Undergraduates.

Electrical & Computer Engineering Major.

The undergraduate Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) program leads to the Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) Degree with a Major in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE). The ECE program is fully accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, 111 Market Place, Suite 1050, Baltimore, MD 21202-4012 - telephone: (410) 347-7700.

This program provides more opportunities and is less restrictive than many other ECE programs in the United States. Students use this flexibility to expand their personal horizons or to explore a personal interest more deeply. As is fitting in a University with a strong liberal-arts tradition, many students take more than the minimum required courses in the sciences and the liberal arts, and, often, complete a minor in Arts and Sciences or a second major in Arts and Sciences or Engineering in an area of professional importance. Sample programs for several popular minors and majors are illustrated in the pages that follow. In each case only a single BSE degree is awarded, with the transcript indicating the program scope and the accomplished minors and majors.

Students who plan their programs well can in their Junior and Senior years undertake independent study with faculty active at the frontiers of engineering research and/or participate in international programs.

Minimum course requirements for the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) program are:

• WRITING 20, during the first academic year
• 5 elective Social Sciences or Humanities courses, appropriately distributed
• A 6-course mathematics and probability/statistics sequence (MATH 31, 32, 103, 107 & 108; and STA 113 or MATH 135 or ECE 255)
• 4 natural science courses (CHEM 21L, PHYSICS 61L and 62L (see NOTE below), & BIOLOGY 25L or BIOLOGY 147)
• 2 foundation courses in engineering computation: EGR 53L (see NOTE below) and COMPSCI 100E or 100
• 5 foundation courses in electrical engineering: ECE 27L, 51L, 52L, 53L, and 54L
• 4 approved ECE Concentration Electives, in two different areas with at least two courses in one of the elected areas
• 2 Elective ECE Courses at the 100-level or above
• An approved ECE Design Elective
• 4 Free Electives

Thirty-four distinct courses are required. An elected course that belongs to more than one requirements category may be counted only once.

This list of requirements reflects a set of course options for the ECE Program approved by the ECE Faculty on September 15, 2006 which are more flexible and less restrictive than the former requirements. Currently enrolled students may follow this new program or the former program, which is encompassed by the new requirements. Students who successfully pursue the former ECE program will meet the new requirements.

The outlined requirements are described in greater detail in the sections that follow and in the illustrated sample course schedules. Additional free electives may be taken if students opt to elect more than the minimum 34 course credits required by Duke for graduation of if they matriculate with AP credit for required courses.

The four elective ECE Concentration Electives ensure that graduates have breadth across important areas of modern electrical engineering and that they have sufficient depth to begin professional work with confidence in at least one area. Areas of concentration for undergraduate study are described elsewhere in this Guide. The two ECE Electives can be selected either to provide additional breadth or additional depth. All 100-level or above ECE courses are acceptable ECE Electives, except ECE 148L which can however be chosen as one of the 4 free electives.

Prior to graduation, each Electrical and Computer Engineering major must complete while resident in Durham at Duke an approved ECE Design Elective. This elective provides a significant design experience which integrates science, engineering and design principles from prior background and advanced courses. It is usually taken during the Senior year but, with permission of the Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS), it can be taken in the Junior year.

The Bulletin of Duke University for Undergraduate Instruction describes the full set of courses open to undergraduates. Much of this same information is available on-line. Because all courses are not offered each semester, students are encouraged to discuss options with their Academic Advisor and to plan a program that incorporates some flexibility, taking account of course prerequisites. Since the basic courses ECE 27L, 51L, 52L, 53L, and 54L are prerequisites for many of the advanced courses, students are encouraged to take these required courses early.

Students contemplating minors or dual majors should discuss options with their Academic Advisor and with the Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) in the second department. By careful early selection of courses, students can minimize duplication of course material and ensure full coverage of important core material.

NOTE: PHYSICS 51L and 52L are acceptable substitutes for PHYSICS 61L and 62L, respectively.