Graduate Catalog

2023-2024

Policies, Procedures, Academic Programs

Electrical Engineering

College of Engineering

Academics and laboratories; Named for John W. Whittemore, faculty member 1928-63; dean of engineering 1952-63.

1185 Perry Street 453 Whittemore (0111) Blacksburg VA 24061

Degree(s) Offered:

• MEng

MEng Degree in Electrical Engineering
Minimum GPA:	3.0
Offered In:	Virtual National Capital Region

• MS

MS Degree in Electrical Engineering
Minimum GPA:	3.0
Offered In:

• PhD

PhD Degree in Electrical Engineering
Minimum GPA:	3.5
Offered In:

Email Contact(s):

• Graduate Admissions

• Graduate Advising

Web Resource(s):

• Student Handbook

Phone Number(s):

540/231-7494

Application Deadlines:

Fall: Feb 20

Spring: Oct 01

Directions

To get Google Maps directions from:

The Graduate School

Whittemore Hall

Get Directions

Department Head : Luke Lester

Graduate Program Director : Paul Plassmann (Assistant Department Head)

Emeriti Faculty: Peter Athanas; Aloysius Beex; Robert Broadwater; Gary Brown; C Clauer (Hampton); William Davis; Gregory Earle; Louis Guido; Mark Jones; Fred Lee; Cameron Patterson; Arun Phadke; Krishnan Ramu; Warren Stutzman

Professors: Amos Abbott; Masoud Agah; Paul Ampadu (National Capital Region); Scott Bailey; Joseph Baker; Dushan Boroyevich; Richard Buehrer; Rolando Burgos; Virgilio Centeno; Harpreet Singh Dhillon; Dong Ha; Yiwei Hou; Michael Hsiao; Jih Lai; Luke Lester; Chen-Ching Liu; Guo Quan Lu; Thomas Martin; Scott Midkiff; Lamine Mili (National Capital Region); Khai Ngo; Mariusz Orlowski; Paul Plassmann; Ting Chung Poon; Saifur Rahman (National Capital Region); Binoy Ravindran; Jeffrey Reed; John Ruohoniemi; Walid Saad; Ahmad Safaai-Jazi; Timothy Sands; Wayne Scales; Leonard Smith; Angelos Stavrou (National Capital Region); Daniel Stilwell; Joseph Tront; Yue Wang (National Capital Region); Anbo Wang; Yong Xu; Jianhua Xuan (National Capital Region); Yaling Yang; Guoqiang Yu (National Capital Region); Richard Zhang (National Capital Region)

Associate Professors: William Baumann; Thidapat Chantem (National Capital Region); Jaime De La Reelopez; Steven Ellingson; Ryan Gerdes (National Capital Region); Mantu Hudait; Xiaoting Jia; Vasileios Kekatos; Qiang Li; Lingjia Liu; Majid Manteghi; Ali Mehrizi-Sani; Leyla Nazhandali; JoAnn Paul (National Capital Region); Ryan Williams; Chris Wyatt; Yang Yi; Haibo Zeng; Wei Zhou; Yizheng Zhu

Assistant Professors: Jordan Budhu; Christina Dimarino (National Capital Region); Thinh Doan; Dong Dong; Ruoxi Jia; Ming Jin; Zin Lin (National Capital Region); Elena Lind; Chang Woo Min; Linbo Shao; Wenjie Xiong; Yuhao Zhang

Grant A. Dove Professor: Yue Wang (National Capital Region)

Virginia Microelectronics Consortium Professor of Engineering: Masoud Agah

Bradley Distinguished Professor: Yiwei Hou

James S. Tucker Professor: Jih Lai

Willis Worcester Professor: Jeffrey Reed

University Distinguished Professor: Dushan Boroyevich; Fred Lee; Arun Phadke

Clayton Ayre Professor: Anbo Wang

Joseph R. Loring Professor: Saifur Rahman (National Capital Region)

Bradley Faculty Fellow of Education: Thomas Martin

J. Byron Maupin Professor of Engineering: Wayne Scales

Elizabeth and James Turner Faculty Fellow: Harpreet Singh Dhillon

Roanoke Electric Steel Professorship in Engineering: Luke Lester

American Electric Power: Chen-Ching Liu

Collegiate Professors: Scott Dunning; Creed Jones; Timothy Talty

Collegiate Assistant Professors: Arthur Ball; Almuatazbellah Boker (National Capital Region); Kendall Giles (National Capital Region); Sook Ha; Mary Lanzerotti (National Capital Region); Ravi Raghunathan (National Capital Region)

Collegiate Associate Professors: Kristie Cooper; Jeffrey Ransbottom; Alkan Soysal; Nektaria Tryfona

Hugh P. and Ethel C. Kelly Professor: Richard Zhang (National Capital Region)

Electrical Engineering Introduction

The Harry Lynde Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering offers graduate degree programs leading to the Master of Engineering (M.Eng.), Master of Science (M.S.), and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in electrical engineering and computer engineering. The M.S. and Ph.D. degree programs are offered through the Blacksburg campus as well as extended campus consortia (National Capital Region, Northern Virginia Center, Falls Church, Virginia; Central; Hampton Roads; Western, and VT-MENA through Alexandria and Cairo, Egypt). The M.Eng. degree is offered at the National Capital Region (NCR) and Virtual campuses.

The ECE Department offers both an M.S. Thesis and an M.S. Non-Thesis degree. For the M.S. Thesis degree, each plan of study is developed by the student in consultation with his or her faculty advisor satisfying the M.S. Thesis degree requirements and the defense of a thesis. The M.S. Non-Thesis degree is a coursework-based master’s degree. The M.Eng. degree is a professionally-oriented degrees that offers graduate students a strong academic foundation in core ECE technological areas with a culminating, project-based learning experience.

The Ph.D. is the highest academic degree awarded by the university and is conferred upon students who demonstrate outstanding original scholarship during advanced study. It signifies that the student can conduct independent research and has both a broad basic knowledge of all areas of the field and a comprehensive knowledge of one area. Students applying for the Ph.D. program typically have a master’s degree from an accredited college or university in EE, CPE, or a related field.

A direct-Ph.D. option is available for students without an earned master’s degree. These students will earn an M.S. Thesis, or an M.S. Non-Thesis, degree in addition to the Ph.D.

The Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering's current enrollment is approximately 627 students. Out of the enrolled students, approximately 95% of our full-time Ph.D. students are funded and approximately 85% of our full-time master’s student are funded.

Most funding is available in one of three ways:

Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTAs) – awarded by the ECE department;
Graduate Research Assistantships (GRAs) – awarded by individual ECE faculty; or
Fellowships – awarded by the department to the top applicants to the program.

Of the fellowships awarded by the department, the Bradley Graduate Fellowship is the highest honor bestowed on ECE Ph.D. students and is restricted to U.S. citizens only.

Admission Requirements

For the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees:

Completion of the on-line application found at the Graduate School
Upload with your on-line application your scanned official transcripts from each institution that you will or have earned a degree from. Please do not mail official transcripts to the Graduate School until you have received an offer of admission.
Three (3) letters of recommendation
The GRE is optional for all applicants. Applicants who already have scores (or can obtain them) are encouraged to submit them. Additionally, be aware that applicants with a lower GPA, or from a school from which Virginia Tech ECE may not be familiar, may benefit from providing strong GRE scores.

TOEFL or IELTS exam for applicants earning a degree from non-English institutions
A resume and a statement of purpose submitted with the on-line application

For the M.Eng. degree:

Completion of the on-line application found at the Graduate School
Upload with your on-line application your scanned official transcripts from each institution that you will or have earned a degree from. Please do not mail official transcripts to the Graduate School until you have received an offer of admission.
Three (3) letters of recommendation
The GRE is optional for all applicants. Applicants who already have scores (or can obtain them) are encouraged to submit them. Additionally, be aware that applicants with a lower GPA, or from a school from which Virginia Tech ECE may not be familiar, may benefit from providing strong GRE scores.

TOEFL or IELTS exam for applicants earning a degree from non-English institutions
A resume and a statement of purpose submitted with the on-line application

Application Deadlines

International Students

For the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees:

To be considered for funding, the deadlines are January 15 for fall admission and September 1 for spring admission.
International students that do not wish to be considered for funding may apply until February 20 for fall admission and September 1 for spring admission.

For the M.Eng. degree:

International students may apply until March 1 for fall admission or October 1 for spring admission.

Domestic Students (Anyone currently studying in the US)

For the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees:

If you wish to be considered for funding, the deadlines are January 15 for fall admission and September 1 for spring admission. Domestic students that do not wish to be considered for funding may apply until July 1 for fall admission and December 1 for spring admission.

For the M.Eng. degree:

March 1 for priority admission for fall admission (priority admission means this is your best opportunity to get an offer based on space and scholarship consideration); however, domestic students that do not want to be considered for priority admission may apply until June 1 for fall admission. Domestic students may apply until November 1 for spring admission.

Electronic Correspondence: vt.ece.gradadm@vt.edu

Mailing Address for Correspondence:
ECE Graduate Admissions
1185 Perry Street, 453 Whittemore (0111)
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA 24061-0111

Offered In (Virtual, National Capital Region)

Degree Requirements

Minimum GPA: 3.0

Institution code: 5859

Testing Requirements:

TOEFL
- iBT
  - 90.0

IELTS
- General
  - Band : 6.5

The M.Eng. degree requires 30 credit hours, and the following specific requirements must be met:

27 credit hours of coursework (subject to M.Eng. course restrictions) and project and report consisting of either: 21 credit hours of senior and graduate-level coursework and 6 credit hours of Graduate Design Project and Report, ECE 5805 and 5806; or 24 credit hours of senior and graduate-level coursework and 3 credit hours of Project and Report, ECE 5904;
2 credit hours of Seminar, ECE 5944;
1 credit hour of Graduate Student Success in Multicultural Environments, ENGE 5304; and
A final examination consisting of a presentation of the project and report must be passed.

The ECE Graduate Student Policy Manual gives detailed information pertaining to degree requirements.

Offered In ()

Degree Requirements

Minimum GPA: 3.0

Institution code: 5859

Testing Requirements:

TOEFL
- iBT
  - 90.0

GRE (Optional)
- General Test
  - Verbal : 153.0
  - Quantitative : 157.0
  - Writing : 4.5

IELTS
- General
  - Band : 6.5

The ECE Department offers both an M.S. Thesis and an M.S. Non-Thesis degree. The degree requirements for each degree are the following.

Master of Science (M.S.), Thesis

The M.S. thesis degree program requires 30 credit hours, and the following specific requirements must be met:

18 credit hours of senior and graduate-level coursework (subject to M.S. thesis course restrictions);
9 credit hours of Thesis, ECE 5994;
2 credit hours of Seminar, ECE 5944;
1 credit hour of Graduate Student Success in Multicultural Environments, ENGE 5304; and
An oral final examination consisting of a thesis defense must be passed.

Master of Science (M.S.), Non-Thesis

The M.S. non-thesis degree program is a coursework-only degree that requires 30 credit hours, does not require a final examination, and the following specific requirements must be met:

27 credit hours of senior and graduate-level coursework (subject to M.S. non-thesis course restrictions);
2 credit hours of Seminar, ECE 5944; and
1 credit hour of Graduate Student Success in Multicultural Environments, ENGE 5304.

The ECE Graduate Student Policy Manual gives detailed information pertaining to degree requirements.

Offered In ()

Degree Requirements

Minimum GPA: 3.5

Institution code: 5859

Testing Requirements:

TOEFL
- Paper
  - 577.0
- iBT
  - 90.0

IELTS
- General
  - Band : 6.5

GRE (Optional)
- General
  - Verbal : 153.0
  - Quantitative : 157.0
  - Writing : 4.5

Regular Ph.D. Requirements (for students with a master’s degree not earned at Virginia Tech)

The regular Ph.D. degree program requires 90 credit hours, and the following specific requirements must be met:

27 credit hours of course work (subject to Ph.D. course restrictions);
60 credit hours of research and thesis, ECE 7994;
2 credit hours of Seminar, ECE 5944; and
1 credit hour of Graduate Student Success in Multicultural Environments, ENGE 5304;

Direct-PhD Requirements (for students with only an earned bachelor’s degree)

Obtaining a Ph.D. through the Direct-Ph.D. degree program requires 90 credit hours, and the following specific requirements must be met (depending on whether an M.S. Thesis or an M.S. Non-Thesis degree is obtained):

M.S. Thesis and Ph.D.

Completing an Electrical Engineering M.S. Thesis degree (coursework transfers to Ph.D. subject to Ph.D. course restrictions);
9 additional credit hours of coursework for PhD (subject to Ph.D. course restrictions);
60 credit hours of research and thesis, ECE 7994;
2 credit hours of Seminar, ECE 5944 (will count for both M.S. and Ph.D. degrees);
1 credit hour of Graduate Student Success in Multicultural Environments, ENGE 5304; (will count for both M.S. and Ph.D. degrees).

M.S. Non-Thesis and Ph.D.

Completing an Electrical Engineering M.S. Non-Thesis degree (coursework transfers to Ph.D. subject to Ph.D. course restrictions);
60 credit hours of research and thesis, ECE 7994;
2 credit hours of Seminar, ECE 5944 (will count for both M.S. and Ph.D. degrees);
1 credit hour of Graduate Student Success in Multicultural Environments, ENGE 5304; (will count for both M.S. and Ph.D. degrees).

The ECE Graduate Student Policy Manual gives detailed information pertaining to degree requirements.

Electrical Engineering Facilities Introduction

Well-equipped research facilities, labs, and centers are available within the different research areas. For more information, click here.

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Course Listing for Electrical Engineering