UofC

Location: ICT Building, Room 402
Program number: 403.220.5806
Fax: 403.282.6855
Email address: ecegapp@ucalgary.ca
Web page URL: schulich.ucalgary.ca/departments/electrical-and-computer-engineering

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Master of Science (MSc), thesis-based
Master of Engineering (MEng), thesis and course-based

Specializations:

• Software Engineering*
• Energy and Environment (Interdisciplinary)**
• Environmental Engineering (Interdisciplinary)**
• Energy and Environmental Systems (Interdisciplinary)**

For a list of other supported research areas, please see section 15.

*The Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees with a specialization in Software Engineering are offered jointly through the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Department of Computer Science.

**See the Calendar section on Interdisciplinary Specializations for further information.

Part-time/Full-time

All three degree programs (PhD, MSc and MEng) may be completed on a full-time or a part-time basis. For details, see Engineering Programs.

In addition to Faculty of Graduate Studies and the Schulich School of Engineering requirements, the Department requires:

Master of Engineering and Master of Science

A bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or computer engineering.

Master of Science, Specialization in Software Engineering

a) At least one year of experience in software development.

b) Background knowledge in C or C++.

c) Knowledge of object-oriented design and human-computer interaction.

Note: Applicants with degrees in other disciplines may be considered, but additional undergraduate courses in electrical engineering may be required prior to admission.

Doctor of Philosophy

A master’s degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or software engineering.

Note: Transfer to the doctoral program without completing the master’s degree may be approved for exceptional students whose BSc degrees are in electrical engineering, computer engineering or software engineering.

The preferred starting date for all graduate degrees is September.

Deadlines for submission of complete applications:

January 31 for September admission
April 30 for January admission

The applicant must make advanced credit requests as part of the admission process. Credit will not be given for course work taken as part of another completed degree/diploma or for courses taken to bring the grade point average to a required level for admission or for grades below "B".

In addition to Faculty of Graduate Studies and the Schulich School of Engineering requirements, the Department requires:

Master of Engineering (course-based)

a) Thirty to 36 units (5.0-6.0 full-course equivalents) of which at least 21 units (3.5 full-course equivalents) must be graduate courses in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Students are encouraged to include Electrical Engineering 698 - Graduate Project in their programs. Normally Electrical Engineering 698 is taken as the last course, or concurrently with the last courses of the program. A copy of the Procedures and Guidelines is found on the departmental website.

Master of Engineering (thesis-based)

a) Normally, 12-21 units (2.0-3.5 full-course equivalents) at the graduate level.

Master of Science

a) Normally, 12-21 units (2.0-3.5 full-course equivalents) at the graduate level of which at least 9 units (1.5 full-course equivalents) must be in the area of specialization.

Master of Science, Specialization in Software Engineering

a) Twelve units (2.0 full-course equivalents) selected from a specified list of courses.

b) An applied software engineering project written up as a Master of Science thesis and examined by an examination committee as specified in the Faculty regulations.

Doctor of Philosophy

a) Normally, 18 to 27 units (3.0 to 4.5 full-course equivalents) at the graduate level beyond the bachelor's degree, or 6 to 15 units (1.0 to 2.5 full-course equivalents) at the graduate level beyond the master's degree with no fewer than half the courses in the Departmental program.

b) A grade of at least a "B+" in each graduate course with a grade point average of at least 3.30 and a grade of CR in Engineering 601/603.

c) All Doctoral students are required to successfully complete the candidacy requirements, which consist of four components: PhD coursework, a written Field of Study examination in Electrical, Computer, and Software Engineering, a written thesis proposal, and an oral thesis proposal examination. Specific details of the candidacy requirements can be found on the Departmental website.

While studying full-time in the MSc or PhD program:

a) Students will be required to attend only two semesters of Engineering 601/603 at the beginning of their graduate studies program.

b) Students in the PhD program who completed the course in the MSc program will not be required to take the Engineering 601/603 for the second time.

c) Students who are required to take Engineering 601/603 must successfully present two seminars.

Where appropriate, MSc and PhD students may take 500-level undergraduate courses for credit with approval of the supervisor and the Department (a maximum of 6 units or 1.0 full-course equivalent for MSc and 3 units or 0.5 full-course equivalent for PhD). Undergraduate courses will not count toward the MSc and PhD program requirements (see section 5).

MEng (course-based) students may take 9 units (1.5 full-course equivalents) of 500-level undergraduate courses for credit toward the program requirements, if graduate course requirements are met (see section 5).

Expected completion time is 20 months of full-time study for the Master of Science and four years for the Doctor of Philosophy. The maximum completion time is four years for the Master of Science and the Master of Engineering (thesis-based) and six years for the Master of Engineering (course-based) and the Doctor of Philosophy.

In all programs, a supervisor to provide guidance to the student is normally selected at the time of admission.

For details on required examinations, see "Engineering Programs", section 10. In addition to the Faculty of Graduate Studies requirements, the program requires:

Thesis Examination

Scheduling of the Examination

All members of the Supervisory Committee must have reviewed the student’s research, including a relevant written sample of the materials related to the thesis, before an examination can be scheduled.

Composition of the Committee

The internal examiner may be internal to the home program.

Candidacy

All Doctoral students are required to pass a written Field of Study examination in Electrical, Computer, and Software Engineering and an oral thesis proposal examination. Specific details of the examination format and other candidacy requirements can be found on the Departmental website.

Master of Science and Master of Engineering (thesis-based)
As required by the supervisor.

Doctor of Philosophy
The written thesis proposal is evaluated and approved by the candidacy examination committee as part of the candidacy requirements. Specific requirements for the proposal and the format of its evaluation can be found on the Departmental website.

None.

See "Engineering Programs".

Students enrolled in any of the engineering graduate programs may opt, in addition to their normal required course load, to undertake an international project outside Canada. The duration of the project should be between four and six months.

Details of research, courses, and financial assistance and other information are on the Departmental website.

In addition to the official specializations listed in section 1, students enrolled in the Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degree programs in the Department may also conduct research in the following areas: Telecommunications, VLSI and Microelectronics, Image Processing, Computer Engineering, Power Electronics, Control Systems, Power Systems and Biomedical Engineering.

The active research interests of individual faculty members can be found at schulich.ucalgary.ca/departments/electrical-and-computer-engineering/research-areas.