Major code BS7246*

Russ College of Engineering and Technology
School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
329 Stocker Center
Ohio University
Athens, OH 45701
Phone: 740.593.1568
www.ohio.edu/engineering/eecs

Costas Vasiliadis, contact person
vassilia@ohio.edu

Program Overview

The electrical engineering program is administered by the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS). The School is the beneficiary of a major endowment from the late Dr. C. Paul Stocker, an electrical engineering alumnus. This endowment provides support for facilities and a level of excellence surpassed by few other electrical engineering and computer science schools in the nation.

The School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science is located in Stocker Center, a modern facility housing undergraduate, graduate, and research activities. The program offers a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Electrical Engineering which is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, https://www.abet.org , under the commission’s General Criteria and Program Criteria for Electrical and Electronics Engineering.

The electrical engineering program offers two curriculum tracks leading to a B.S. degree. The electrical engineering (EE) track is intended for students who want to work in one of the many areas of electrical engineering. A computer engineering (CpE) track is available for students who intend to work in the area of computers. Students who are undecided as to which area they want to pursue should follow the electrical engineering track until they decide.

The electrical engineering program has three major objectives for its undergraduate students (Program Educational objectives are broad statements that describe the career and professional accomplishments that the program is preparing the graduates to achieve):

1. They use their technical acumen to improve the human condition.
2. They exhibit and promote in others: integrity, ethical behavior, multi-cultural awareness, and continuous self-development.
3. They apply and grow their technical, interpersonal, and collaborative strengths to successfully lead and inspire others toward effective innovation.

All electrical engineering students must fulfill the University’s General Education requirements. Students will select elective courses in conjunction with their advisors. To develop the general knowledge and skills necessary to support the study and practice of engineering, students will take a number of courses in mathematics and basic sciences. The purpose of the five general engineering courses is to give students an understanding of engineering fundamentals outside of electrical engineering.

The electrical engineering portion of the curriculum consists of several blocks of courses. The introductory block is intended to promote the students interested in electrical engineering, while introducing physical and logical concepts necessary for future studies. The goal of the foundations block is to develop the fundamental knowledge and analytical skills necessary for the study and practice of electrical engineering. The intermediate breadth block prepares the student to study the various areas of electrical engineering and computer engineering at the advanced level. EECS electives allow students to develop specialized knowledge and skills in one of the areas of electrical and computer engineering or explore other topics at the advanced level.

Because the ability to solve problems is critical for engineers, students will develop engineering design skills as they progress through the curriculum. Engineering design is addressed in most EE courses. In the intermediate design block, students will develop experience in experimental design and analysis. The design experience culminates in the senior year with the capstone design sequence of courses, where students complete a design project that simulates work found in professional practice.

*This program was previously BS7254 which awarded the Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering degree. Pending Board of Trustees approval (anticipated June 2024), the new program code will be BS7246 and will award the Bachelor of Science degree effective the 2024-25 catalog year.

Admissions Information

Freshman/First-Year Admission

To best prepare for the demands of the academic programs in Russ College, four years of college preparatory math, one year of chemistry, and one year of physics are necessary. Students ranked in the top 30 percent of their classes who score at least 24 on the ACT or comparable SAT are most likely to be successful in Russ College of Engineering and Technology.  

Change of Program Policy

Students who wish to transfer into an engineering or computer science program must have earned a C or better in a math course and a science course. The math course must be equivalent to  MATH 1200  or higher. The science course must be equivalent to  CHEM 1210  or higher, or  PHYS 2051 / PHYS 2054  &  PHYS 2055  or higher. Students enrolled at any Ohio University campus who wish to transfer into any program in the Russ College cannot do so if they would be on academic probation after transferring into that major. The probation rules for Russ College are stricter than those for the University as a whole. In order not to be on probation, a student must have a GPA of 2.0 or higher for all courses taken, for all courses taken in the Russ College, and for all courses taken in the intended major. Students must also have successfully completed all required courses in three attempts and have no required course they have attempted twice without success. For some courses, success means a grade of at least a C or C-.

External Transfer Admission

Transfer students who have earned fewer than 20 semester hours of credit at another accredited collegiate institution may be admitted directly to an engineering or computer science program, if they meet the general requirements for admission to Ohio University and have completed four years of college-prep math and one year each of chemistry and physics and have scored at least a 24 on the ACT or comparable SAT.

Transfer students who have earned more than 20 semester hours of credit at another accredited collegiate institution may be admitted directly to an engineering or computer science program, if they meet the general requirements for transfer students, including a GPA greater than 2.5.Students who wish to transfer into an engineering or computer science program must have earned a C or better in a math course and a science course. The math course must be equivalent to  MATH 1200  or higher. The science course must be equivalent to  CHEM 1210  or higher, or PHYS 2051 / PHYS 2054  &  PHYS 2055  or higher.

Opportunities Upon Graduation

Computer engineering (CpE), a combination of electrical engineering and computer science, deals with the study of computing ranging from tiny microprocessors to enormous supercomputers. Computer engineers are electrical engineers who specialize in either software design, hardware design or both. Specialization areas include: Microprocessor and Microcontroller Systems. Assembly Language Programming, Coding, Cryptography and Information protection, Distributed Computing, Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, Computer Graphics and Multimedia Applications, Internet Computing and Wireless Networks, Computer Architecture and Embedded Digital Systems Design, Network Security and Privacy, Real Time Systems, VLSI, VHDL and Application Specific Integration Chip (ASICS) design, Computer Internetworking and Network Protocols, Embedded Software for real-time Microcontrollers, Algorithms, Compilers, and Operating Systems Human Computer Interaction.

Computer engineers deal with the following issues: Design hardware components that power the latest technology and develop software that allows computers to implement complex applications. The developed systems improve the quality of life while keeping manufacturing costs low. They also focus on the design of hardware and software systems that yield smaller, faster, cheaper and more powerful computers. They design products ranging from communications systems to imaging devices, consumer products, automotive microprocessors and household appliances. They coordinate the implementation, maintenance, and expansion plans of a company’s computer systems. In automotive applications for example, computers are embedded in 60 different applications including AC, navigation, audio, video, and alert systems.

Most computer engineering jobs are found in the following places: Software Publishers, Engineering and Business Consulting Companies, Manufacturers of Computer and Peripheral Equipment, Management of Companies and Enterprises, Computer Systems Design and Data Processing Services Companies, Scientific Research and Development Centers, Wired and Wireless Telecommunications Carriers, Insurance Carriers, Financial Corporations.

Sample of companies that hire computer engineers: Apple Computer, AT&T, Cisco Systems, Dell, Fujitsu Siemans, Google, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel, Iomega, Microsoft, Motorola, Oracle, Panasonic, PeopleSoft, Raytheon Company, Sony Electronics, Texas Instruments, Toshiba, Verizon, Yahoo, NASA, NIS US Air Force, US Army, CIA, US Department of Energy, US Department of Defense, US Department of Transportation, US Naval Research Lab, US Navy, 3M Worldwide, ADT, Advanced Micro Systems, Alcatel, Alcoa, Ansys, Applied Digital, BMW International, Boeing, Delphi-Packard Electric, Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc., Federal Express, Ford, Genentech, General Dynamics, General Electric, General Motors Corporation, Honda, Honeywell, Hughes Network Systems, Johnson & Johnson, Lockheed Martin, Meade Instruments Corporation, Merrill Lynch & Company, New Piper Aircraft, Nuance Communications, Inc., Proctor and Gamble Company, Samsung, Siemens Automotive, Toyota Motor Sales, Inc, UPS, and Westinghouse.

Requirements