ECE WEB

For both areas of concentration in Electrical Engineering, Master's comprehensive and Doctoral general exams (written part) are each given twice yearly, generally in January and May. In both cases, the exams are to be of the open-book/open-notes variety, and one hour per question is allotted. An oral exam is mandatory for Ph.D. students, and usually takes place shortly after the written exam; for Master's students an oral exam may follow the written exam at the discretion of the student's advisory committee. The written exams are structured as follows:

Information, Communication, and Decision Systems

Exam Schedule - Spring 2008, January 17-18, 2008

The Master's exam consists of a question in each of the required core courses (ECE 301, ECE 313, ECE 316, ECE 361, ECE 362). A question from each of these areas, plus from two other areas, as designated by the student's committee, comprise the Ph.D. exam, which takes place on two successive days. The exam structure is summarized below.

1. ECE 301 Introduction to Systems Theory
2. ECE 313 Applied Probability and Stochastic Processes
3. ECE 316 Digital Signal Processing
4. ECE 362 Estimation and Filtering Theory
5a. ECE 361 Communication Theory (M.S students only)

5b. ECE 361 Communication Theory (Ph.D. students only)
plus
6-7. Two questions on any two advanced courses chosen by the student in the student's area of specialization within the Information, Communication, and Decision Systems program (e.g., ECE 317, ECE 357, ECE 366).

In the interest of uniformity and of fairness in grading, questions written by Information, Communication, and Decision Systems Group faculty members for students in other areas will follow the same procedures as above; that is, these students will answer their questions alongside those Systems students taking the same exam. In practice, students from other areas will generally have only one or two Systems questions, and hence they shall be allotted a one or two hour period for their answers.

Electronics and Photonics

Exam Schedule Spring 2008

The exams will be administered in two 3-hour blocks. During the first block, three exams on the core courses will be administered. Both Ph.D. and M.S. Plan B students are required to pass these exams. During the second block, three questions will be administered during three one-hour time blocks on more-specialized, Ph.D.-level courses. All Ph.D. students must pass these exams. The exam structure is summarized below. An entire block of exams should be taken together.

Block 1: M.S & Ph.D. Exams on Core Courses

1. ECE 348 Electromagnetic Wave Propagation
2. ECE 338 Semiconductor Devices and Models
3. ECE 339 Fundamentals of Optoelectronics or ECE 353 Fundamentals of Photonics or ECE 356 Optoelectronic Devices

Block 2: Ph.D. Exams on Advanced Courses
Any three of the following groups:

1. ECE 346 Microwave Techniques or EE 349 Antenna Theory and Applications
2. ECE 351 Advanced Semiconductor Devices
3. ECE 339 Fundamentals of Optoelectronics or ECE 353 Fundamentals of Photonics or ECE 356 Optoelectronic Devices [choose one of the two not selected in Block 1]
4. ECE 345 Nanotechnology
5. ECE 359 Advanced VLSI Design

Ph.D. students will be given partial exemption for examinations previously passed at the University of Connecticut.

In the interest of uniformity and of fairness in grading, questions written by Electronics and Photonics faculty members for students in other areas will follow the same procedures as above; that is, these students will answer their questions alongside those students in the Electronics and Photonics group taking the same exam. In practice, students from other areas will generally have only one or two Electronics and Photonics questions, and hence they shall be allotted a one or two hour period for their answers.

Computer Engineering track

The exams are comprised of two sections. The first section is four hours long and consists of four questions, two from each of the two general subject areas listed below. Corresponding courses in which the subject matter is tested are also listed. The problems are at the level of advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate courses in the area, but are not necessarily restricted to the material covered in these specific courses. Both Ph.D. and M.S. Plan B students are required to pass this section.

Computer Systems and Architecture

Appropriate courses will be selected for examination. Topics include: microarchitecture, parallel computing, and the hardware/software interface.

VLSI Design and Digital Logic Design

1. ECE 249 VLSI Design and Simulation
2. ECE 252 Digital Systems Design
3. ECE 359 Advanced Digital VLSI Design

During the second section, Ph.D. students are expected to take two exams in general electrical engineering topics. They must choose two of the following five courses and pass the corresponding exams.

1. ECE 301 Introduction to Systems Theory
2. ECE 313 Applied Probability and Stochastic Processes
3. ECE 316 Digital Signal Processing
4. ECE 338 Semiconductor Devices and Models
5. ECE 374 Digital Image Processing

These exams will be arranged with the administrators of the Information, Communication, and Decision Systems group or the Electronics and Photonics group.