Mission Statement

Our Mission

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering seeks to provide a comprehensive, rigorous and accredited educational program for the graduates of California's high schools and for postgraduate students, both domestic and international. The department has a dual mission:

Education

We will develop and produce excellent electrical and computer engineers who will support the high-tech economy of California and the nation. This mission requires that we offer a balanced and timely education that includes not only strength in the fundamental principles but also experience with the practical skills that are needed to contribute to the complex technological infrastructure of our society. This approach will enable our graduates to continue learning throughout an extended career.

Research

We will develop relevant and innovative science and technology through our research that addresses the needs of industry, government and the scientific community. This technology can be transferred through our graduates, through industrial affiliations, and through publications and presentations. The ECE department emphasizes teaching and research in the areas of electronic and photonic materials, devices and circuits, computer engineering, VLSI design and testing, controls, communications, and signal processing. We provide a faculty that is committed to education and research, is accessible to students, and is highly qualified in their areas of expertise.

Educational Objectives

The educational objectives of the EE Program identify what we hope that our graduates will accomplish within a few years after graduation.

  1. We expect our graduates to make positive contributions to society in fields including, but not limited to, engineering.
  2. We expect our graduates to have acquired the ability to be flexible and adaptable, showing that their educational background has given them the foundation needed to remain effective, take on new responsibilities and assume leadership roles.
  3. We expect some of our graduates to pursue their formal education further, including graduate study for master's and doctoral degrees.

Program Outcomes

The EE program expects our students upon graduation to have:

  1. Acquired strong basic knowledge and skills in those fundamental areas of mathematics, science, and electrical engineering that are required to support specialized professional training at the advanced level and to provide necessary breadth to the student's overall program of studies. This provides the basis for lifelong learning.
  2. Experienced in-depth training in state-of-the-art specialty areas in electrical engineering. This is implemented through our senior electives. Students are required to take two sequences of at least two courses each at the senior level.
  3. Benefited from imaginative and highly supportive laboratory experiences where appropriate throughout the program. The laboratory experience will be closely integrated with coursework and will make use of up-to-date instrumentation and computing facilities. Students should experience both hardware-oriented and simulation-oriented exercises.
  4. Experienced design-oriented challenges that exercise and integrate skills and knowledge acquired in several courses. These may include design of components or subsystems with performance specifications. Graduates should be able to demonstrate an ability to design and conduct experiments as well as analyze the results.
  5. Learned to function well in teams. Also, students must develop communication skills, written and oral, both through team and classroom experiences. Skills including written reports, web page preparation, and public presentations are required.
  6. Completed a well-rounded and balanced education through required studies in selected areas of fine arts, humanities, and social sciences. This provides for the ability to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global and societal context. A course in engineering ethics is also required of all undergraduates.

The Electrical Engineering B.S. program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, http://www.abet.org