2020-2021 Undergraduate Course Catalog

Nov 21, 2024

2020-2021 Undergraduate Course Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Electrical Engineering, BS

Program Director

Jennifer Graham
315-443-2652
eecsugradadmit@syr.edu

The mission of the electrical engineering program is to promote learning in electrical engineering through integrated activities in teaching, research, scholarship, creative accomplishments, and service.

The educational objective of the bachelor of science in electrical engineering (BSEE) program in the Department of EECS at Syracuse University is to prepare well-rounded graduates that are ready for work and ready for change.

Well-rounded graduates of the BSEE program are known by their professional competence, innovative thinking, ability to work individually and in diverse teams, leadership abilities, communication skills, and integrity.
Graduates of the BSEE program who are ready for work are engaged in applying the knowledge acquired in their major, combined with their problem solving abilities, to produce feasible solutions to problems, in a timely manner, which are deemed important in industry, government, or academia.
Graduates of the BSEE program who are ready for change exhibit the intellectual flexibility necessary to solve new problems in innovative ways by integrating multiple viewpoints from several disciplines in search of the best possible solutions, or applying their knowledge to different professional disciplines.

Electrical engineering is based on scientific principles governing the motion of charged particles through conductors, semiconductors, or even a vacuum. These phenomena can be harnessed in a variety of applications such as in the treatment of disease, optical, satellite, and computer communications, power transmission, control of robots, radio and television broadcasting, and development of microelectronics for computers and analog circuits.

This program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, http://www.abet.org.

Engineering design is taught in each of the four years of the electrical engineering program. Beginning with ECS 101 in the first year, students are required to formulate solutions to a variety of open-ended laboratory projects. As the students progress through their sophomore and junior years, the projects increase in complexity requiring additional creativity and knowledge. Finally, in the senior year the students are required to complete a major design project that builds upon their mastery of the fundamental concepts of mathematics, basic sciences, the humanities and social sciences, engineering topics, and communication skills.

In addition to successfully completing the requirements for the bachelor of science in electrical engineering, graduates from this program must also achieve the following student outcomes:

(a) an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics and science.

(b) an ability to design and conduct experiments, analyze and interpret data.

(d) an ability to function independently and in teams.

(e) an ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering and scientific problems.

(f) an understanding of professional, ethical, and safety considerations.

(g) an ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.

(h) an understanding of the role of science and engineering in society.

(i) a recognition of the necessity of lifelong learning.

(j) an understanding of contemporary issues through a broad liberal arts education.

(k) an ability to use the modern tools necessary for professional practice.

(l) an ability to think critically as evidenced by skills in interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and inference.

Student Learning Outcomes

1. An ability to apply the knowledge of science, mathematics and engineering to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems (a, e)

2. An ability to design a system, component or process to meet desired specifications and constraints (c)

3. An ability to design and conduct appropriate experimentation, able to engineering tools, analyze and interpret data (b, k)

4. An ability to communicate effectively using various media (g)

5. An understanding of professional and ethical responsibility (f)

6. An ability to work in a multidisciplinary team to solve the engineering problem effectively and on time (d)

Program Components

The electrical engineering program has four fundamental components: mathematics and sciences, engineering, social sciences and humanities, and general education. Within each component, a number of courses have been set aside as electives in order to allow students, with the guidance of their advisors, to customize their education according to personal and career objectives. A summary of required and elective credits within each component follows:

Mathematics and Science

31 required, 3 elective, 34 total credits;

Engineering

42 required, 18 elective, 60 total credits;

Computing

9 required

Social Science and Humanities

6 required, 3 elective, 9 total credits;

General Education

9 required writing, 6 arts and science electives, 15 total credits;

Free

3 elective

Overall

97 required, 33 elective, 130 total credits.

Elective Courses

In order to maximize the flexibility of the Electrical Engineering curriculum while maintaining its structure, electives have been divided into the following categories:

Technical Electives

This18-credit requirement may be fulfilled by any combination of upper division electives with the ELE, CSE, or CIS prefix. A minimum of 9 credits from courses with a prefix of ELE and a minimum of 6 credit hours must be 400 level or higher.

Mathematics and Sciences Elective

The 3-credit elective may be fulfilled by any mathematics course with a calculus prerequisite, any physics course with a calculus-based physics prerequisite, or any college-level course in other science departments. By taking an appropriate math course, EE students can use this elective to complete a minor in mathematics.

Social Sciences and Humanities Electives

This 3-credit requirement may be fulfilled by any combination of courses listed in the social sciences division or humanities division of the College of Arts and Sciences. A glossary of course designations with such contents can be found in the Humanities Division and the Social Sciences Division of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Arts and Science Electives

This 6-credit requirement may be fulfilled by any course with liberal arts content including most courses in the College of Arts and Sciences. These courses, either by themselves or in combination with social sciences and humanities electives and free electives, present a very attractive opportunity to complete one of the non-technical minors offered in the University.

Free Electives

This 3-credit requirement may be fulfilled by any combination of college-level courses, for example, to help fulfill the requirements of a technical or a nontechnical minor.

Program of Study

First Year, Fall Semester (17)

First Year, Spring Semester (14)

Second Year, Fall Semester (18)

Second Year, Spring Semester (16)

Third Year, Fall Semester (17)

Third Year, Spring Semester (18)

ELE 392 - Digital Signal Processing and Control Systems Laboratory
WRT 307 - Advanced Writing Studio: Professional Writing
ELE 354 - Communication Systems
Technical Elective (6)

SSH Elective (3)

Fourth Year, Fall Semester (15)

ELE 491 - Senior Design Project I
Technical elective (6)
ECS 392 - Ethical Aspects of Engineering and Computer Science
Arts and Science Elective (3)

Fourth Year, Spring Semester (15)

ELE 492 - Senior Design Project II
Technical elective (6)
Math/Science elective (3)
Free elective (3)

Total 130

Minors

The electrical engineering curriculum is flexible enough to allow a student to complete minors of interest. Today’s engineers work in an environment where they are expected to know not only their specialty areas, but also a collection of other subject areas-from computers to finance. The EE curriculum responds to this need by providing students with a strong basis in the fundamentals of electrical engineering, coupled with an opportunity to broaden the scope of their education. An electrical engineering student may complete one or all of the following types of minors within the normal limits of the curriculum.

Engineering and computer science minor

A student who wishes to complete a technical minor offered by the college has up to 21 credits of electives distributed from the second year through the fourth year. Eighteen of those credits are labeled as technical electives in the BSEE curriculum. Within the constraints of the technical electives they may be used to fulfill a technical minor offered by the college.

Non-technical minor

A student who would like to complete a non-technical minor has 9 credits of combined social sciences and humanities and arts and science electives and 3 credits of free electives in addition, which can be used toward any one of more than 70 minors offered at Syracuse University.

Minor in mathematics

Electrical engineering curriculum requires students to take 18 credits of courses from the mathematics department. With the 3-credit mathematics and sciences elective course also taken appropriately from that department, a minor in mathematics can be earned.