EE Major Field Coursework Requirement = 14

• All major coursework must be taken A-F.

• All major course work must be numbered EE 5XXX or EE 8XXX.

• No seminars, special investigation or directed study coursework may be applied toward meeting the major field requirements.

Other or Minor Coursework Requirement = 12

• All other or minor coursework must be taken A-F.

• EE coursework does not apply towards this requirement.

• Non-EE coursework must be from the approved Non-Electrical Engineering 4XXX and 5xxx Level Approved List (Effective fall 2015).

• Non-EE 4XXX coursework is subject to the 4XXX Rule.

• Non-EE coursework that is cross-listed with Electrical Engineering counts only towards the major field. 

• Seminars, special investigation or directed study coursework does not count toward this requirement.

• To designate a minor, please talk with the minor department to learn their requirements.

Additional Credits = 14

Can include:

• Can include EE and Non-EE coursework 5XXX or 8XXX 

• EE 5000 level or EE 8000 level courses, regular coursework.

• Non-EE 8XXX courses (no approved list), regular coursework.

• Approved non-EE 5XXX and approved non-EE 4XXX courses (subject to the 4XXX Rule). EE 4XXX courses are subject to the 4XXX Rule.

• 8 MS thesis credits.

PhD Thesis  Credits (EE 8888) = 24

*Make sure to account for the breadth course that is required as part of the Prelim Written Exam process. Note that the breadth course must be taken at the University of Minnesota. This requirement can not be met by a transfer course from another institution.

Limited to 2 credits (seminars, special investigation, EE 5041):

MOT 5001 - Leadership, Professionalism and Business Basics for Engineers (MOT 5001 counts only toward additional coursework credits, seminar/directed study 2 credit rule) 

EE 5041 Industrial Assignment (International Students only)

EE 8190 Electronics Seminar

EE 8210 System Theory Seminar

EE 8230 Control Theory Seminar

EE 8360  Computer Systems Seminar

EE 8370 Computer-Aided Design Seminar

EE 8500 Communications Seminar

EE 8610 Electronics, Fields, and Photonics Seminar

EE 8660 Magnetics Seminar

EE 8920 Teaching Experience in Electrical and Computer Engineering 

EE 8925 Ethics in Electrical and Computer Engineering

EE 8940 Special Investigations

Does not count toward degree requirements:

• EE 8965 Plan C Project.

• EE 8970 or EE 8980

• EE 5990 CPT

4XXX Rule

A maximum of nine 4000-level course credits may be used to satisfy doctoral degree requirements.

• Of these, only six credits may be EE 4000-level (regular coursework, no seminars, projects, directed study courses).

• Non-EE 4XXX courses, must be from the approved non-EE 4000 level course List.

• Partial credits from a course are not accepted. If your 4XXX courses add up to 10 you will need to remove one course from your degree plan.

6 Credit 8XXX Requirement

Your program must include 6 credits at the 8000 level. Courses can be EE or Non-EE (College of Science and Engineering). Coursework must be regular coursework. Seminars, directed study/special investigations may not be used to satisfy this requirement.

Transfer Credits for the PhD Degree

Courses taken at another university, which were taken for graduate credit outside of an undergraduate degree program, taught by faculty authorized to teach graduate courses, may be petitioned to be approved for transfer. Credits must be appropriate to the degree and fulfill a degree requirement. 

A minimum of 12 course credits and 24 Ph.D. thesis credits must be taken at the University of Minnesota.

Approval process:

1. Email your faculty advisor for transfer credit approval. You'll also need to include course syllabi or a course description so your advisor knows what was covered in each course and how many credits it was. It's easiest to provide a table (here you can see a template) with the following information included for each transfer course:

   • Term taken

   • Year

   • School subject

   • Course number

   • Course title

   • Units taken

   • Grade

   • Institution

2. After your faculty advisor approves, you'll forward that approval to ECE Director of Graduate Studies, Prof. Murti Salapaka. Prof. Salapaka will also need to review the course syllabi before he approves. You can email Prof. Salapaka at murtis@umn.edu. 

3. After Prof. Salapaka approves, GPD students (who started the PhD before Fall 2020) can include the transfer coursework in section 3 of the Graduate Degree Plan form. Including your transfer coursework on the GDP is how we officially notify GSSP that you're transferring in those credits. 

     Students who started Fall 2020 and after will use GPAS instead of the GDP form. After transfer credits are approved for GPAS students, the Graduate Advisor   (Ann Rausch) will add the transfer credits into your GPAS for you.

Forms

• Information about your Graduate Degree Completion Steps

• Graduate student forms

• Information about master's and doctoral Graduate Examination Committees

• Information about Thesis and Dissertation Formatting and Submission

Performance Standards and Progress

• Students are required to register every fall and spring term from the time of matriculation to degree conferral.

• Coursework must be taken A-F unless only offered S-N.

• Minimum Graduate Degree Plan GPA for graduation is 3.3 GPA.

• Lowest grade accepted on the degree program form is 2.0 (grade C).

• Students whose GPA falls below 3.3 will have an OL registration hold placed on their account preventing further registration. To have the hold removed they will need to meet with the Director of Graduate Studies.

• With justification Grad 999 can be used once to satisfy academic year Graduate School registration requirements. Submit your request to Ann Rausch

• Students admitted to our program before spring 2013 must complete their Ph.D. degree within 5 calendar years after passing the Ph.D. Preliminary Oral exam.

• Students entering the program after January 2013, must complete their degree within eight calendar years after initial enrollment in the Graduate School.

• Students unable to complete the degree within the time limits described may petition the department and the college for one extension up to 24 months. Students must obtain the approval of their advisor(s) and the Director of Graduate studies and submit a petition for an a time extension at least six months prior to the end of the time limit. See Doctoral Degree: Performance Standards and Progress.