Information for Current ECE Graduate Students

Financial Support

• The Ezra Gillis Tuition Scholarship
  (There will be 4 awarded per year)
• Research Assistantships
  RA positions can only be awarded by an individual professor. If you are interested in an RA position, you will have to contact our professors directly
• Teaching Assistantships
  TA position will be considered by the department automatically and no application is needed for new students. However, the TA position is very competitive because of the limited number of openings. In addition, the TA positions will be primarily used to support PhD students. If you wish to apply for a TA position, you must complete the ECE TA Application form and submit it to the DGS.
• Fellowships
  Exceptional students may be eligible for a number of fellowships. There are a small number of fellowships available through the university (a list of fellowships is available through the graduate school website ). The ECE department has two RCTF fellowships. These are nominated each year by the Director of Graduate Studies. Students can also apply for fellowships through the National Science Foundation ( NSF GRSF website). Students are encouraged to apply for these with their advsisors. A number of other national & interantional organizations also offer graduate student fellowships, including many societies of the IEEE .

The mission of the MS program in Electrical Engineering at the University of Kentucky is to provide students with an advanced education in electrical and computer engineering, with the ability to contribute to scholarly research and to new technologies, and to prepare them for successful careers.

Expected MS Outcomes:

As a part of our mission, students completing a MS in Electrical Engineering in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering will have obtained the following outcomes:

1. A mastery of fundamental concepts in electrical and computer engineering;
2. The ability to perform creative research;
3. The ability to communicate difficult technical concepts both orally and in writing;
4. An understanding of professional and ethical responsibility.

MS Degree Requirements:

The master's degree requires 24 credit hours of course work and a thesis (Plan A). A non-thesis option (Plan B) consisting of 30 credit hours is available. Enrollment in the non-thesis option requires approval of the Director of Graduate Studies and must be requested within the student's first 9 credit hours of graduate course work. All MS students must also complete 3 of the 5 core 600-level graduate courses in electrical engineering. Both Plans A and B require the student to pass an oral exam with their MS advisory committee. This exam must be scheduled through the Graduate School. Once the MS student passes their MS thesis/project defense, the MS student must also have his/her thesis or project approved by their MS advisory committee. The thesis or project will then be submitted to the graduate school, and must satisfy all formatting requirements prior to completion of his/her degree.

The mission of the PhD program in Electrical Engineering at the University of Kentucky is to provide students with an advanced education in electrical and computer engineering, with the ability to identify and develop creative solutions to novel and existing problems, with the expertise to independently contribute to scholarly research and to new technologies, and to prepare them for successful careers.

Expected PhD Outcomes:

As a part of our mission, students completing a PhD in Electrical Engineering in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering will have obtained the following outcomes:

1. A mastery of fundamental concepts in electrical and computer engineering;
2. The ability to perform independent research;
3. The ability to identify, investigate, formulate, and solve new problems of interest through scholarly research in order to contribute new ideas and engineering concepts;
4. The ability to communicate difficult technical concepts both orally and in writing;
5. An understanding of professional and ethical responsibility.

PhD Degree Requirements:

1. Earn 42 pre-qualifying graduate credit hours taken at the University of Kentucky while in graduate standing. This would include a MS degree earned at the University of Kentucky plus an additional 18 graduate credit hours. Alternatively, this would include a MS degree earned at another accredited institution plus an additional 24 graduate credit hours.
2. Pass the Ph.D. Qualifying Examination. See the qualifying exam requirements below.
3. Annual Reviews. Every PhD student must go through an annual review with their PhD committee. Even first year students must complete a review. The annual review can also take place during the student's oral qualifying exam or their PhD Proposal. The student will receive written feedback from their committee regarding their annual review. Annual reviews must be scheduled through the DGS office at least 2 weeks prior to the annual review date. More details on the annual review are provided below.
4. PhD Proposal. After completing their qualifying exam requirements, the student should be focused on a research topic. The student must complete a formal proposal for their PhD research. A written proposal must be submitted to the student's advisory committee. The student must schedule an oral presentation of their PhD proposal with their advisory committee, which will either approve or dissaprove of the proposal.
5. Pass the Ph.D. Final Defense. Upon completion of the research, the PhD student will give an oral presentation before their doctoral advisory committee in defense of their dissertation research. The dissertation research will undergo the scrutiny of the doctoral advisory committee, who will be responsible to determine the novelty, completeness and success of the candidates research program. The PhD candidate should submit a completed copy of their dissertation no later than 2 weeks prior to the scheduled defense date.
6. Submission of the PhD Dissertation. Upon passing the PhD defense, the student will submit the final version of their PhD Dissertation, upon approval of their PhD Advisory committee, PhD advisor, and the Director of Graduate Studies, to the Graduate School. The PhD Dissertation must meet all formatting requirements of the graduate school.

PhD Qualifying Requirements:

Starting with the Spring 2010 semester, the PhD qualifying exam will have a new format. The ECE PhD qualifying exam will consist of three parts:

1. A formal written pre-qualifying examination testing core undergraduate concepts;
2. Pre-Qualifying course requirement and core-courses;
3. An oral exam.

For all other details regarding degree requirements, please consult the Graduate School Bulletin .

PhD Student Annual Review:

As required by the Graduate School Bulletin (refer to page 43), the progress of a PhD student must be assessed annually. This assessment will be done by the students advisory committee, and must be completed at least once per year in the format of a "PhD Annual Review". The annual review will have two components:

1. A formal written research summary detailing the students research activity
2. A formal presentation before the student's committee (open to the public) summarizing the PhD student's research activities.

Special Course Enrollment

• EE 748
  If you need to request an enrollment in the zero hour course EE 748 Master’s Thesis Research, you must complete the Enrollment Request Form for EE 748 and email the form to the DGS and cc: your advisor and Danielle Green-Hinkle (dgreen@engr.uky.edu) prior to the end of the registration period. The form must be signed by your adviser. Note that the maximum length of enrollment in EE 748 for full-time students is 3 semesters. Students who enroll for EE 748 for more than 3 semesters must petition the DGS by submitting a completed enrollment Request Form
• EE 749
  If you need to request an enrollment in the zero hour course EE 749 Dissertation Research, you must complete the Enrollment Request Form for EE 749 and email the form to the DGS and cc: your advisor and Danielle Green-Hinkle (dgreen@engr.uky.edu) before the first day of the semester.
• EE 767
  PhD students should enroll in this course only AFTER they have completed and passed their Qualifying Exam requirements. PhD students must enroll in EE 767 (2 credit hours) every semester thereafter until they complete their PhD in order to remain in good standing. A student may register for EE 767 the semester they expect to complete their Qualifying Exam. If the student fails to complete their Qualifying Exam requirements that semester, they must drop EE 767. Initial enrollment in EE 767 can be applied for by submitting the EE 767 registriation form to the DGS. Students must have completed their annual review within a calander year to be re-enrolled in EE 767 by the DGS.
• EE 783
  Registration for Special Problems in Electrical Engineering is done directly by the student. However, students must complete the departmental form for this course if they are to receive a grade for it. MS students can take one 3 hour EE 783 course towards their degree. PhD students can take up to two EE 783 courses towards their qualifying course credit hours.
• EE 784
  (3 hours) must be taken by students who are completing the MS with the project option (Plan B). The MS student can enroll in EE 784 only after completing their 30 hours of course work, including the 3 core graduate level courses. The MS project should be a 1 semester project completed by the student under the advise of their academic advisor. The student must form a MS committee of 3 faculty members, and defend their project during the semester they have enrolled in EE 784. They must also complete their project according the Graduate Bulletin guidelines. The student must meet with the DGS before he/she registers for the Research Project in Electrical Engineering course. To enroll in EE 784, submit the EE 784 registration form to the DGS.