Graduate Degree Programs
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PETER IDOWU, Program Coordinator
Penn State Harrisburg
777 W. Harrisburg Pike
W211 Olmsted Building
Middletown, PA 17057
717-948-6110
meee@psu.edu
M. Eng.
A prospective graduate student in Electrical Engineering at Penn State Harrisburg must fulfill the admission requirements as set forth by the Graduate School, and have a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering or its equivalent from an institution that is accredited by the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET). An undergraduate cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or better on a 4.0 scale is required for admission. Exceptions to this will be based on professional experience and other factors such as GRE scores. In addition, a student who does not meet the overall 3.0 grade-point average may be considered for admission if the student has a 3.0 junior/senior grade-point average. Up to 15 credits earned in three semesters or fewer, as a special nondegree student, may be applied toward the master's degree. Those applying for admission as a master of engineering candidate without an electrical engineering degree may be admitted with the stipulation that deficiencies in background, if any, will be remedied early in the program and that these courses will be in addition to the required number of credits for the degree.
Applicants should submit the following:
English Proficiency—The language of instruction at Penn State is English. All international applicants whose first language is not English or who have not received baccalaureate or master's degrees from an institution in which the language of instruction is English must take the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) and submit the results of that test with the application for admission. Departments and programs may have more stringent requirements and may require all international applicants to submit a TOEFL or IELTS score regardless of their academic background. A TOEFL score of at least 550 (paper-based test), 213 (computer-based test) or a total score of 80 on the Internet-based test (iBT), with a minimum of 19 points on the speaking section, is required for admission. Graduate programs may require a higher score. The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) module provides an exam to test four mandatory skill areas: listening, reading, writing and speaking. All four modules are equally weighted in the evaluation process. The International English Language Testing System has been approved by the Graduate Council as an alternative exam to the TOEFL for international students applying to Penn State. A minimum composite score of 6.5 on the IELTS test is required for admission.
Completed International Application material must be submitted by the following deadlines: May 31 for the fall semester; September 30 for the spring semester; February 28 for the summer session. Applications received after these deadlines will be processed for the following semester.
PLEASE NOTE: Each graduate program reserves the right to set earlier deadlines than those noted above.
A candidate for the master of engineering degree in Electrical Engineering must write a scholarly report or engineering paper and defend it before three faculty members. The paper is intended to be a relatively short document compared with a thesis. A published paper may be used to meet this requirement. The paper should be written according to the standards set for an IEEE publication.
The engineering paper may be initiated by taking the 1-credit ENGR 594 course. This should be done approximately halfway through the program. Once the proposal is approved and the work well under way, the student should register for ENGR 594 with his/her paper adviser. Work will proceed as planned under the direction of the paper adviser, though changes may be made with the consent of the master's paper committee.
A total of 33 credits is required for a Master of Engineering degree, of which at least 24 must be taken through Penn State Harrisburg engineering graduate programs. Up to 9 credits of graduate work may be transferred from other institutions provided (a) credits are suitable for the particular engineering discipline, and (b) students have earned a grade of B or better. At least 18 credits must be at the 500 level, which includes 3 credits of ENGR 594.
Generally, students enrolled in the program for the Master of Engineering degree in Electrical Engineering must earn 12 credits in the required core courses (i.e., courses with the E E prefix).
Graduate courses carry numbers from 500 to 599 and 800 to 899. Advanced undergraduate courses numbered between 400 and 499 may be used to meet some graduate degree requirements when taken by graduate students. Courses below the 400 level may not. A graduate student may register for or audit these courses in order to make up deficiencies or to fill in gaps in previous education but not to meet requirements for an advanced degree.
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING (E E) course list
Last updated by Publications: 3/27/09