• The MS-CMPE program provides students with an educational experience that combines electrical engineering and computer science with the best of academia, the high-tech industry, and Silicon Valley.
  • The program provides in-class theory with hands-on hardware design and software development exercises to give students the skills necessary to create contemporary microelectronic products that are typically embedded computing systems containing both hardware and software.
  • Graduates with an MS in Computer Engineering can expect to find significant opportunities in digital and computer hardware design and verification, system-level software development, and prototyping and testing as well as technical support and marketing.

    • Educational Objectives of the Program

    To provide MS CMPE graduates with

    1. advanced knowledge of the practice of computer engineering, from vision to analysis, design, validation, and deployment.
    2. the ability to tackle complex engineering problems and tasks, using contemporary engineering principles, methodologies, and tools.
    3. leadership skills and the ability to participate in teamwork in an environment with people of different disciplines of engineering, science, and business.
    4. understanding of the ethical, economic, and environmental implications of their work, as appropriate.
    5. the ability to advance successfully in the engineering profession and sustain a process of life-long learning in engineering or other professional areas.
    6. the ability to communicate effectively in both oral and written forms.

    To obtain an MS degree in Computer Engineering, a student must meet the following requirements:

    1. achieve a classified student status, i.e., a conditionally admitted student must meet the admission conditions specified in the student’s admission letter;
    2. complete all course requirements leading up to the culminating experience courses.
    3. complete 33 semester units of 200-level courses with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better. At least 27 units must be 200-level Computer Engineering courses.
      Undergraduate coursework does not count towards the master’s degree. Students may enhance their degree by adding internships (CMPE 298I) to their plan of study.

    Culminating Experience (Plan A or Plan B)

    All students must complete one of the following culminating experiences: thesis or project. Thesis and projects are completed under the supervision of an advisor.

    Plan A (Thesis)

    A master’s thesis includes original research on a topic approved by the thesis committee and must meet university requirements . It undergoes a thorough review and revision process under the guidance of the candidate’s thesis committee chair with the assistance of the thesis committee.

    Plan B (Project)

    A master’s project is a research or development effort performed by a student individually on a topic chosen by mutual agreement between an advisor and the student. The choice of project topic is also approved by the Graduate Advisor. The individual student projects could be distinct components of a larger integrated project performed by a team of students. At the end of CMPE 295B, a project report is submitted for department review, and students present their project work in a department project exposition.