Identification of Research Area

Within 12 months upon acceptance into the Ph.D. program, the student has to identify an area of research of his or her interest by contacting and being accepted by a professor willing to guide the dissertation research. If no such professor can be found, the student will be dismissed from the Ph.D. program. Contact the Department for a list of the faculty members with Dissertation Advisor status and their research interests.

Course Requirements

The Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering requires at least 75 credit hours beyond the bachelor’s degree. A maximum of 30 credit hours of coursework earned in a Master’s degree in Electrical or Computer Engineering, from FIU or another accredited institution, may be counted toward the Ph.D. provided that a minimum grade of “B” is earned in each course.

Degree Requirements

(1) Students must complete at least 9 credits of coursework in their major area (EEL 6905, 6916, 6932 and 6971 will not be counted as coursework) and at least 6 credits in two different breadth areas (a grade of “B” or better in each course). The appropriate areas of study and specific courses are determined by the dissertation advisor. Students majoring in Electrical Engineering should have one minor in computer engineering, and those majoring in Computer Engineering should have one minor in Electrical Engineering.

(2) The student must have completed a minimum of 45 credits of graduate coursework toward the Ph.D. before the student is eligible for the candidacy. This includes up to 30 transfer credits.

(3) At least 15 credits of course are required. Registration for course is allowed only after passing the qualifying examination.

(4) Fifty percent of the total hours counted toward the doctoral degree have to be at the 6000 and 7000 levels (including course).

Residency Requirements

The Ph.D. student must spend at least one academic year in full-time residency. Usually, this will be after being admitted to candidacy. To satisfy the residency requirement for a Ph.D. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering, the candidate must complete a minimum of 18 credit hours within a period of 12 months in residency at the University.

Graduate Supervisory and Research Committee

The student’s Ph.D. Graduate Supervisory and Research Committee should be appointed as soon as possible and not later than 15 months after being admitted to the Ph.D. program. Consult the Graduate Handbook in the Department for more details on how to select the committee members.

Ph.D. Course Breadth Requirements

The student must submit information about how the breadth requirement has been satisfied to the Graduate Program Director at the time he/she signs up for the Ph.D. Qualifying Examination.

Qualifying Examination

To be eligible for the qualifying examination, the student must have satisfied the Ph.D. course breadth requirements in his or her area of specialization and in two other areas. The students can take the qualifying examination no later than the semester in which all the required coursework for the degree is completed. Failure to do this is causation for dismissal from the Ph.D. program.

One of the following two options will be selected by the student with the approval of student’s major advisor for the oral qualifying exam: (1) Research paper based or (2) Course based. Failing any part of the exam implies the failure of the entire examination. The exam must be retaken the next time it is offered. Failing a second time is a cause for dismissal from the Ph.D. program.

Consult the Graduate Handbook available in the Department for details on examination procedures, dates, duration, application and grading criteria.

Proposal Defense

Proposal defense must be taken within one semester after the satisfactory completion of the qualifying examination.

Admission to Candidacy

Candidacy status indicates that a doctoral student is ready for the completion of the dissertation. A student is admitted to candidacy upon successfully completing all required coursework and passing the qualifying examination.

Oral Defense and Submission of Doctoral Dissertation

A dissertation is required of all candidates for the doctoral degree. A proposal must be submitted to the student’s Dissertation Committee for approval, following the general guidelines in the “Regulations for Thesis and Dissertation Preparation”. A student must enroll for dissertation credits in the semester in which he or she expects to be admitted to candidacy, and must maintain continuous enrollment for not less than 3 credits of course every semester, including Summers, until the semester in which the doctoral degree is awarded. Upon completion of the dissertation, the degree candidate will submit to the Dean of the Graduate School an application for dissertation defense signed by the student’s Dissertation Committee with sufficient time to allow for publishing a notice in the monthly calendar of the dissertation and these defenses to invite members of the university community to observe the defense.

Following the successful defense of the dissertation, as determined by a majority vote of the student’s research committee, the dissertation must be forwarded to the Dean of the College of Engineering and Computing and the Dean of the Graduate School for their approval.

All dissertations submitted in fulfillment of requirements for graduate degrees must conform to University guidelines (see “Regulations for Thesis and Dissertation Preparation”). One final, approved copy of the dissertation must be delivered to the Chairperson of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Library copies must conform to University guidelines, also published in “Regulations for Thesis and Dissertation Preparation”.

Any exception to the program requires the department’s approval.

MS en-route to PhD

Students in the ECE PhD program may obtain an MS degree in Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering provided that the following conditions are satisfied.

--Completed 30 credits of graduate coursework at FIU. Only the letter-graded (i.e. not P/F) courses are counted towards this requirement.

--The courses have not been used for a previously earned master's degree.

--In good academic standing and all courses are within the time limits to degree completion.

--All courses are B or better.

--No pending Incomplete grades.

--Have approved D1, D2 and D3 on file with UGS.

This is subject to approval by the GPD and UGS.

ECE:PHD - Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering

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Overview

Requirements