Electrical Engineer Degree Program

Academic Requirements to enroll in the Electrical Engineer Degree Program

Purpose: The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the Naval Postgraduate School offers a program leading to the degree of Electrical Engineer. The goal of the Engineer's program is to provide the academic background and training necessary to prepare the student to perform at the state of the art in electrical and computer engineering.

Eligibility: All students of the Naval Postgraduate School are required to be military officers or government employees sponsored by an element of the US Government. Employees of the Naval Postgraduate School are also eligible to pursue degrees on a part-time basis with the approval of their supervisor and the department chairman.

Applications: Students must apply at least one year prior to planned graduation date. Students in residence at NPS apply through the curriculum officer. Those applying from outside NPS should contact the Director of Admissions (Code 62) for application procedures. Application Form:  .doc, .pdf

Degree Requirements: In order to fulfill the requirements for the degree of Electrical Engineer, a student must meet the following requirements:

1. Have a BSEE or equivalent from an accredited school.
2. Credits: Students must 1) have taken at least 36 graded graduate credits in Engineering, Mathematics, and Applied Sciences and 2) have a minimum GQPR of 3.7 at the time of application. Students complete a minimum of 96 quarter graduate credit hours. Of these 96 quarter credit hours:
    
   • a minimum of 72 quarter credit hours of graduate-level course work in engineering, mathematics, physical science, and/or computer science must be taken;
   • at least 54 quarter credit hours must be in graded, graduate level EC courses;
   • at least 36 quarter credit hours must be in the sequence of advanced courses (4000-4999);
   • at least 24 quarter credit hours of thesis must be taken.
   • At most one independent/special study course (graded P/F) will be counted towards the degree.
      
3. After entry in to the program, students must maintain an average GQPR of 3.5 through the last quarter.
4. Thesis: Submit an acceptable thesis (see next section).

Thesis Requirement: An Engineer's thesis, though not necessarily meeting the test of original research and contribution to fundamental knowledge that is applied to Ph.D. dissertations, is nevertheless more extensive and complete in problem scope and solution than a master's thesis. Upon admission in to the program, students form an Electrical Engineer's Thesis Committee consisting of three NPS faculty members, of which at least two must be from the ECE Department. The Committee Chairperson must be a tenure-track faculty member of the department. The Committee must be approved by the department Chairperson. Students carry out thesis work under the supervision of the Thesis Committee. In the quarter of graduation, students must give a 40-minute presentation and successfully defend their thesis before this committee. The defense will be open to all interested faculty and students. (Thesis Proposal Application Form (pdf))

Degree Nomination: After completion of degree requirements, the student is nominated to receive the degree by a memo signed by the thesis supervisor, the curricular officer, the academic associate and the department chairman and by the submission of a signed thesis to the Office of the Dean of Academic Administration. (The thesis must meet the format standards of this office to be accepted.) The degree Electrical Engineer is granted by vote of the Academic Council and is awarded, along with the degree Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (if applicable), by the Superintendent.