The PhD program is available to students who have either a BS or an MS degree. The PhD is a research-based degree that requires the preparation and successful defense of a dissertation. Admission to the PhD program is limited to those students who have made contact with a member of the ECE Faculty who has agreed to be the student’s PhD advisor.

Two Paths to the PhD Degree:
1) direct from BS to PhD, bypassing the MS degree, or
2) obtain a MS degree first at UH (or elsewhere).

BS to PhD Degree Plan
- Admission Requirements (refer to the checklist for a comprehensive statement of the admission requirements)

1. BS in electrical or computer engineering or a closely-related field (see Leveling Course List).
2. Expressed desire to obtain a PhD in an area of research supported within the UH ECE Department, and contact with potential dissertation advisor has been established.
3. GPA > 3.3/4.0; GRE: V > 400, Q > 700, WA > 4.0; TOEFL > 580 (international students only)
4. Three letters of recommendation on official letterhead with mailing address, phone and fax numbers, and email address of the recommender.

- Program Requirements
At least 84 semester hours of graduate credit beyond BS, with at least 36 hours in structured course work, and at least 36 hours in research or dissertation. The remaining 12 hours can be used for additional course work (electives) or research. The student will have to meet certain breadth requirements, pass a qualifying exam, and prepare and defend the dissertation.

MS to PhD Degree Plan
- Admission Requirements

1. MS in electrical or computer engineering or a closely related Field (see Leveling Course List).
2. Expressed desire to obtain a PhD in an area of research supported within the UH-ECE Department, and contact with potential dissertation advisor has been established.
3. GPA > 3.3/4.0; GRE: V > 400, Q > 700, WA > 4.0; TOEFL > 580 (international students only).
4. Three letters of recommendation on official letterhead with mailing address, phone and fax numbers, and email address of the recommender. A letter from the student’s Master Thesis advisor, if applicable, is especially desirable.

- Program Requirements
At least 54 semester hours of graduate credit, of which at least 15 hours should be in structured course work and at least 39 hours in research or dissertation

The MSEE program is available to students who have a BS degree. The MSEE is a research-based degree that requires a thesis, and enrollment in this program is restricted to those students who have found a faculty member willing to serve as their thesis advisor.

- Admission Requirements

A. Unconditional Admission:

1. BS in electrical or computer engineering or a closely-related field (see Leveling Course List).
2. Expressed desire to be in an area of research supported within the UH ECE Department, and contact with potential thesis advisor has been established.
3. GPA > 3.0/4.0; GRE: V > 400, Q > 700, WA > 4.0; TOEFL > 580 (international students only)
4. Three letters of recommendation on official letterhead with mailing address, phone and fax numbers, and email address of the recommender.

B. Conditional Admission:

1. BS in electrical or computer engineering or a closely-related field (see Leveling Course List).
2. Expressed desire to be in an area of research supported within the UH ECE Department, and contact with potential thesis advisor has been established
3. Grade point average may be between 2.6 and 3.0 with high GRE scores.
4. Must be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States.
5. Three letters of recommendation on official letterhead with mailing address, phone and fax numbers, and email address of the recommender.

NOTE: The conditionally admitted student must earn a grade point average of at least 3.0 on the first 12 semester hours of graduate work after enrolled at the University of Houston. A general petition needs to be submitted to change conditional admission status after 12 hours.

- Program Requirements
To receive the degree of Master of Science in Electrical Engineering, the student is required to complete (on a part-time or full-time basis), with a grade point average of at least 3.0, a minimum of 30 semester credit hours of graduate studies, to include at least 21 hours of coursework, and 9 hours of thesis and research.

The MEE program is available to students who have a BS degree. The MEE is a non-thesis Masters option that requires coursework only. The MEE program offers an opportunity for the practicing electrical engineer to obtain a graduate level degree with a focus on engineering design, systems operation, manufacturing, and management. The opportunity exists in the MEE program for specialization in one of four areas of strength in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. These areas are: Control and Power Systems, Electromagnetics and Microelectronics, Electronics and Computers, and Signals and Communications. In addition, the student can select from non-electrical engineering courses, including courses in the Cullen College of Engineering, the College of Business Administration, and the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. In this way, engineering disciplines as well as areas such as Management, Mathematics, and Computer Science, are included in the program. The option exists for the completion of a project on a practical engineering problem under the supervision and guidance of a faculty member. The MEE program should be especially more appealing to part-time students.

*****IMPORTANT NOTE: Students in the MEE program may not receive any form of Financial Assistance from the department at any time during the course of their studies. (The only support allowed for MEE students are special MEE scholarships.) In addition, students in the MSEE program who have received financial aid from the department are not allowed to change to the MEE programs with prior written consent of their advisor. However, a student may transfer to the MSEE or PhD program once (s) he has arrived at UH, provided that a thesis/dissertation advisor has been identified.

- Admission Requirements

A. Unconditional Admission:

1. BS in electrical or computer engineering or a closely-related field (see Leveling Course List).
2. GPA > 3.0/4.0; GRE: V > 400, Q > 700, WA > 4.0; TOEFL > 580 (international students only)
3. Three letters of recommendation on official letterhead with mailing address, phone and fax numbers, and email address of the recommender.

B. Conditional Admission

1. BS in electrical or computer engineering or a closely-related field (see Leveling Course List).
2. Grade point average may be between 2.6 and 3.0 with high GRE scores.
3. Must be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States.
4. Must have a full time employment status.
5. Three letters of recommendation on official letterhead with mailing address, phone and fax numbers, and email address of the recommender.

NOTE: The conditionally admitted student must earn a grade point average of at least 3.0 on the first 12 semester hours of graduate work after enrolled at the University of Houston. A general petition needs to be submitted to change conditional admission status after 12 hours.

- Program Requirements
To receive the Master of Electrical Engineering degree, the student is required to complete (on a part-time or full-time basis), with a grade point average of at least 3.0, a minimum of 36 semester credit hours of approved graduate courses. There is no thesis requirement. However, a maximum of two courses (i.e., a maximum of 6 hours of coursework) taken from ECE, Engineering, Natural Science & Mathematics, College of Business can be replaced by an approved project to be completed under the supervision of a faculty member from the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department.

Within the MEE program, there are also two specializations available, namely Industrial Power Systems and Telecommunications. The following sites provided detailed program descriptions:
http://www.egr.uh.edu/ece/graduate/MEE/powersys/
http://www.egr.uh.edu/ece/graduate/MEE/telecom/