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The GRE requirement has been waived (and extended) for all engineering master’s applicants applying through Fall 2026!

Important: Some courses might have changed prefix from EEL to EEE. If you cannot find an EEL course please search for EEE instead.

 

The Department offers a non-thesis program for the master of science (MS) degree in Electrical Engineering. Depending on the university, interested students should also consult the FAMU or FSU Graduate Student Handbook.

Admissions

To be considered for admission, candidates must have earned a bachelor of science degree (or equivalent) in electrical engineering, or a closely related discipline, from an Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET)-approved program, a grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for all work attempted beyond 60 semester hours of undergraduate study, and a minimum score of 148 points for the quantitative section and 145 points for the verbal section of the GRE test; GRE waiver request form.

International candidates must also obtain at least:

  1. 80 points on the internet-based TOEFL exam or 550 points on the paper-based TOEFL exam,
  2. 6.5 points in the IELTS,
  3. 55 points in the Pearson's PTE academic examination, or
  4. 77 points in the MELAB examination.

 

Students with a bachelor's degree in a field other than electrical engineering may be required to complete a department-designated sequence of undergraduate courses with grades of B or better prior to attempting the graduate electrical engineering work.

Students interested in obtaining a teaching assistantship should submit the TA/Grader Application Form as soon as they have been admitted to the program. Students who are not native speakers of English should take the speaking section of the TOEFL test (and have a score of 26 points or higher) or the SPEAK test at FSU (and have a score of 45 points or higher) in order to be eligible to apply to for a teaching assistantship. More information about teaching assistantships can be found on the TA/Grader Application Form.

Students interested in obtaining a research assistantship should contact individual faculties for funding availabilities.

Application Deadlines

The ECE department application deadlines are March 1st for the Summer, July 1 for the Fall, and  November 1st for the Spring semester. International students are encouraged to apply earlier so that they can have sufficient time to get their visa.

To be considered for department financial assistance such as Teaching Assistantships, the last date for receiving a complete application is  March 1 for the Fall term. Generally, department funding such as Teaching Assistantship is not available for students starting in Spring and Summer.

Course Work Requirement

  1. The students must complete a minimum of 30 credit hours of course work to obtain the degree. The 30 credit hours should satisfy:

  2. At least 6 credit hours should be from the list of core courses (see the Graduate Courses link on the left side).

  3. At least 3 credit hours should consist of a course in advanced mathematics, typically a 5000 level course or above, or a departmental approved substitute.

  4. At least 24 out of 30 credit hours should be in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (EEL or EEE). The 24 credit hours in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering cannot include transfer courses.

  5. No Directive Independent Studies (DIS) will be allowed for this degree.

Graduate Seminar Requirement

All full-time MS degree candidates are required to enroll in the graduate seminar, EEL 6932, for each semester that they are enrolled in the graduate program. The details of the seminar are given under "Course Listing".

Request for Non-Thesis

All students in the non-thesis MS degree program must submit a formal request to obtain an official approval from his/her advisor (if there is one) and the ECE Graduate Coordinator to be exempt from the thesis requirement.

Master's Comprehensive Examination

All students in the non-thesis MS degree program must register for and successfully pass the Master's Comprehensive Exam, EEL 8966. The students must apply to take the examination in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering office by the end of the prior semester. A maximum of 2 attempts will be permitted.

Template for the Comprehensive Examination report

The exam is taken over a five-week period. In preparing for the examination, the student shall present a 40-page literature review report to a committee demonstrating an understanding of the theoretical framework in a given area of research based on an in-depth literature review. In demonstrating an understanding of the literature, the student must include a discussion that identifies the state-of-the art and knowledge gaps in that area. Upon submission of the literature review report, the committee will respond to the student with questions related to the report itself and the area of research. The following is a schedule of events for the successful completion of the examination:

  • The student must make arrangements with the adviser to schedule a five-week time period for the examination. The examination committee should contain at least three faculties with GFS status from the ECE Department.
  • With the consultation of the adviser, the student will submit a research review report to the examination committee. A Microsoft Word template of the report can be downloaded from here. The topic of the report should be determined by the major adviser of the student. The student is encouraged to submit the research review report by the middle of the semester for which he/her registered for the examination. The student should abide by the IEEE plagiarism policy.
  • The committee will submit written questions to the adviser for collection by the student two weeks after submission of the literature review report. These questions will relate to the report and the topic which was assigned to the student.
  • The student will have two weeks to develop written responses to the questions in preparation of the oral exam. These responses will be submitted to the adviser, who will then distribute the responses to the committee members. The student should submit a complete set of answers to each committee member; the answers should be given as separate appendices to the original (or revised) report.
  • The oral examination will be held within one week of submission of the written responses. This examination will be primarily related to the research area and the student's written responses. Appropriate related fundamental concepts may also be covered. During the final oral presentation the student should give a short summary of the research report and address the questions of the committee on separate slides.
  • Pass/fail is determined on the combined written and oral responses to committee questions. A majority of committee votes and a pass vote by the committee chair is required to pass.

Transfer of Credits

A maximum of 6 credit hours of letter-grade graduate coursework may be transferred from another academic institution(s) to the student's current master's degree program, with the approval the ECE Departmental Graduate Committee. A grade of B or better is required on all transfer credits.