Electrical Engineering

The components of the Information Age—global communication systems; computers and computer chips, and the software that runs them; as well as pacemakers, magnetic resonance imaging, and interplanetary space missions—are possible because of the efforts of electrical engineers. Today, electrical engineers are developing concepts and working to translate these ideas into the next generation of products, from computers and safe, energy-efficient vehicles, to radar that can detect unexploded land mines from the air, to microrobots that diagnose disease from inside the body.

Many electrical engineers work in the traditional areas of communications, computation, and control and components required to realize such systems. They are involved in design and product development, testing and quality control, sales and marketing, and manufacturing. Others use their problem-solving skills in diverse areas such as bioengineering, healthcare, electronic music, meteorology, and experimental psychology. Some graduates draw on their electrical engineering backgrounds to launch successful careers as physicians, financial analysts, attorneys, and entrepreneurs.

The BSEE degree requires a sequence of core courses and advanced study in one or more technical elective areas: electronic circuits and devices; signals and systems; fields, waves, and optics; power engineering; or computer engineering. General electives and electives in the arts and humanities and social sciences are also required.