Graduate Handbook
Electrical & Computer Engineering
Department Personnel
Dr. Fil Bartoli, Chair fjb205 610-758-4070
Prof. Bill Haller, Assoc. Chair wrh5 610-758-4079
Dr. Yujie Ding, ECE Faculty Graduate Coordinator yud2 610-758-4582
Dr. Meghanad Wagh, CompE Faculty Grad. Coor. mdw0 610-758-4142
Kim Backer, Undergraduate Coordinator kab608 610-758-4068
Coley Burke, Graduate Coordinator cbb310 610-758-4072
Jill Hardy Todero, Department Coordinator jaha 610-758-4070
David Morrisette, Systems Administrator dpm3 610-758-3218
P.C. Rossin College of Engineering & Applied Sciences
Graduate Personnel
Dr. S. David Wu, Dean sdw1 610-758-5308
Dr. John Coulter, Assoc. Dean of Graduate Studies jc0i 610-758-6310
Brianne Lisk, Admin. Coordinator, Graduate Studies brc3 610-758-6310
Academic Year Calendar
|
Event |
Fall 2011 Semester |
|
Graduate Student Registration |
Friday, August 26 |
|
First Day of Class |
Monday, August 29 |
|
Last Day for Web Registration |
Friday, September 2 |
|
Last Day to Add without Instructor permission |
Friday, September 2 |
|
Summer degree award date |
Sunday, September 4 |
|
Labor Day-classes held |
Monday, September 5 |
|
Last Day to drop/add without a “W” |
Friday, September 9 |
|
Pacing Break |
Monday-Tuesday, October 10-11 |
|
Deadline to apply for January Degree |
Tuesday, November 1 |
|
Registration for Spring 2011 |
Monday-Friday, November 7-18 |
|
Last Day for January Doctoral candidates to deliver dissertation drafts to Dean |
Tuesday, November 15 |
|
Last Day to drop class with a “W” |
Tuesday, November 15 |
|
Thanksgiving Break |
Wednesday-Friday, November 23-25 |
|
Last Day of Classes |
Friday, December 9 |
|
Last Day for January MS candidates to submit Thesis to Registrar’s Office |
Friday, December 9 |
|
Last Day for January Doctoral Candidates to complete all degree requirements |
Friday, December 9 |
|
Final Exams Begin |
Tuesday, December 13 |
|
Final Exams End |
Wednesday, December 2 |
|
Graduate Student Registration |
Friday, January 4 |
|
January Degree Award Date |
Sunday, January 15 |
|
First Day of Class |
Monday, January 16 |
|
Last Day for Web Registration |
Friday, January 20 |
|
Last Day to Add without Instructor permission |
Friday, January 20 |
|
Last Day to drop/add without a “W” |
Friday, January 27 |
|
Spring Break |
Monday-Friday, March 5-9 |
|
Deadline to apply for May Degree |
Thursday, March 1 |
|
Registration for Summer and Fall |
Monday-Friday, April 9-April 20 |
|
Last Day for May Doctoral candidates to deliver dissertation drafts to Dean |
Friday, April 6 |
|
Last Day to drop class with a “W” |
Friday, April 27 |
|
Last Day of Classes |
Friday, April 27 |
|
Last Day for May MS candidates to submit Thesis to Registrar’s Office |
Friday, April 27 |
|
Last Day for May Doctoral Candidates to complete all degree requirements |
Friday, April 27 |
|
Final Exams Begin |
Tuesday, May 1 |
|
Final Exams End |
Wednesday, May 9 |
|
University Day Commencement |
Monday, May 21 |
|
Deadline to apply for September Degree |
Monday, July 2 |
Admissions
Deadlines:
Fall-January 15th for financial aid, April 1st for admission only
Spring-November 1st for everyone
Financial Aid:
The department offers three types of financial aid-research assistantships, teaching assistantships, and fellowships
All generally include a monthly stipend and tuition. Up to 20 hrs. per week of work assignments are associated with TA and RA positions. Fellowships require no service. Ph.D. applicants are given priority. Financial aid is merit-based, not need-based.
General Information:
Offers of admission may be deferred for up to one full academic year.
Tuition rates for the 2010-2011 academic year are $1,220/credit. All full-time students and International students are required to take 9 credits each semester to maintain full-time status. International students who are admitted without financial aid will be required to submit an affidavit of support in the amount of roughly $40,000 which includes tuition, living expenses, insurance, and other fees for one year before any visa documents will be issued.
We STRONGLY recommend that you print out the PDF application and mail all materials to the address provided on ONE package. WE WILL NOT MAIL ANY APPLICATIONS. If you have questions concerning the program or application process, please contact the department Graduate Coordinator. The correct mailing address for applications is as follows:
Lehigh University
ECE Graduate Coordinator
19 Memorial Drive West
Bethlehem, PA 18015
Incomplete or late applications will not be processed or reviewed. This includes applications without the $75 application fee which CANNOT be waived for any reason. Once the application is submitted you will receive an e-mail confirming its receipt and verifying if all the required materials are present. Please allow time for mailing delays and processing before receipt of e-mail. All communication will be done via e-mail, so please provide one current e-mail address. Decisions for Fall semester will be announced starting in April. Decisions for the Spring semester will be announced mid-November.
All the Admissions information and application can be found on our website: http://www3.lehigh.edu/engineering/ece/admissions/graduate.asp
Degrees Offered:
MS, MEng, PhD in Electrical Engineering
MS, PhD in Computer Engineering
MS in Photonics
MS in Wireless & Network Engineering
Minimum Requirements:
BS in EE or related field
Course Experience Needed (Lehigh Equivalent):
Basic Circuit Theory (ECE 81)
Signals and Systems (ECE 108)
Electronic Circuits (ECE 123)
Circuits and Systems (ECE 125)
Physical Electronics (ECE 126)
Statistics (MATH 231 or 309)
GPA
2.75/4.0 required
3.5/4.0 major GPA preferred
Minimum Test Requirements
GRE General Test
New Format-1200 combined Q&V, 3.5/6.0 AW
Old Format-1600 combined total score
TOEFL (International students ONLY)
213 computer based test
550 paper based test
iBT TOEFL
79 composite score
20 Writing, 20 Speaking, 20 Reading, 15 Listening
International students who do not take the new iBT TOEFL may also submit TSE results, but it is not required.
Application Fee: US $75 which cannot be waived for any reason.
Data Sheet: asks for personal data, proposed program information, test data, educational background, and work experience.
Transcripts: official or attested transcripts are required from all undergraduate and graduate programs attended. All transcripts must be received in sealed envelopes.
Letters of Recommendation: 2 letters of recommendation are required. If you are currently in school, letters from academic advisors and other professors are preferred. If you are currently in industry, letters from employers are acceptable. All letters must be received in sealed envelopes with recommenders' signature across the seal. We provide two recommendation forms in the PDF application that you may choose to use, however, letters on recommenders' letterhead is also acceptable.
Test scores: official test scores sent from ETS or copies of official test scores are acceptable. Scores must be current and valid. TOEFL scores expire after 2 years and expired scores WILL NOT be accepted. GRE test scores expire after 5 years. TOEFL test scores will be waived ONLY if an International Applicant has completed a degree program at a U.S. university.
Essay/Statement of Purpose: a brief statement of career and research objectives. Essays should articulate clearly your experience and goals. Half a page to two pages is sufficient.
Application for financial aid: MUST be completed in order to be considered for any kind of aid.
Supplemental Information: applicants should also include a resume or CV, current research or creative work, list of published works, and extracurricular activities.
Academic Requirements
Full-Time Certification
All International graduate students must maintain full-time status while attending Lehigh. Full-time students must be registered for 9 credits (3 Courses) each semester or satisfy the requirements to be certified full-time. If you need to be certified full-time you may pick up the appropriate form in the Department office and speak with the Graduate Coordinator to make sure you satisfy all requirements. Domestic students who must maintain full-time status for insurance purposes, etc. must also be registered for 9 credits per semester or certified full-time.
All RAs and TAs must be full-time students as stated in your offer letter. Failure to do so will make you ineligible for any assistantships.
Registration
All current students are asked to register for their semester courses at a specified date during the previous semester. This date is listed on the Academic Calendar. Failure to do so will result in a late fee of $100 assessed by the Registrar.
New graduate students register the week before classes begin.
All students will have the first week of classes to add and drop online if they wish. You also have the second week of classes to add and drop but you must fill out a paper form and get signatures for approval.
Advisors
All students are required to consult with their advisor before they may register for courses. Advisors receive registration PIN#s that give you access to the online system, you must meet with them in order to get your PIN# EACH semester.
New graduate students are assigned a temporary advisor when they arrive on campus. This temporary advisor is the current Graduate Faculty Advisor. If and when you are ready to change your advisor you will need to have that professor e-mail the Graduate Coordinator stating they will be your advisor.
Supervising professors of Research Assistants will serve as their advisor. All Ph.D. students are encouraged to determine their advisor as soon as possible so you can begin planning your program.
Graduation
When a student is ready to graduate you will need to complete an Application for Degree form. These forms are available in the Department office and must be completed by a set deadline. This deadline is listed on the Academic Calendar. Once this form is complete a list of other paperwork necessary to clear you for graduation will be provided.
Degree Requirements
The Electrical and Computer Engineering Department offers Master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Photonics and Wireless & Network Engineering. We offer Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering.
ALL graduate students in the department are required to attend department seminars. Seminar announcements are sent to your e-mail accounts and are generally held on the same day of the week each time. Students must attend at least 75% of all the seminars offered in a semester.
Master’s Degree
Candidates for the Master’s degree have six years to complete their program. MS students may transfer up to 9 approved credits from a previous MS program into their Lehigh program. This can be done by completing a petition form once you arrive. Lehigh undergraduates may transfer up to 6 credits of 300 or 400-level courses taken during their undergraduate studies. Please see the College Handbook for full rules regarding this policy. Each program has their own department requirements, and all programs within the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Sciences must follow the college requirements as well. The College requirements can be found in the College Graduate Student Handbook. If you do not have one of these you can get them in the Department office.
The MS degree is a 30 credit program with a Thesis option. If you choose to do a Thesis you will take 6 credits of thesis hours in place of 2 courses. Theses must be approved and turned in to the Registrar by the set deadline which can be found on the Academic Calendar. A print out of Thesis guidelines and sample signature and title pages can be obtained in the Department Office.
The ECE Department has a core curriculum requirement for graduate students in each of the degree programs. The purpose of this requirement is to guarantee that all students pursuing graduate studies in the department acquire an appropriate breadth of knowledge of their discipline.
MS EE Department Course Requirements:
To satisfy the core curriculum requirements in Electrical Engineering, students must select three (3) courses from the following five (5) different areas:
ECE 401 Advanced Computer Architecture
ECE 402 Advanced Electromagnetic Theory
ECE 420 Advanced Circuits and Systems
ECE 441 Fundamentals of Wireless Communications
ECE 451 Physics of Semiconductor Devices
MS Computer Engineering Course Requirements:
To satisfy the Computer Engineering core, a student must complete, with a grade of B or higher, the following 4 courses:
ECE 319 Digital System Design
ECE 401 Advanced Computer Architecture
CSE 303/403 Theory of Operating Systems
CSE 340 Design and Analysis of Algorithms
AND 2 courses in the Computer Hardware/Architecture area, 2 courses in a second area, and 1 course in a third area. In each of the three areas at least one course must be at the 400 level. Some courses may be listed in multiple categories; they can be used in only one. Each category also allows for appropriate CSE and ECE special topics courses and equivalent courses taken at other schools with approval of the computer engineering division. Courses taken as part of an undergraduate degree may be used to satisfy the core requirements. A list of courses and what category they fall under can be found on the website here: http://www3.lehigh.edu/engineering/cse/academics/grad/computereng/2005.asp
MS Photonics Course Requirements:
The MS in Photonics degree is an interdisciplinary program. There are 15 required credits that students must take:
PHY 352 Modern Optics
PHY 355/455 Lasers and Nonlinear Optics
ECE 348/448 Lightwave Technology
ECE 372/472 Optical Networks
MAT 496 Photonic Materials
A minimum of three courses must also be selected from the following list:
ECE 371/471 Optical Information Processing
ECE 347/447 Introduction to Integrated Optics
ECE 407 Linear and Nonlinear Optics
ECE 451 Physics of Semiconductor Devices
PHY 363 Solid State Physics
PHY 369 Quantum Mechanics
PHY 421-422 Electricity and Magnetism
MAT 302 Electronic Properties of Materials
Mat 423-427 Electron Microscopy (TEM and SEM)
PHY 312/412 Adv. Laboratory in Photonics
ECE 373/473 Optical Communications Lab
MS Wireless & Network Engineering:
To satisfy the requirements of this degree the following 3 core courses must be taken as well as 7 additional elective courses in advanced topics in wireless and network engineering.
ECE 342 Communication Theory
ECE 441 Fundamentals of Wireless Communication
ECE/CSE 404 Computer Networks
Ph.D. Degree
A Ph.D. candidate is generally expected to devote three or more academic years to graduate study. In no case is the degree awarded to one who has spent less than two full academic years of graduate work.
All post-baccalaureate work toward the doctorate must be completed within 10 years. Doctoral students whose graduate study is carried out entirely at Lehigh University must register for a minimum of 72 credits beyond the Bachelor’s degree. Students who have earned a Master’s degree at another institution must register for a minimum of 48 credits.
All Ph.D. candidates are also required to complete the Core Course Requirements stated in the Master’s section above. For Electrical Engineering Ph.D. candidates:
To satisfy the core curriculum requirements in Electrical Engineering, students must select three (3) courses from the following five (5) different areas:
ECE 401 Advanced Computer Architecture
ECE 402 Advanced Electromagnetic Theory
ECE 420 Advanced Circuits and Systems
ECE 441 Fundamentals of Wireless Communications
ECE 451 Physics of Semiconductor Devices
Computer Engineering Ph.D. candidates must complete the Core Requirements in the Master’s section which can be found at the following web address: http://www3.lehigh.edu/engineering/cse/academics/grad/computereng/2005.asp
General College guidelines and requirements for the Ph.D. degree can be found in the College Graduate Student Handbook which is available in the Department Office. The Electrical and Computer Engineering Department has the following requirements above and beyond the College and Core Course Requirements:
Qualifier Exams
All students in the Ph.D. program must take the appropriate Qualifier Exam during their first year of study as a Ph.D. student. The exams are offered in five (5) different areas:
Circuits & Systems
Computer Architecture
Electromagnetics/Optoelectronics
Signal Processing & Communication
Solid State Devices
Each area has an assigned faculty member who will oversee the examination and communicate with those students signed up for the exam. Exams will typically consist of reading assigned research papers, writing a response paper and taking an oral exam with the faculty committee.
Exams are offered only once per academic year-during the Spring semester. Those students entering in the Fall semester are expected to take the exams that Spring. Those students who enter during the Spring semester are expected to take the exams during the following Spring semester. Sign-up sheets are posted in the office sometime in November/December and students are notified by the Graduate Coordinator when they are available.
Computer Engineering Ph.D. students may also take a qualifier in additional areas more specific to their research as long as they have three faculty members in either the Electrical & Computer Engineering Department or Computer Science & Engineering Department agree to form a committee to offer the specific exam.
The exam is on a pass/fail basis. Students who do not pass the exam the first time will be able to take the exam again after a 5 month waiting period. This will be organized with the help of the Graduate Coordinator and the Qualifier Committee involved on an individual basis. If a student fails to retake the Qualifier Exam within a 12 month period, that student will be removed from the Ph.D. program, and will be forced to reapply. If a student does not pass after the second attempt they will be unable to continue in the Ph.D. program.
Admission to Candidacy
Once a Ph.D. student has passed their Qualifier Exam they may begin preparing the Apply for Candidacy. An information packet on the application process can be picked up in the Department Office. A prospective candidate must submit a written program proposal to their Doctoral Committee (guidelines on the formation and membership of this committee can be found in the College Handbook) that includes a discussion of proposed dissertation research. Once the Committee approves the proposal the candidate submits the proposal along with a completed signature page and the Application to Candidacy form to the College of Engineering Graduate Dean’s Office. The Graduate Dean will then notify the student and their committee members in writing of the decision.
Once the student has completed their credit hour requirement for the Ph.D. degree (72 or 48) they may apply for Maintenance of Candidacy two times per year from that point on. This means that the student is only required to be registered for one (1) credit Maintenance of Candidacy from that point on until they complete their program.
General Exam
The next step Ph.D. candidates must complete is passing a General Examination. Guidelines for the General Exam can be found in the College Handbook.
Dissertation and Defense
Ph.D. candidates are required to write a dissertation prepared under the direction of their advisor (also typically the Chair of their Doctoral Committee). Guidelines can be found in the College Handbook and all associated dates are listed on the Academic Calendar.