Ph.D. Electrical Engineering

Degree Prep

View the Ph.D. Electrical Engineering prerequisites, deadlines and contact information on the U of I Admissions website.

• Most applicants hold a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or closely related field from an accredited institution and demonstrate proficiency in chemistry, physics and mathematics.
• If your undergraduate degree is not in Electrical Engineering, you may be required to complete background courses to remove deficiencies before beginning the graduate program.

Degree Roadmap

• Students, with the assistance of their major professor, prepare their own program as soon as possible during their first semester, and submit it to faculty for approval.
• Areas of emphasis include: Electronics, power, electromagnetics and digital systems.
• Graduates demonstrate:
  • An in-depth knowledge of the degree subject matter, integrating and building upon the foundation provided by a relevant undergraduate degree;
  • The ability to use the results of applied research and other existing information to necessary to either carry an engineering project from the conceptual through the design and production phases or perform advanced laboratory or computer simulation studies and appropriately and accurately analyze and interpret results;
  • The ability to communicate professional work in an appropriate format; and
  • An understanding of their responsibility to enhance the quality of life of the global community through the practice of engineering in accordance with the IEEE Code of Ethics.

Electrical Engineering Ph.D. Program of Study Document (PDF)

View Graduate Student Handbook (PDF)

View current Electrical & Computer Engineering courses
Catalogs are released each year with up-to-date course listings. Students reference the catalog released during their first year of enrollment. For catalog related questions, email registrar@uidaho.edu or call 208-885-6731.

View Future Course Plan (PDF)
This course plan lists the graduate courses and technical electives we intend to teach. It is subject to change without notice.

Degree Requirements

• Electrical & Computer Engineering graduate requirements
• College of Graduate Studies requirements
• Residency: In addition to the residency requirement of the College of Graduate Studies, the department requires a minimum of two semesters (excluding summer term) in residence on the Moscow campus beyond the master's degree level.
• Programs must satisfy both the university requirements governing the degree.
• Preliminary examination consists of both a written and an oral examination.
• There is no foreign language requirement.
• Two semesters of ECE 591 Electrical Engineering Research Colloquium, will be required for on-campus doctoral students.
• Students are required to write a dissertation and give a final dissertation defense at the end of their degree program.

Professional Licensing

Completion of the program will count towards eligibility for the Professional Engineer's License (PE) to practice Engineering, which requires a four-year degree from an ABET-accredited school, four years of experience under a PE, and passing the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) and Principles of Practice in Engineering (PE) Exams.

Questions?

For questions relating to Electrical and Computer Engineering degrees, please email ece-info@uidaho.edu or call 208-885-6554.

Funding Opportunities

The University of Idaho is awarded more than $100 million in annual grants, contracts and research appropriations.

• Idaho National Laboratory Graduate Fellowship Program – Recipients of this competitive fellowship receive full tuition and fees by U of I during their first three years of graduate school. INL covers tuition, fees, and a $60,000 annual salary during the final two years of their doctoral research, to be conducted at INL.
• National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Graduate Fellowship Program – These year-long salaried assignments offer hands-on experience in nuclear security and nonproliferation. Administered by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and open to all engineering disciplines.
• NASA Idaho Space Grant Consortium (ISGC) – $25,000 fellowship programs that contribute to NASA’s mission of exploration and discovery. Open to full-time graduate and doctoral students.
• National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP ) – For outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees.
• National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship – Three-year fellowship with full coverage of tuition and all mandatory fees, including a monthly stipend and up to $1,000 a year in medical insurance.
• DAAD Research Internships in Science and Engineering (RISE Professional) Programs – RISE Professional offers summer research internships in Germany to Master’s and Ph.D. students at companies and non-university research institutions with strong relations to industry.
• Faculty provide funding through a variety of external agencies and industry partners. Contact our faculty to learn more about these funding opportunities.

For more funding options, visit the College of Graduate Studies’ funding website .

Clubs & Organizations

Our college offers 20+ clubs and organizations tied to international and national engineering organizations, including national competition teams.

Learn about clubs related to your major:

• Association for Computer Machinery (ACM)
• Graduate & Professional Student Association (GPSA)
• Humanitarian Engineering Corps (HEC)
• Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
• International Microelectronics And Packaging Society (IMAPS)
• National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE)
• Power and Energy Society (PES)
• Robotics Club
• Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)
• Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE)
• Society of Women Engineers (SWE)
• Vandal Atmospheric Science Team (VAST)