An applicant for admission to the graduate programs in electrical engineering must hold a bachelor's degree or its equivalent from an accredited American college or university, or from a foreign institution of acceptable standing. The applicant should have at least a `B' average in his or her most recent years of academic work.

Most applicants to this department have undergraduate degrees in electrical engineering. However, it has been our experience that individuals with degrees in physics, mathematics, chemistry and related scientific and technical areas are able to complete a graduate program in electrical engineering. Applications from such individuals are encouraged, with the observation that such students often are required to complete some undergraduate courses to gain an adequate background in electrical engineering. Such requirements are dealt with on an individual basis.

This program’s emphasis is on the PhD program, so we typically offer financial aid only to students who wish to pursue a PhD. In your application, please choose the PhD program if you wish to pursue a PhD (including a master’s degree, if appropriate). A master's degree is not required. We typically admit very few students who want only a master’s degree.

All applicants are required to take the General Test (verbal, quantitative, and analytical) of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). The tests are given at regularly specified dates. For more specific information concerning this test, contact:

Graduate Record Examinations

Educational Testing Service

P.O. Box 6000

Princeton, NJ 08541-6000

International applicants are required to furnish TOEFL or IELTS test scores. Applicants should request that the results be forwarded to:

University of Notre Dame

Office of Graduate Admissions

502 Main Building

Notre Dame, IN 46556

An application fee of $75 is required of all applicants and payable to the University of Notre Dame. All materials should be uploaded to your online application prior to submission no later than January 15 for fall admission. Offers of admission and financial aid may be made in advance of that date if the application is complete.

The Program of Studies

The Department of Electrical Engineering offers programs of study and

research leading to the degrees of master of science and the doctor of

philosophy in electrical engineering. The programs are designed to prepare

students for careers in university teaching and research as well as industrial

or governmental research and advanced development. Areas of specialization

include systems theory, electromagnetics, digital signal and image processing,

communication theory, and solid-state materials and devices.

First Semester

During the first semester, all new graduate students are required to prepare a

course plan for their entire program. With advice from the director of graduate

studies or a faculty advisor, this plan maps the courses to be taken and the

expected dates of completion for the different elements comprising the program.

Master's Program

The research M.S. program requires a minimum of 30 semester hours of credit,

of which a minimum of 18 hours are course credits and a minimum of six hours may

be awarded for research towards an M.S. thesis. All courses may be in electrical

engineering, but up to nine semester hours of course credit may be taken from

other departments. The course work should be designed to prepare the student

adequately for work in the major area of specialization. Advanced undergraduate

courses, numbered 400 to 497, may be taken for up to six credit hours. The

student must, upon acceptance of the thesis, successfully pass an oral thesis

defense examination. These requirements ordinarily are completed by a full-time

student in three to four regular academic semesters. The non-research master of

science degree requires a minimum of 30 semester hours of course credit. A Master's comprehensive exam is also required.

Ph.D. Program

The Ph.D. degree requirements include two years in resident study,

successful completion of the Ph.D. qualifying and candidacy examinations, a

dissertation, and the dissertation defense. A minimum of 36 credit hours of

graduate course work is required. A master's degree earned elsewhere may count

up to a maximum of 24 credit hours towards course work requirements.

Each Ph.D. student must pass three examinations to fulfill the departmental requirements for graduation: the qualifying examination, the Ph.D. candidacy examination, and the dissertation defense. The qualifying examination is intended to determine if the student is prepared for Ph.D. studies in electrical engineering; it is normally taken before the student's third semester of graduate study. The Ph.D. candidacy examination is administered to determine if the student has depth in his or her research area and has identified a viable dissertation topic. After passing the Ph.D. candidacy examination, which usually takes place after the completion of all formal course work, the student devotes essentially full-time effort to completing the dissertation research. Following acceptance of the written dissertation by a board of readers, the student defends the dissertation before an oral examination board. In recent years, students have typically completed Ph.D. degree requirements in about five years past the B.S. degree.