Master of Science in Electrical Engineering
Department:
Electrical Engineering
Transcript Designation:
Master of Science in Electrical Engineering
Program Advisor:
Academic questions: email advisor@cvn.columbia.edu
About the MS in Electrical Engineering:
Contemporary electrical engineering is a broad discipline that encompasses a wide range of activities. A common
theme is the use of electricity and electromagnetism for the generation, transmission, processing, storage,
conversion, and control of information and energy. An equally important aspect is the human interface and the
role of individuals as the sources and recipients of information. The rates at which information is transmitted
today range from megabits per second to gigabits per second and, in some cases, as high as terabits per second.
The range of frequencies over which these processes are studied extends from direct current (i.e., zero frequency),
to microwave and optical frequencies.
The need for increasingly faster and more sophisticated methods of handling information poses a major challenge
to the electrical engineer. New materials, devices, circuits, systems, and networks are needed to build the
advanced communications and information-handling systems of the future. Previous innovations in electrical
engineering have had a dramatic impact on the way in which we work and live: the transistor, integrated circuits,
computers, radio and television, satellite transmission systems, lasers, fiber optic transmission systems, and
medical electronics.
Concentration options within the MS program are available in Telecommunications Engineering,
New Media Engineering, Wireless and Mobile Communications, Lightwave (Photonics) Engineering, Microelectronic
Circuits, Microelectronic Devices, and Multimedia Networking.
NEW! A concentration option in Systems Biology is now available.
Admission Requirements:
Degree required for admission: Students admitted to the program must possess an undergraduate degree in
engineering, science, mathematics, computer science or other related field (subject to the approval of the
Electrical Engineering Program) from an accredited academic institution. Applicants should have a strong
undergraduate record to be competitive for admission.
GPA required: Minimum of 3.0
GRE requirements: General test required
Other application requirements: Two recommendation letters, transcripts, resume, and a personal-professional
statement are required. TOEFL test scores are required of all students who received their bachelor's degree
in a country where English is not the official and spoken language. All application requirements in the
Graduate Application must be completed as specified in the application.
Degree Requirements:
Students must complete all core courses (described below) and selected electives (described below) for a
total of 30 graduate points of academic work with a GPA of 2.5 or better. All degree requirements must be
completed within 5 years of the first course credited toward the degree. This includes courses in the non-degree
program.
Course Requirements:
· A minimum of 15 points of credit must be at the 6000 level or higher.
· At least 15 points must be taken in courses designated ELEN, COMS or CSEE, of which at least 10 points must be
of the ELEN designation.
· Courses to be credited toward the M.S. degree can be taken only upon prior approval of the program advisor.
· No credit is given toward the degree for the following courses: APMA E4206, IEOR E4003, IEOR E4207, IEOR E4208,
SIEO W4105, or SIEOW4150.
Elective courses:
Up to 3 points of credit for approved graduate courses outside of engineering and science may be allowed.
Transfer of credit:
Up to 6 credit hours (points) of acceptable graduate-level academic work from an accredited academic institution
earned prior to enrolling at Columbia may be transferred to Columbia, subject to departmental approval. Students
must request the transfer of credit while applying to the MS program. Credit will only be considered
for transfer if the grades earned were at least 3.0 on the 4.0 scale. An official college transcript and copy of
the class syllabus and/or course description from the school's bulletin must accompany the "Transfer of Credit
Request" form. Please note that courses already used towards completion of another degree program can not be re-used
for transfer credit.
CONCENTRATION OPTIONS FOR ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING MASTER'S CANDIDATES
Students in the M.S. in E.E. program can choose to focus on a particular field by fulfilling requirements for
one of the concentration templates that follow or by designing their own M.S. program in consultation
with an advisor. All students must meet the requirements listed in the "Degree Requirements" section and are
expected to include breadth in their program, whether or not they choose a formal concentration.
CVN students who wish to complete a concentration are advised to work closely with an advisor in order
to choose a selection of courses that meets their needs.
Concentration in Telecommunications Engineering:
· Satisfy the basic M.S. degree requirements
· One basic hardware or software course such as ELEN E4321 VLSI Circuits, ELEN E4411 Fundamentals
of Phontonics, COMS W4118 Operating Systems, or COMS W4111 Database Systems
· One basic systems course such as ELEN E4702 Communications Theory, ELEN E4703 Wireless Communications, or
CSEE W4119 Computer Networks.
· At least two approved courses from a focus area such as signal/image processing and
telecommunications/multimedia networks
Concentration in New Media Engineering:
· Satisfy the basic M.S. degree requirements
· Both ELEN E4810 Digital Signal Processing and ELEN E4830 Digital Image Processing
· CSEE W4119 Computer Networks
· At least two approved advanced courses such as ELEN E4896 Music Signal Processing, ELEN E6820 Speech and Audio Processing and Recognition,
ELEN E6850 Visual Information Systems, ELEN E6860 Advanced Digital Signal Processing, ELEN E688x Topics in Signal Processing, ELEN E6717 Information Theory,
COMS W4160 Computer Graphics, COMS E6181 Advanced Internet Services, ELEN E6950 Wireless and Mobile Networking, or ELENE E6001/ELEN6002 Advanced Projects in Electrical Engineering with
an appropriate project. A cross-disciplinary project in areas related to new media technology is especially encouraged.
Concentration in Wireless and Mobile Communications:
· Satisfy the basic M.S. degree requirements
· One circuits course such as ELEN E4312 Analog Electronic Circuits, ELEN E4314 Communication Circuits, ELEN E6312 Advanced Analog ICs, ELEN E6314 Advanced Communication Circuits
· Two communications courses such as CSEE E4119 Computer Networks, ELEN E4702 Communication Theory, ELEN E4703 Wireless Communications,
ELEN E4810 Digital Signal Processing, ELEN E6711 Stochastic Signals & Noise, ELEN E6717 Information Theory, ELEN E6950 Wireless & Mobile
Networking I, ELEN E6951 Wireless & Mobile Networking II
· At least two approved courses in wireless or a related area
Concentration in Lightwave (Photonics) Engineering:
· Satisfy the basic M.S. degree requirements
· Both ELEN E4411 Fundamentals of Photonics and ELEN E6403 Classical Electromagnetic Theory (or an equivalent such as APPH E4300 Applied Electrodynamics)
· One device/circuits/photonics course such as ELEN E4401 Wave Transmission and Fiber Optics, ELEN E6412 Lightwave Devices,
ELEN E6413 Lightwave Systems, ELEN E6414 Photonic Integrated Circuits, ELEN E4314 Communication Circuits, or ELEN E4501 Electromagnetic Devices and Energy Conversion
· At least two approved courses in photonics or a related area
Concentration in Microelectronic Circuits:
· Satisfy the basic M.S. degree requirements
· One digital course: ELEN E4321 VLSI Circuits or ELEN E6321 Advanced Digital Electronic Circuits
· One analog course such as ELEN E4303 Analog Integrated Circuits, ELEN E4304 Analog Circuits & Systems,
or ELEN E4314 Communication Circuits
· At least two approved courses in circuits or a related area
Concentration in Microelectronic Devices:
· Satisfy the basic M.S. degree requirements
· One basic course such as ELEN E4301 Semiconductor Devices or ELEN E4411 Fundamental of Photonics
· One advanced course such as ELEN E4193 Modern Display Science and Technology, ELEN E4944 Principles of Device Microfabrication
ELEN E6331 Semiconductor Physics I, ELEN E6332 Semiconductor Physics II, ELEN E6333 Semiconductor Device Physics, ELEN E6945 Nanoscale Fabrication and Devices
· At least two approved courses in devices or a related area
Concentration in Multimedia Networking:
· Satisfy the basic M.S. degree requirements
· ELEN E6711 Stochastic Signals and Noise
· Either COMS W4118 Operating Systems or COMS W4111 Database Systems
· COMS E6181 Advanced Internet Services
· Upon the advisor's approval, any of the courses above can be replaced by the following closely related subjects:
CSEE W4119 Computer Networks
COMS W4180 Network Security
ELEN E6850 Visual Information Systems
ELEN E6950 Wireless & Mobile Networking I
ELEN E6951 Wireless & Mobile Networking II
Concentration in Systems Biology:
· Satisfy the basic M.S. degree requirements
· Both ECBM E4060 Introduction to Genomic Information Science & Technology and BMEB W4011 Computational Neuroscience, I: Circuits in the Brain
· At least one course from:
CBMF W4761 Computational Genomics,
ELEN E6010 Systems Biology,
EEBM E6020 Methods in Computational Neuroscience,
BMEE E6030 Neural Modeling & Neuroengineering,
APMA E4400 Introduction to Biophysical Modeling,
CHEN E4700 Principles of Genomic Technologies
· At least one course from:
ELEN E608x Topics in Systems Biology,
ELEN E6717 Information Theory,
ELEN E6201 Linear Systems Theory,
EEME E6601 Introduction to Control Theory,
ELEN E6711 Stochastic Models in Information Systems,
ELEN E6860 Advanced Digital Signal Processing,
EEBM E6090 Topics in Computational Neuroscience and Neuroengineering