Electrical and Computer Engineering

Program Chart (PDF)
Department Web Site

F. J. Looft, Head; H. Hakim, Associate Head
Professors: D. Cyganski, A. E. Emanuel, F. J. Looft, R. Ludwig, S. Makarov, W. R. Michalson, J. A. Orr, K. Pahlavan, P. C. Pedersen
Associate Professors: D. R. Brown, E. A. Clancy, R. J. Duckworth, H. Hakim, J. A. McNeill, B. Sunar, R. F. Vaz
Assistant Professors: X. Huang, A. Klein, W. Lou, T. Padir, A. Wyglinski
Professor of Practice: R. Labonte
Affiliate Professor: R. H. Campbell
Instructors: S. J. Bitar, G. Bogdanov, S. M. Jarvis
Emeritus Professors: K.A. Clements, J. S. Demetry, W. H. Eggimann, W. R. Grogan, O. W. Kennedy, A. K. McCurdy, G. H. Owyang

Program Distribution Requirements for the Electrical and Computer Engineering Major

The normal period of residency at WPI is 16 terms. In addition to WPI requirements applicable to all students, students wishing to receive the major designated "Electrical and Computer Engineering" must satisfy certain distribution requirements. These requirements apply to 10 units of study in the areas of mathematics, basic science, and engineering science and design as follows:

RequirementsMinimum Units
1. Mathematics and Basic Science (Notes 1a-1d).4
2. Engineering Science and Design (ES/D) (including the MQP) (Notes 2a-2g).6

Notes:

  1. Mathematics and Basic Science:
    1. Must include at least 7/3 units of math (prefix MA). Mathematics must include differential and integral calculus, differential equations, discrete mathematics, and probability and/or statistics.
    2. Must include at least 2/3 units of physics (prefix PH).
    3. Must include at least 1/3 units of chemistry (prefix CH) or 1/3 units biology (prefix BB).
    4. Must include an additional 2/3 units of math or basic science (prefixes MA, PH, CH, BB, or GE).
  2. Engineering Science and Design (including the MQP):
    1. Must include at least 5 units within the Electrical and Computer Engineering area (including the MQP). All courses with prefix ECE (except ECE 3601) and ES 3011 are applicable to these 5 units.
    2. The 5 units within the Electrical and Computer Engineering area must include at least 1 unit of courses from these approved Electrical Engineering courses: ECE 2112, 2201, 2204, 2305, 2312, 3011, 3113, 3204, 3308, 3311, 3501, 3503, 4011, 4023, 4201, 4304, 4703, 4902, 4904, and ES 3011.
    3. The 5 units within the Electrical and Computer Engineering area must include at least 2/3 unit of courses from these approved Computer Engineering courses: ECE 2801, 3801, 3803, 3810, and 4801.
    4. The 5 units within the Electrical and Computer Engineering area must include 1/3 unit of Capstone Design Experience. (This requirement is typically fulfilled by the MQP.)
    5. Must include at least 1/3 unit of computer science (prefix CS), at the 2000 level or above (other than CS 2011, CS 2022, CS 3043 which cannot be applied to this requirement).
    6. Must include at least 1/3 unit of engineering science (prefix ES) at the 2000 level or above. ES 3011 cannot be applied to this requirement.
    7. Must include an additional 1/3 unit of engineering science and design at the 2000 level or above, selected from courses having the prefix BME, CE, CHE, CS (other than CS 2011, CS 2022, CS 3043), ECE (other than ECE 3601), ES, FP, ME or RBE.

Subdisciplines Within ECE

Given a solid foundation, the MQP will allow you to demonstrate an in-depth understanding of one or more of the subdisciplines that compose the field of electrical and computer engineering. As a guide to the areas of study that can be investigated in an MQP, the ECE Course Flowchart identifies eight subdisciplines as possible areas for in-depth study leading to an MQP. Note that students should not feel constrained by these area designations - this is only one of many possible ways to organize the diverse field of electrical and computer engineering. Many if not most MQPs will incorporate subject matter from several different subdisciplines. The purpose of this list is to guide students interested in a particular area to coursework within a subdiscipline (Area Courses), relevant courses to choose from outside the subdiscipline (Related Courses), and faculty whose research and MQP advising interests fall within the subdiscipline (Area Consultants).

Robotics

Area Consultants: Cyganski, Duckworth, Looft, Michalson

Area Courses
 ECE 2022 Introduction to Digital Circuits and Computers
ECE 2801 Foundations of Embedded Computer Systems
ES 3011 Control Engineering I
ECE 3803 Microprocessor System Design

Related Courses
 ECE 2201 Microelectronics I
ECE 3503 Power Electronics
CS 4341 Artificial Intelligence
RBE 1001 Introduction to Robotics
RBE 2001 Unified Robotics I
RBE 2002 Unified Robotics II
RBE 3001 Unified Robotics III
RBE 3002 Unified Robotics IV

Power Systems Engineering

Area Consultants: Emanuel, Hakim

Area Courses
 ECE 3501 Electrical Energy Conversion
ECE 3503 Power Electronics

Related Courses
 ES 3001 Introduction to Thermodynamics
ES 3011 Control Engineering I
OIE 2850 Engineering Economics
ME 1800 Materials Selection and Manufacturing Processes

RF Circuits and Microwaves

Area Consultants: Ludwig, Makarov

Area Courses
 ECE 2112 Electromagnetic Fields
ECE 3113 RF Circuit Design

Related Courses
 MA 4451 Boundary Value Problems
PH 3301 Electromagnetic Theory
PH 3401 Quantum Mechanics I
PH 3504 Optics

Communications and Signal Analysis

Area Consultants: Brown, Clancy, Cyganski, Hakim, Klein, Makarov, Pahlavan, Pedersen, Wyglinski

Area Courses
 ECE 2305 Introduction to Communications and Networks
ECE 2312 Discrete-Time Signal and System Analysis
ECE 3308 Introduction to Wireless Networks
ECE 3311 Principles of Communication Systems
ECE 4304 Digital Communication Systems
ECE 4703 Real-Time Digital Signal Processing

Related Courses
 ES 3011 Control Engineering I
MA 2071 Matrices and Linear Algebra I
MA 2621 Probability for Applications
MA 4291 Applicable Complex Variables

Biomedical Engineering

Area Consultants: Clancy, Pedersen

Area Courses
ECE/BME 2204 Bioelectric Foundations
ECE/BME 3011 Bioinstrumentation and Biosensors
 ECE/BME 4011 Biomedical Signal Analysis
ECE/BME 4023 Biomedical Instrumentation Design I
ECE/BME 4201 Biomedical Imaging

Related Courses
 ECE 2201 Microelectronic Circuits I
ECE 2312 Discrete-Time Signal and System Analysis
ECE 3204 Microelectronic Circuits II

Analog Microelectronics

Area Consultants: Bitar, Labonte, McNeill

Area Courses
 ECE 2201 Microelectronics I
ECE 3204 Microelectronics II
ECE 4902 Analog Integrated Circuit Design
ECE 4904 Semiconductor Devices

Related Courses
 ES 3011 Control Engineering I
ECE 3801 Advanced Logic Design

Computer Engineering

Area Consultants: Clancy, Cyganski, Duckworth, Hakim, Huang, Jarvis, Looft, Lou, Michalson

Area Courses
 ECE 2801 Foundations of Embedded Computer Systems
ECE 3801 Advanced Logic Design
ECE 3803 Microprocessor System Design
ECE 3810 Advanced Digital System Design
ECE 4801 Advanced Computer System Design

Related Courses
 ECE 2201 Microelectronics I
CS 2223 Algorithms
CS 3013 Operating Systems
CS 3733 Software Engineering
CS 4515 Computer Architecture
CS 4536 Programming Languages

Overview of Other Program Components

Engineering Science and Design

Because modern engineering practice is increasingly interdisciplinary, all students achieve some breadth of study outside of the ECE department by taking a minimum of one Computer Science and one Engineering Science course. Both courses must be at the 2000-level or higher, and certain courses with limited technical content are not credited towards this requirement. (See the formal requirements listed previously in the distribution requirements.) In the Computer Science area, most students will need to complete a CS course at the 1000-level before attempting requirements at the 2000-level or above. Many students find it advantageous to take more than the minimum CS course requirement.

The Engineering Science courses represent cross-disciplinary areas that are applicable to many engineering and science departments.

Mathematics and Science

To succeed in the study of electrical and computer engineering, the necessary foundation far exceeds what can be taught in a few introductory courses. In fact, if you even want to begin to understand what your ECE professors are talking about in lecture, you must begin with a firm basis in mathematics and the natural sciences. Moreover, whether applied to ECE or not, proficiency in mathematics and the sciences is a necessary quality for any educated engineer. Consequently, the ECE major requires a total of 4 units (12 courses) as the "Mathematics and Basic Science" distribution requirement.

The first part of this requirement is sufficient education in mathematics. At least 7 of the 12 required courses must be in this area, including coursework in differential calculus, integral calculus, differential equations, discrete mathematics, and probability and/or statistics. To see which specific courses fulfill these math requirements, please consult the mathematics course descriptions, the Planning a Program in ECE section, and your academic advisor.

The other part of the requirement is coursework in the sciences. A solid understanding of physics is essential to any ECE student, being ultimately necessary for describing the behavior of electricity and magnetism as well as other physical phenomena. Knowledge of chemistry is useful as well, encompassing such topics as atomic and molecular behavior and the chemical properties of materials (such as silicon, which is quite useful in ECE). In recent years, knowledge of biology has also become important to electrical and computer engineers, particularly as biomedical-electrical technologies such as medical imaging continue to advance.

The ECE major requires at least 3 courses in the sciences, 2 of these courses must be in physics, and the remaining course may be in chemistry or biology depending on preference.

Finally, note that the total prescribed mathematics and science courses add up to 3 1/3 units (10 courses). To meet the distribution requirement, you then must take at least 2 more courses in any area of mathematics or science (that is, any other course with the prefix "MA", "PH", "CH", "BB", or "GE").

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Last modified: September 02, 2009 15:44:48