicable.
• Cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) for scholarship students:
  • The cumulative GPA must be 3.0 or better at all times in order to receive the in-state tuition waiver.  If you do not meet this requirement, you will lose the scholarship and no longer be eligible for in-state tuition.  If you drop below the 3.0 GPA in the first semester, you may not receive the 2nd installment of the scholarship.

8. Major Grade Point Average (MGPA)

This average is only on courses that are on the student’s degree plan.  Students must maintain a MGPA of 3.0 prior to applying for graduation.

9. Four C-rule

The following passage is from the University Graduate & Professional Studies catalog:

A student who receives a grade of C+ or lower and/or a grade of U in 12 semester hours of credit attempted at this institution for graduate credit or for application toward the graduate degree, regardless of the student’s classification, whether or not in repeated courses, is ineligible for any advanced degree at this institution and will not be permitted to re-enroll for graduate study.

See

 .

10. Leave of Absence

Students must request a leave of absence from the graduate program when enrollment is not possible for a given semester by submitting a general petition to the Graduate Admissions Office to maintain good academic status.  Once a decision has been made by the Director of Graduate Studies, an academic stop will be placed on record for future enrollment.

Students who will be absent for more than 13 months must submit a new formal application.

11. Reinstatement

A general petition is needed for reinstatement to the graduate program.  In addition to the general petition, students must include a degree plan with all courses taken and an advising form indicating which courses the student intends to enroll in during the semester for which reinstatement is sought.  Such requests must be filed according to the graduate admission deadline for new students to avoid delay in preferred enrollment for the returning semester.  Students can only enroll when an approved petition has been received.

12. Time limitation

A Master’s degree-seeking student must complete the program within five years of the date of enrollment at the University of Houston.  In the event that the student could not complete the program, he/she must submit a general petition requesting an exception to this rule.  Student must attach an outline of expired course(s), a date expected for graduation, and a current degree plan along with the general petition to the ECE Department for review.  For more information, please refer to the web site:

http://www.egr.uh.edu/graduate/policies/?e=gradpolicies1

13. Withdrawal Due to Medical Reasons

Students seeking a medical withdrawal should contact the Department graduate office via e-mail to receive appropriate information for processing.  All relevant documents must be submitted to the Department no later than one week of the e-mail contact.  In case the student cannot submit appropriate information at the time of leave, he/she must submit the required documents within one week upon filing a request to return to the graduate program. 

14. Withdrawal from the Graduate Program

Should circumstances cause a student to be unable to continue with the designated degree program, he/she should submit a general petition requesting the file to be closed.  In this circumstance a student requiring readmission will need to reapply by following the procedures for new applicants.  This process is not recommended for students who have the intention of returning to the Department at a later time.

15. Change of Degree Objective/Plan within the department

Students seeking a change in degree plan will need to submit a general petition to officially request such a change.  The current advisor must initially approve the general petition.  The general petition must be submitted well in advance for the plan change and will only be effective in the upcoming semester.  A petition will not be processed once a new semester has already begun.  Students on visa must notify ISSSO when a change of major has been approved.  Change in degree objective request can be submitted one time.

16. Change of major

Students who have an interest in another major must file an approved general petition from the other Department to the ECE Department in order to have files transferred to the new Department.  An academic stop will remain on student’s record until this procedure is completed.

17. Graduation

Graduation is not automatic.  The student must be enrolled at the time of filing for a graduation application.  The student is required to officially apply on-line at https://my.uh.edu/ and submit the degree plan in addition to official documents to the ECE Department according to the Department deadline stated on the calendar.  If the student discovers that he/she will not be able to graduate during the previously indicated semester, the student must first send an e-mail to the graduate office as soon as possible to disapprove the graduation process.  The student must then reapply for graduation in a future semester.  All updated forms and degree plan will need to be submitted.   

18. Enrollment after Graduation

A new application is required for a former student who has an interest in future enrollment at the university.  Please refer to the admission deadline for application posted on the Department website.

19. Curricular Practical Training (CPT)

The purpose of curricular practical training (CPT) is to gain practical insight as a part of the student’s academic program; therefore, it must be considered as “an integral part of an established curriculum.”

The ECE Department will allow up to six (6) hours of CPT (“internships”) in the following situations:

1. A general petition is submitted before the start of the semester in which the student intends to participate in an internship.  The petition must include a formal job offer on the hiring company’s stationary, a description of the work to be performed, a beginning and ending date, and the salary offered.
2. The work must be related to the practice of electrical and/or computer engineering.
3. Upon approval of the general petition, the participating student enrolls in ECE 6392  or ECE 7392  .
4. Students enrolled in internship courses will meet monthly at UH to present oral progress reports and to discuss issues related to their internship experience at the discretion of the Graduate Program Director.
5. A final report, describing the work performed, must be submitted within two weeks of the conclusion of each semester’s enrollment in ECE 6392  or ECE 7392 .
6. Only half-time employment is allowed during Fall and Spring semesters. Full-time employment is allowed during the Summer semester.
7. ECE 6392  and ECE 7392  cannot be repeated.

MEE students can elect to replace two three-hour non-core courses by ECE 6392  and ECE 7392 .  Non-core courses are those regularly-scheduled courses in NSM, Computer Science, the Business School, or Engineering other than ECE, which are currently acceptable to meet the MEE degree requirements.  ECE 6392  and ECE 7392  cannot be used as a substitute for any of the six ECE courses required to meet the “area of concentration” requirements.

CPT will not be approved under any other circumstances.  All procedures must be approved by the ECE department prior to approval by any other offices.  CPT COOP is not part of the MEE degree program.

For more information on the College and University requirements regarding CPT, please review websites indicated below.

http://www.issso.uh.edu/f1/test7.html

http://www.uh.edu/gs/current-students/gps-policy/index.php

http://www.egr.uh.edu/graduate/policies/?e=gradpolicies1

 

20. Notes

The student should refer to the Graduate and Professional Studies Catalog for other requirements and regulations such as course load, time limitations, 4-C rule, etc.  Nothing in this document is intended to supersede or supplant the regulations set forth by the University of Houston in the Graduate and Professional Studies Catalog.