Upon graduating, students will have demonstrated that they can apply the core technologies from their chosen concentrations or focus areas within electrical engineering and/or computer engineering. They will have developed an analytical mindset and acquired a skill set with engineering tools to design and implement solutions to overcome engineering challenges in society.  They will also have had an opportunity to take in-depth course work in the area of computer engineering, digital signal processing, computational electromagnetics and antenna theory, telecommunications, power engineering and computer networking.  
Applicants for master’s level graduate studies in electrical and computer engineering should have a GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for the last 60 semester hours of relevant undergraduate coursework in electrical engineering and/or computer engineering. However, if that GPA is below 3.0 but more than 2.75, and if other indicators promise success in the program, rules may still allow probationary admission. The department will notify the applicant by letter after careful examination of the application packet. The following documents are required for admission consideration:

1. Application for admission.
2. Official transcripts of all college coursework.
3. Graduate engineering supplemental application.
4. Official results of the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) general test. The applicant must score in at least the 75th percentile on the quantitative portion of the GRE. Admission to our degree programs is competitive and a higher score is recommended.
5. (For international students only) A minimum test score of TOEFL 550 or CBT 213 or IBT 79 is needed.  A higher score makes the application competitive for DICE consideration. An international student must also place in the top 25 percent of his or her graduating class.
6. Two letters of recommendation for students with a GPA less than 3.0 for the last 60 hours of undergraduate work.

Note: High GRE verbal and quantitative scores and strong letters of recommendation may compensate for lower TOEFL scores and GPAs.

For full consideration for the semester indicated, completed applications should be received by the follwing dates:

• For fall semester admission (semester starts in August):
  • U.S. students/permanent residents: June 1.
  • International students: Jan. 15.
• For spring semester admission (semester starts in January):
  • U.S. students/permanent residents: Nov. 1 of the preceding year.
  • International students: Oct. 1 of the preceding year.

U.S. citizens or permanent residents should submit application forms and required supporting materials to:

Mailing Address

University of Missouri-Kansas City
Office of Admissions
120 Administrative Center
5100 Rockhill Road
Kansas City, MO 64110-2499

Their telephone number is (816) 235-1111 and their e-mail address is admit@umkc.edu.

International students should use the international application form and return the application, along with required supporting materials to:

Mailing Address

University of Missouri-Kansas City
Office of International Student Affairs
5100 Rockhill Road
Kansas City, MO 64110-2499

Their telephone number is (816) 235-1113 and their e-mail address is isao@umkc.edu.

Prospective students can request additional information or request information regarding their application by contacting UMKC at the above addresses or by sending e-mail to: csee@umkc.edu.

Acceptance or Denial

After thoroughly considering an applicant's record, one of the following actions will be taken:

Normal Acceptance

The student is accepted unconditionally.

Normal Acceptance with Pre-program Requirements

This category applies to an otherwise qualified applicant who has a bachelor of science degree from an approved program, but not in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or a similarly named engineering discipline. The student will be notified in writing of any make-up requirements specified by the master’s committee.

Probationary Acceptance

Applicants with marginal credentials may be admitted conditionally. They will have to receive a B or better in each course in the first semester of graduate coursework. In addition, make-up requirements may be set forth by the master’s committee.

Non-Acceptance

The student is not admitted. The student will be notified in writing of the admission denial. The letter may specify under what conditions a future application would be more favorably considered.

When accepted into the program, the student’s first contact is with the electrical engineering principal graduate adviser. At this initial meeting, a review will be made of the student’s status in the program and the student will be required to provide a tentative program of study within the first semester. Such a program should reflect the prerequisite courses that have been prescribed and that may have to be taken prior to taking courses for graduate credit.

The most immediate concern is for the courses to be taken in the first semester. The principal graduate adviser will help the student select those initial courses. Within the first semester, the student will be assigned an academic adviser who will be the primary contact for the student until the student graduates under the non-thesis option. If the student decides to follow the thesis option, a thesis adviser will replace the academic adviser. In either case, it is the responsibility of the student to devise, after consultation with their advisers, a program of study using the degree requirements and the course planning worksheet. This should be submitted to the graduate officer, usually by the end of the second semester.

The master’s committee is in charge of handling procedural issues related to the M.S. program in electrical engineering. Any request for exception to the rules should be handled as described below related to petitioning procedures.

 

Concentration Areas

All students are required to complete courses in a concentration or focus areas. The approved EE-concentration areas and associated courses are listed below. All curricular designations are E&C-ENGR, unless indicated. Please note that course number changes are anticipated.

• Computers, VLSI, and Embedded Systems Concentration Area
  • Courses: E&C-ENGR 5535 (Verilog HDL), E&C-ENGR 5635 (VLSI Systems), E&C-ENGR 5528 (Embedded Systems), E&C-ENGR 5537 (Mixed Signal Integrated Circuit Design), E&C-ENGR 5533 (Analog IC Design), E&C-ENGR 5590CD (Low Power on Chip Design), E&C-ENGR 5590SD (Computer System Design and Architecture), E&C-ENGR 5590AV (Advanced Topics in VLSI Design) and others.
• Electromagnetics and Mixed Signal Systems Concentration Area
  • Courses: E&C-ENGR 5572 (Antennas and Propagation), E&C-ENGR 5513 (R.F./Microwave Techniques for Wireless Systems, cross listed as E&C-ENGR 412), TBD (Microwave Engineering for Wireless Systems, cross listed as E&C-ENGR 414), E&C-ENGR 5606 (Advanced EM Theory), E&C-ENGR 5537 (Mixed Signal Integrated Circuit Design), E&C-ENGR 5533 (Analog IC Design), E&C-ENGR 5590BP (Biomedical Signal Processing). E&C-ENGR 5518 (Introduction to Radar Systems Engineering) and others.
• Communications and Networking Concentration Area
  • Courses: E&C-ENGR 5590TC (Advanced Telecomm. Networks, cross listed as COMP-SCI 5511, 5590T), E&C-ENGR 5577 (Wireless Communications),  E&C-ENGR 5590NA (Network Architecture I, cross listed with COMP-SCI 5520), E&C-ENGR 5590NT (Network Architecture II, cross listed with COMP-SCI 5521), E&C-ENGR 5590ND (Computer Network Design and Analysis, cross listed with COMP-SCI 5522 ), E&C-ENGR 5590NR (Network Routing, cross listed with COMP-SCI 5526), E&C-ENGR 5590DC (Digital Cellular Communications, cross listed with COMP-SCI 5513), E&C-ENGR 5590ON (Optical Networking, cross listed with COMP-SCI 5514A)  and others.
• Signal and Image Processing, and Biomedical Applications Concentration Area
  • Courses: E&C-ENGR 5590BP (Biomedical Signal Processing), E&C-ENGR 5590NN (Neural and Adaptive Systems, cross listed with E&C-ENGR 416), E&C-ENGR 5590BB (Machine Learning with Biomedical Applications), E&C-ENGR 5590IP (Digital Image Processing, cross listed with E&C-ENGR 484),  E&C-ENGR 5590B (Biomedical Imaging), E&C-ENGR 5586 (Pattern Recognition, cross listed with E&C-ENGR 486),  E&C-ENGR 5590CI (Computational Intelligence), and others

Focus Areas in Electric Power

The department also recognizes a focus area in Electric Power. The associated courses are  E&C-ENGR 436 (Power Electronics I), E&C-ENGR 5536 (Power Electronics II), E&C-ENGR 5556 (Instrumentation and Controls), E&C-ENGR 5558 (Automatic Control Systems Design, cross listed with E&C-ENGR 458 new), E&C-ENGR 5560 (Electric Power Distribution Systems, cross listed with E&C-ENGR 468), E&C-ENGR 5561 (Electromechanical Conversion, cross listed with E&C-ENGR 461), E&C-ENGR 5563 (Sustainable Energy Systems), E&C-ENGR 5564 (Transmission Planning  and Impact Studies), E&C-ENGR 5565 (Auxiliary Electric System Design), E&C-ENGR 5567 (Power Systems II, cross listed with E&C-ENGR 467), E&C-ENGR 5568 (Economics of Power Systems), E&C-ENGR 5569 (Reliability of Electric Power Systems, cross listed as E&C-ENGR 470), E&C-ENGR 5664 (Lightning and Switching Surges),  E&C-ENGR 5670 (Direct Current Power Systems), E&C-ENGR 5672 (Power Systems Relaying).

Degree Requirements

The curriculum requirements shown below (approved by the faculty in May 2009) are taking effect for students entering the degree program in Fall 2010. The changes are mainly in concentration courses, credit hours, and the counting of courses at the undergraduate level. All students already in the program can satisfy either the  program requirements in effect when they entered the program, (available in the catalog archives or from your advisor), or can satisfy the  program requirements below. Please ask your advisor for full details.

To earn a master of science in electrical engineering, the student must satisfy the general degree requirements and complete coursework that fulfills the requirements according to the thesis or non-thesis option. The specific requirements for MS in EE with the power engineering focus area are listed separately.

Specific Requirements for the MS-EE Thesis Option (30 credit hours):

1. Complete a minimum of 24 hours of approved E&C-ENGR coursework for graduate credit with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0.
2. Additionally, complete a minimum of six additional graduate E&C-ENGR hours, including at least three hours E&C-ENGR 5599 (Research and Thesis.) The total number of hours of E&C-ENGR 5597 (Directed Readings) or E&C-ENGR 5599 (Research and Thesis) should not exceed six.
3. Contact a thesis adviser in the semester in which the student completes 12 hours of graduate work.
4. Present evidence of research abilities in the form of a master's thesis resulting from enrollment in at least three hours of  E&C-ENGR 5599 Research and Thesis.
5. Pass a general oral examination which may cover all the work covered in the student's graduate program.
6. Satisfy the requirements listed under the common requirement.

 

Specific Requirements for the MS-EE Non-Thesis Option (33 credit hours):

1. Complete a minimum of 30 hours of approved coursework for graduate credit with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0.
2. Additionally, complete another 3 hours of approved course work, or 3 hours of approved E&C-ENGR 5597 (Directed Readings).
3. Contact an adviser after completing 12 hours of graduate work to complete the program of study.
4. Satisfy all common requirements (see below)

Common Requirements and Limitations for both MS-EE Thesis Option and Non-Thesis Option:

(Note that the specific requirements for the power engineering focus area are listed separately.)

1. Complete a minimum of nine hours in one EE-concentration area and a minimum of six hours in another EE-concentration area.
2. Each student must have a plan of study approved by both the student's supervisory committee and the graduate officer before the end of the semester in which the student completes 12 credit hours of graduate work.
3. No more than six credit hours total from any graduate coursework taken outside the COMP-SCI EE department and from courses numbered below E&C-ENGR 5500 can be used to satisfy degree requirements. Each of these courses must be completed with a 3.0 or higher.
4. Coursework below the 400-level and the courses E&C-ENGR 402WI, 403WI, 460, 474, or E&C-ENGR 491 cannot be used to satisfy MS-EE degree requirements.
5. Courses cannot be identical to courses already taken for a prior degree.
6. No more than three hours of E&C-ENGR 5597 (directed readings) can be used to satisfy degree requirements. All E&C-ENGR 5597 hours to be applied to the master of science in electrical engineering degree requirements must be approved by the SCE Master's Committee at least six weeks before classes begin.
7.  No more than one course grade below 3.0 may be applied toward the degree requirements.

 

Specific Requirements and Limitations for the Electric Power Focus Area (33 credit hours):

1. Complete a minimum of eighteen credit hours in the Electrical Power Focus area with a GPA of 3.00 or higher.
2. Each student must have a plan of study approved by both the student's supervisory committee and the graduate officer before the end of the semester in which the student completes 12 credit hours of graduate work.
3. No more than six credit hours total from any graduate coursework taken outside the COMP-SCI EE Department and from courses numbered below E&C-ENGR 5500 can be used to satisfy degree requirements. Each of these courses must be completed with a 3.0 or higher.
4. Coursework below the 400-level and the courses E&C-ENGR 402WI, 403WI, 460, 474, or E&C-ENGR 491 cannot be used to satisfy MS-EE degree requirements.
5. E&C-ENGR 5598 and 5599 cannot be used to satisfy degree requirements under this option, nor will E&C-ENGR 5597 (Directed Readings) be approved in the Electric Power Focus.

 

The Comprehensive Final Examination is required of all candidates for the master of science degree under the thesis option. It is arranged by the graduate faculty adviser. It is to be conducted prior to the deadline date established by the Graduate School for the semester of intended graduation. Prior to the date of the examination, each member of the committee is furnished a copy of the candidate’s final thesis for review and discussion at the time of the final examination.

If pursuing the thesis option, the thesis must be submitted in complete typewritten form to the adviser and supervisory committee at least six weeks before the date the advanced degree is to be conferred. Also, the supervisory committee must have access to the thesis at least one week before the date of the defense. Students must comply with all rules and regulations governing theses outlined in the general catalog under General Graduate Academic Regulations and Information.

 Up to three hours of E&C-ENGR 5597 Directed Readings or E&C-ENGR 5697 Advanced Directed Readings, is allowed toward the master of science in electrical engineering. Such a course must be approved in advance (i.e., before the student takes the course) by the professor supervising the course and the graduate committee. The following information must be furnished:

• Title of the course.
• Detailed syllabus for the course.
• Textbook and references.
• The manner in which the course will be conducted (i.e. meetings, assignments, etc.).
• The manner in which the students are assessed (i.e. how many exams, presentations, reports, etc.).
• The course which it replaces, if appropriate.
• Name(s) of the instructor(s).
• Name(s) of the student(s.)
• Reasons for offering this course in a directed readings format.

See the Fast Track section under Electrical and Computer Engineering in the undergraduate catalog for information about the Fast Track Electrical Engineering Program.