Electrical engineering is one of the most popular fields in engineering, covering everything related to electrical and electronic devices and circuits, including computing devices, cell phones, displays, etc.; telecommunications networks that circle the globe, electronic controls that coordinate complex systems in factories, cars and commercial aircraft as well as all power and energy systems.

Electrical Engineering at UT Dallas

The electrical engineering program provides a solid foundation in electrical networks, electronics, electro-magnetics, computing and communications. Mastery of these areas provides students with the ability to thrive and adapt in their careers. Students may take advanced courses in computer hardware and software, analog and digital communication systems, analog and digital signal processing, micro-electronic components and systems, as wells as power and energy systems.

The Jonsson School also offers a wide choice of electives, emphasizes the importance of communication skills and seeks to heighten awareness of the relationship between technology and society. Students must take 128 hours to graduate, including 42 hours from the University’s core curriculum and 76 hours in the major. All lower-division students concentrate on mathematics, science and introductory engineering courses, building competence in these cornerstone areas for future application in upper-division engineering courses.

Engineering education requires strong high school preparation. Pre-engineering students should take at least one semester in trigonometry and one year each in elementary algebra, intermediate and advanced algebra, plane geometry, chemistry and physics, thus preparing to move immediately into college courses in calculus, calculus-based physics and chemistry for science majors. Students also should be able to read well and with comprehension, and to write clearly and correctly.

The Jonsson School operates one of the largest internship and cooperative education programs of its kind, averaging more than 1,200 undergraduate and graduate student placements a year at Dallas-area high-tech companies, including Texas Instruments, Intel, Raytheon, Alcatel-Lucent and IBM.

Careers in Electrical Engineering

Electrical engineers design, develop and test a wide range of electronic systems, including microelectronics, electric motors, robotics systems, biomedical systems, automotive electronics and navigation systems. Careers are available in virtually every industry including consumer electronics and semiconductor industries as well as in academia, government and the military.

Marketable Skills

Review the marketable skills for this academic program.

About the School of Engineering and Computer Science

The Jonsson School is strategically located in the Telecom Corridor, home of the second-largest high-tech economy in the U.S. The School recently completed a major public-private initiative that greatly expanded its capabilities, including construction of a new state-of-the art 220,000-square-foot interdisciplinary research building, and recently opened a 200,000-square-foot engineering building. With more than 165 tenured/tenure-track faculty members, 7,400 students, and $53 million in research funding, the Jonsson School has six academic departments:

• Bioengineering
• Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Computer science
• Materials science and engineering
• Mechanical engineering
• Systems engineering

The school also offers a minor in nanoscience and technology.

Degrees Offered

Bachelor of Science: Biomedical engineering, computer engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, software engineering

Master of Science: Biomedical engineering, computer engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, materials science and engineering, mechanical engineering, software engineering, systems engineering and management*, telecommunications engineering

Doctor of Philosophy: Biomedical engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, materials science and engineering, mechanical engineering, software engineering, systems engineering and management, telecommunications engineering

*Joint program between Jindal School of Management and Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science.

**Joint program between the Naveen Jindal School of Management and Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science.

Research

Research efforts underway at the school involve such cutting-edge technology as:

• Medical imaging.
• Speech recognition.
• Materials characterization.
• Cochlear implant technology.
• Cybersecurity.
• Organic electronics.
• Physical, chemical and biosensors.
• Wireless networking.
• Carbon nanotubes.
• Micro-electromechanical systems.
• Semiconductor design.

Additional Facts

The Jonsson School’s rapid growth has helped propel its undergraduate programs into U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings of the nation’s top schools of engineering.

The school’s graduate programs have continued to rise through the national U.S. News rankings, now placing among the top 25 public university graduate programs and ranking third in Texas.

The Jonsson School has significantly increased the size of its faculty in recent years, hiring top recent graduates of Stanford University, Cornell University, Purdue University, Georgia Tech and UCLA, as well as seasoned professionals from Rutgers University, University of Southern California, University of California, Davis, Sandia National Laboratories, Freescale Semiconductor and Texas Instruments.

The Jonsson School features a variety of student organizations that are actively involved in both academic and social activities. Completely student-run, these include the Association for Computing Machinery, the Game Development Group, the National Society of Black Engineers, a chapter of the scientific research society Sigma Xi, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers and the Society of Women Engineers.

The Fast-Track Program enables exceptionally gifted undergraduate students to include up to 15 hours of master’s level courses in their undergraduate degree plans. When Fast-Track students graduate with a bachelor’s degree, they are automatically admitted to graduate school at UT Dallas. The hours required to complete the master’s degree are reduced by up to 15 hours by the number of Fast-Track graduate hours completed.