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Professional Enrichment Elective

Students of the Electrical Engineering undergraduate program are required to complete three hours of a Professional Enrichment Elective. Appropriately titled, the purpose of this elective is to aid students in the enrichment of their undergraduate program in a professional manner. The intent is to help students achieve objectives such as earning a minor or a certificate, preparing for the F.E. Exam, participating in the Study Abroad Program, or additional study in technical, primarily upper-division areas of study.

Minors

Historically, EE students have most often used the Professional Enrichment Elective to satisfy the requirements for a Mathematics Minor. Presently, Math Minors consist of 24 credit hours of upper-division MA courses. Twenty-one of these hours are required as part of the EE program of study. By selecting an appropriate Mathematics course, EE students may not only satisfy the Professional Enrichment Elective but also complete requirements for a Mathematics Minor. ECE-approved Professional Enrichment Elective which satisfy the Mathematics Minor are as follows:

  • For students who complete IE4613, Engineering Statistics I the following would complete a math minor:
    • MA 4133 Discrete Mathematics (unless you have previously taken CSE 2813 Discrete Structures)
    • MA 4143 Graph Theory
    • MA 4153 Mat & Lin Algebra
    • MA 4173 Number Theory
    • MA 4313 Numerical Analysis I – will need pre-req override from Math department, different programming course requirement
    • MA 4323 Numerical Analysis II – will need pre-req override from Math department, different programming course requirement
    • MA 4373 Int. Part. Diff Equations
    • MA 4633 Ad. Calculus I
    • MA 4733 Linear Programming (also listed as IE 4733)
    • MA 4753 Ap. Complex Variables
      • Data Analysis I, Applied Probability, Intro to Probability, Introductory Probability and Random Processes and Intro to Math. Stats I cannot complete the math minor because of overlap with other coursework required in ECE majors.
  • Numerous Minors are available to students, including those in Business, Computer Science (CS), Foreign Languages (FL), Physics (PH), etc. Electrical Engineering students are encouraged to pursue interests in minors with the understanding that all requirements for the minor must be satisfied in order for credit to be earned for the Professional Enrichment Elective.

Endorsements

Similarly, ECE students are encouraged to pursue interests they may have in various endorsement programs See options here. Again, all requirements for the endorsement must be satisfied in order for credit to be earned for the Professional Enrichment Elective.

F.E. Exam Preparation

Students who have plans to take the Fundamentals of Engineering exam during their graduating semester (or closest fall/spring semester enrolled if graduating in the summer) may wish to use their Professional Enrichment Elective to help prepare for this exam. Each course listed below represents areas typically covered by the general session of the Professional Engineering exam. Assuming the course is not used to satisfy some other elective in the EE program of study, one of the following may be selected as the Professional Enrichment Elective:

  • EM 2413 Engineering Mechanics I
  • EM 2433 Engineering Mechanics II
  • EM 3213 Mechanics of Materials
  • EM 3313 Fluid Mechanics
  • IE 3913 Engineering Economy
  • ME 3513 Thermodynamics I or ME 3523 Thermodynamics II

To apply this credit, the student will turn in their FE Exam test entrance ticket to their advisor.

Technical Study

Students majoring in EE who wish to complete additional EE Technical Electives are encouraged to do so as the Professional Enrichment Elective. Other, non-ECE courses may qualify, provided these are of appropriate scope. All EE students are strongly encouraged to confirm with their academic advisor the appropriateness of any potential Professional Enrichment Elective they wish to pursue. CPE students may also complete an additional Technical Elective from their CPE list.

As always, students must meet all course prerequisites. Contact the major advisor for additional information.

Cooperative Education Program

Students who successfully complete a 3 term co-op (or more, and as shown on the transcript) will be able to apply any 3 hour course taken, but not already applied to the program, as Professional Enrichment Elective.

Students must register for the co-op class through the co-op office processes for each semester they are on co-op (CP 2103, CP 2203, and CP 3303).

If you have questions about the co-op processes, please contact the co-op office.

Undergraduate Research

Students who complete a substantial undergraduate research project have achieved this objective.

To use ECE 4800 to fulfill the Professional Enrichment degree requirement, students must:

  • Identify a research advisor who will serve as instructor of record for ECE 4800 and one committee member who will review and approve research outcomes
  • Enroll in a combined total of 3-credit hours in ECE 4800
  • Enroll in ECE 4800 for two semesters (or receive approval for a single-semester project from the ECE Undergraduate Committee prior to enrolling in ECE 4800)
  • Either present research activities at a symposium / conference or submit a conference/journal article as lead author. Appropriate presentation venues include departmental, college, or university research symposia and regional, national, or international conferences.

To document a substantial undergraduate research project, students must submit a ECE 4800 Planning Form to the ECE Undergraduate Coordinator in the semester prior to enrolling in ECE 4800. Upon completion of the above requirements, the student must submit an ECE 4800 Approval Coversheet along with their final presentation or publication.