Computer Engineering, M.S.

Within five years of admission, the student must earn a minimum of 30 credit hours for the thesis option (6 of which are MS thesis research credits CMPE 799) or 33 credit hours (3 of which is the graduate project research CMPE 698) for the non-thesis (w/project) option. All M.S. students must choose either the thesis or non-thesis (w/project) option: there is no course-only option.

At least six of these courses (18 credits) (for both Masters options) must be graduate ENEE or CMPE courses, i.e., ENEE/CMPE courses at the 600 or 700 level. The remaining four courses (12 credits for MS w/project) and two courses (six credits for MS thesis) can be MATH, STAT, CMSC, or from any other related discipline. A maximum of two 400 level courses (six credits) are allowed in MATH/STAT only, and a maximum of three credits of Independent Study (ENEE/CMPE 699) are allowed.

Requests for approval of non-CMPE/ENEE course credits must be submitted before registering for the course. There is a form available for this request and must be signed by the student’s research advisor.

Course Requirements

Students must take at least five courses from the courses listed under Groups A and B, and at least two of these courses must be from Group A.

Group A Courses (offered every year):
CMSC 611 - Advanced Computer Architecture [3]
CMPE 640 - Custom VLSI Design [3]
CMPE 650 - Digital Systems Design [3]
Group B Courses (selected subset is offered every year)
CMPE 641 - Topics in VLSI [3]
CMPE 645 - Computer Arithmetic Algorithms and Implementations [3]
CMPE 647 - Analog Integrated Circuit Design [3]
CMPE 670 - Biomedical Microsystems [3]
CMPE 684 - Wireless Sensor Networks [3]
CMPE 685 - Principles of Communications Networks [3]
ENEE 610 - Digital Signal Processing [3]
ENEE 612 - Digital Image Processing [3]
ENEE 620 - Probability and Random Processes [3]
ENEE 621 - Detection and Estimation Theory [3]
ENEE 622 - Information Theory [3]
ENEE 630 - Solid-State Electronics [3]
ENEE 631 - Semiconductor Devices [3]
ENEE 680 - Electromagnetic Theory [3]
ENEE 683 - Lasers [3]
ENEE 684 - Introduction to Photonics [3]
Students must consult with their assigned advisors prior to registration and finalize their course selection with their advisors. Some instances of CMPE and ENEE 691 may be designated as group B electives; please check with your advisor prior to taking such a course.

Transfer Credits

No more than six (6) credits may be transferred from another university or from UMBC as a non-degree student. Credit transfer must be approved by the Graduate Program Director.

Grade Requirements

Students must receive a grade of B or better in two of the Group A courses and achieve an average grade of ‘B’ or better (equivalently, a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or better) across all courses. Grades with “+” and “-” are possible for graduate courses.

M.S. Thesis Option (30 credits)

A student may undertake the M.S. thesis option that requires a minimum of eight (8) graduate-level courses and six (6) credit hours of thesis research (CMPE 799 ). The thesis is supervised by a faculty member as the research advisor (or co-advisor), and must show a tangible research component. Upon completion of the thesis research, the thesis must be defended with an oral public exam/presentation and accepted with the approval of the student’s thesis committee. The committee must consist of at least three (3) graduate faculty members within the department. Copies of the approved thesis must be submitted both to the CSEE Department and the Graduate School.

M.S. Non-Thesis Option (33 credits)

A student may undertake the M.S. non-thesis option, which would be supervised by a faculty member as the research advisor (or co-advisor). The non-thesis (project) option in the students field requires a minimum of ten (10) graduate-level courses (30 credits), and three (3) credit hours of graduate project research (CMPE 698 ) resulting in a scholarly paper, which must be approved by the advisor and an additional approved reader. A copy of the approved scholarly paper must be submitted to the department.