Electrical and Computer Engineering joint: BS/MS Program
Introduction
The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) offers a joint degree program that combines the Bachelor of Science (BS) in Electrical and Computer Engineering with the Master of Science (MS) in Electrical and Computer Engineering. This is a coursework‑only program.
The program is intended for undergraduates with strong academic records who wish to pursue graduate studies in electrical and computer engineering or prepare for advanced placement in the workplace.
Students may apply during their third undergraduate year after completing a sufficient number of core engineering courses and meeting the minimum institutional GPA requirement. Once admitted, students begin taking graduate‑level courses in their final semester and complete the remaining graduate coursework during their fifth year.
During the fifth year, students complete the remaining 28 graduate semester hours. Upon completion of the program, students earn both a BS (EE, CE, or EP) degree and an MS in ECE.
Program Requirements
Students should meet the following criteria:
- Must be a undergraduate student in the ECE department
- Have completed 30 credit hours of ECE core courses (as listed under “Required in the College of Engineering” in the UIC catalog). The following courses do not count toward the 30 hours: ECE 194, ECE 294, ECE 391, ECE 392, ECE 496, and ECE 497
- Have an institutional GPA of 3.25 or higher
- Are enrolled in ECE 499 during their final undergraduate semester
Program Limits
- Students will be limited to doing the coursework-only option
- For technical elective courses; students are limited to one (1) 500 level course and one (1) course with a lab
- Undergraduate students admitted to the joint program may register in the Graduate CRN 400‑ or 500‑level ECE technical elective courses during their final undergraduate semester
- Joint Program students are not allowed hold an assistantship in the ECE Department while in the MS Program.
Completion of 120 undergraduate semester hours, 8 shared hours that count toward both degrees, and 28 graduate semester hours (for a total of 156 hours) results in the awarding of the joint BS/MS degrees.
Join the program
Interested applicants can reach out to ECE Student Affairs at ecestudentaffairs@uic.edu
or can visit the ECE Student Affairs Office in SEO 1020.
How to Proceed
Students interested in participating in the joint program should fill out the Interest Form. They will need to upload a copy of their degree audit report; please use the following naming format for your file upload
ECE_LastName,FirstName_UIN:XXXXXXXXX
Once the form has been completed; a staff member from the ECE Department will reach out to you to schedule a meeting.