First-year Engineering Curriculum
School of Engineering first and second year students follow a common core curriculum. Students declare their engineering major at the end of the first year.
Electrical & Computer Engineering Undergraduate Program
What is Electrical & Computer Engineering
Electrical engineers are in the forefront of technology that continually transforms our rapidly changing world. From developing advanced navigation systems and self-piloted vehicles to designing “smart” homes and cyber security systems, electrical and computer engineers have a profound impact on how we live and how society will continue to progress for generations to come.
Program Overview
Rutgers offers a dynamic electrical and computer engineering program with world-class labs in innovative fields including cloud computing, wireless/mobile communications, virtual reality, signal processing, and nanotechnology.
We offer two curriculum options for undergraduate students: electrical engineering and computer engineering, allowing students to focus on a specific area by the appropriate selection of elective courses.
- The electrical engineering option is designed to provide expertise in a wide range of areas, including wireless communication systems and networks, signal and information processing, information privacy and security, cyberphysical systems, electronic materials, devices and circuits, biosensors, bio-electrical engineering, computer vision, and robotics.
- The computer engineering option, while building upon a broad background in electrical engineering, prepares students for careers in the area of computer hardware and software engineering, software verification, embedded systems, FPGA, human computer interaction, cloud computing and virtual reality.
Students may also pursue a 5-year dual degree with a second major, a 5-year combined Bachelor of Science/Master of Science (B.S./M.S.) degree, or a 5-year Bachelor of Science/Master of Business Administration (B.S./M.B.A.) degree.
Coursework
The electrical and computer engineering curriculum has developed into emerging technology fields such as energy (power electronics, solar cells, smart grid), environment (sensors and sensor networks for environmental protection), and bioelectronics and biophotonics. A background in ECE fundamentals is provided by coursework in linear systems, electronic devices and circuits, digital signal processing, and communications engineering, logic design, computer architecture, computer graphics and vision, robotics, and virtual reality technology, etc. In addition, students have considerable freedom to choose elective courses in the other sciences, engineering and humanity areas.
Beyond Academics
Hands-on Experience
Students gain invaluable, relevant work experience and make lasting professional network connections through industry internships and co-op programs.
Students who participate in the Co-op Program earn academic credit and a salary but, more importantly, gain valuable technical and business experience and make valuable networking connections at companies that have included Blackrock, among others. Many students also do summer internships at leading technology companies including Siemens, L3Harris, Johnson & Johnson, and Verizon Wireless. Many of these students are offered full-time positions after graduation.
Seniors work in teams on Capstone Design projects in a wide range of areas including sensor, control, and DSP systems; communications, including wireless communication systems, communication system design and computer networks; software engineering; robotics; virtual reality and circuit and microelectronic systems.
Undergraduate Research
Guided by an award-winning faculty, students can engage in groundbreaking research in areas ranging from cloud computing to nanotechnology to biorobotics, as well as wireless information networks, computer vision, digital signal processing, and digital logic design, microelectronics, and computer architecture.
Putting Your Degree to Work
Our graduates are known for their innovative spirit and their ability to integrate effectively in the commercial environment. They are in high demand by industry and are employed at excellent salaries by prominent companies. ECE students take jobs in industry and commerce, both at large Fortune 500 companies or at small startups.
Professional opportunities include:
• Computer Engineering
• Wireless Communications
• Electronics
• Semiconductors
• Signal Processing
• Telecommunications
• Power Industry
• Cybersecurity
• Biomedicine
• Financial Engineer
Learn More
Electrical and Computer Engineering Curriculum
Electrical and Computer Engineering students follow a curriculum as juniors and seniors based on their interest area of focus. This includes an electrical concentration or a computer concentration.
Student News
A paper was just published based on the 2024 Capstone project titled "Radar-Based Vital Sign Monitoring with Automated Beam Steering". Capstone team S24-48 consisting of Daniel Gore, Daniel Petronchak, Felipe Valencia, Gavin Young, Nithish Warren, led by their advisor Prof. Athina Petropulu, developed a remote sensing using radar for vital sign monitoring of newborn infants.
Click on the headline above for more information including a link to the published paper.
We had a very successful ECE Capstone EXPO yesterday with 53 teams presenting their capstone projects. A panel of 45 judges from industry and academia joined us to select the top projects. In addition, three award in the categories of best in research, best in impact and best in commercialization were given and the three teams with the highest combined score in these categories were awarded the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place Galbiati Entrepreneurial Awards.
For more information including a list of the winning projects, please click on the headline above.
Michael Schleppy, a PhD student in Distinguished Professor Emina Soljanin's group, was offered an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. The award is highly prestigious, and this year, it was even more competitive because of the steep cuts in the NSF GRFP budget.