Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

The Ph.D. program prepares students for research careers in academia and industry. The first academic year concentrates on foundation coursework followed by focus on a research area. Year one consists of a minimum of 18 hours of coursework, which include 6 hours of ELEC 599, the research presentation, developed under the guidance of a faculty advisor and committee, which qualifies the student for continuation in the Ph.D. program, and is taken in the second semester.

Students admitted to the Ph.D. program with a bachelor’s degree are required to complete 90 hours of credit (typically 42 hours of coursework and 48 hours of research). Courses must be 400 level and above, except for mathematics (300 and above).

Students admitted with an approved previous M.S. degree are required to complete a minimum 18 hours of course credit and 48 hours of research credit. Previous M.S. degrees are approved or denied upon completion of ELEC 599 in the first year. Denied previous M.S. degrees require the student to obtain a Rice ECE M.S. degree before continuing on to the Ph.D. degree.

M.S. degrees are expected to be obtained by the summer following the second year in the Ph.D. program. Ph.D. degrees are expected to be obtained by the end of the tenth semester (fifth year) and no later than the end of the sixteenth semester (eighth year). All Rice graduate students must petition for Ph.D. candidacy before the start of the ninth semester.

Master of Science (M.S.)

The M.S. degree is offered only as a precursor to the Ph.D. degree. It requires at least 30 semester hours of credit beyond the bachelor’s degree (typically 24 hours of course credit which includes ELEC 599, and 6 hours of ELEC 800 research credit). Twenty-four of the 30 required hours must be completed at Rice; therefore, no more than 6 hours may be transferred from a previous M.S. degree in the case of a denied previous master’s degree.

The M.S. program requires original research work reported in a thesis and a public oral presentation, evaluated by a master’s thesis committee consisting of thesis advisor and at least two other faculty members.

Master of Electrical Engineering (M.E.E.)

The M.E.E. program is a bridge to industry, designed to provide advanced learning and training in the applied aspects of ECE technology beyond the typical undergraduate electrical and computer engineering degree program.

Upon matriculation, the M.E.E. student selects a faculty advisor in their primary area of interest. The advisor will counsel the student in developing a degree plan to include 18 hours of coursework in the major area, 6 hours in a minor area, and 6 hours of electives, for a total of 10 courses/30 semester hours.

Students may be eligible to transfer up to 3 hours of course credit from another university. Rice undergraduates entering the M.E.E. program may transfer course credit not applied to their undergraduate degrees, with the approval of the ECE graduate committee and Office of the Registrar.

The M.E.E. may be pursued on a part time or full time basis during fall and spring semesters. A 3.0 GPA must be maintained in major and minor coursework. Students whose GPA falls below 2.33 will be placed on probation. For more information see General Announcements - http://www.rice.edu/catalog/2009_2010/PDF/08_GraduateInfo.pdf

Joint M.B.A. and M.E.E. (Master of Business Administration and Master of Electrical and Computer Engineering)

Students wishing to pursue this joint degree should apply through the Jones Graduate School of Business http://business.rice.edu/MBAPrograms.aspx?id=987