Electrical Engineering Master's Program

Graduate courses are open to everyone who, in the opinion of the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and the department concerned, is qualified by education and experience to benefit from them. Where specific courses are listed as prerequisites, equivalent knowledge or experience may be accepted instead.

In general, any applicant for admission to the engineering program should possess as a minimum qualification a degree of Bachelor of Engineering or the equivalent.

It should be clearly understood that admission to graduate courses is not equivalent to matriculation for a master’s degree, nor does it carry with it any presumption of subsequent matriculation.

An applicant or who has specific background deficiencies may be admitted as a matriculated student with conditions. These conditions must be met at the earliest possible time. Students may then apply for matriculation if they have a satisfactory academic average of B or better.

An applicant whose record is unsatisfactory or who does not desire a degree, but who wishes credit for one or more courses may, by permission of the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies, enroll as a non-matriculated (non-degree) student. Non-matriculated students may apply for admission if they complete all entrance deficiencies. It is therefore necessary that students who are interested in applying for admission meet with a departmental advisor to devise a planned program.

Applicants interested only in specific courses of special interest to practicing engineers may also be admitted as a special student or may enroll in the Advanced Certificates in Special Topics program.

An applicant who does not desire credit for graduate courses may be enrolled as an auditor. Enrollment as an auditor must be approved by the Chair of the department or his or her authorized representatives and the Associate Dean of Graduate studies. The decision to enroll as an auditor must be made at the time the applicant registers. Auditors will not be required to take any examinations, and the amount of problem work, reports, and other formal preparation they may do is discretionary. No quality grade will be awarded for audited courses and a grade of AUD will be assigned. Audited courses cannot be used for credit. An auditor will pay the same fees as a non-degree student.

Students who have taken graduate work at other institutions may receive up to six transfer credits (nine with the approval of the Committee on Course and Standing) provided that the material is equivalent to a graduate course taught at the College and that it was completed with a grade of B or better within a five-year period preceding matriculation at The City College.

Registration for any course in the graduate program may be permitted only with the specific approval of the department concerned.

Application for matriculation for the master’s degree shall be made to the Dean of the School of Engineering and shall be accompanied by an official transcript from the college awarding the Bachelor’s degree. For matriculation, the undergraduate record shall be in an accredited scholastic curriculum or in one acceptable to the Chair of the department concerned.

The applicant’s scholastic record must show a minimum average of B in the undergraduate field of specialization and an overall undergraduate minimum average of B minus. Applicants whose scholastic record is considered inconclusive and applicants whose bachelor’s degree is from a foreign educational institution may be required to take the Graduate Record Examination (verbal, quantitative and analytical writing assessment sections). Evidence of ability to profit from graduate work, as documented by faculty recommendations, is also required. Official transcripts of graduate work completed at other institutions, if any, are also required and will be evaluated.

All international students with baccalaureate degrees from non-English speaking countries must submit a TOEFL score to 133 School of Engineering be considered for admission. At present, a minimum paper score of 500 or computer- based score of 173 is required for admission.

Each candidate for a master’s degree must complete at least 30 credits as approved by the department and the Dean. Some students may be required to complete satisfactorily more than 30 credits because of a lack of specific courses or inadequate preparation in a particular area of study. No course may be credited toward a degree unless specifically approved for that purpose.

It is expected that graduate students will maintain a high scholastic standing. Irregularity in attendance or failure to maintain satisfactory scholastic standing will be sufficient grounds for asking a student to withdraw. Satisfactory scholastic standing will be interpreted to mean at least a B average.

For graduate courses the following grades will be assigned.

• A, B, C - passing grades (includes + and – grades)
• P - passing, with credit (for graduate seminars or non-credit report)
• AUD - auditor, no credit
• F - failure
• W - resignation without penalty (Not assigned by instructor. Registrar assigns this grade with Dean’s approval and recommendationm of instructor.)
• WU - failure due to excessive absences
• INC - incomplete (temporary grade)
• FIN - F due to unresolved INC
• SP - satisfactory progress, a temporary grade for dissertation (thesis) supervision or certain research courses, like projects and reports, requiring more than one semester for completion. For Master’s level courses that carry credits (e.g., Master’s thesis, 3 credit report, 3 credit project), the SP must be changed to a letter grade (e.g., A, B, C) upon course completion.
• NRP - No record of Progress. The grade may be assigned by dissertation supervisors only to students in 90000 courses (Dissertation Supervision), if the student has done little or no work on the dissertation over the course of the semester.

If a student is absent from the final examination (whether oral or written) in any course, a special examination may be granted only by the engineering faculty Committee on Course and Standing, and normally is granted by that committee only upon the submission of written evidence showing that the student was physically unable to be present at the stated examination. Such application is to be made directly following the absence, and the special examination must be taken in the Fall term by October 15th and in the Spring term by March 15th.

An INC will become a FIN if the work is not completed by ten weeks into the second semester following the INC grade. These grades are treated the same as F.

For example, if a student receives an incomplete grade (INC) for a fall 2013 course, the work must be completed and the final grade submitted before the end of the tenth week of the fall 2014 semester, otherwise the INC grade becomes a FIN.

The grade of SP, when assigned for a research course, shall stand until the research is completed to the satisfaction of the department concerned and a grade assigned.

The master’s candidate must complete the required course work within a period of five years from the date of admission.

The department Chair will appoint departmental graduate advisors who will make recommendations for the courses to be taken for the degree. These recommendations will be subject to the approval of the department Chair and the Dean of the School of Engineering or their appointed representatives. Students will be required to complete one of the following non-course options within the approved program for the degree:

1. a master’s thesis carrying six credits;*
2. a project carrying three credits;**
3. a report carrying no credit;**
4. a seminar carrying one credit.**
* generally reserved for Ph.D. preparation.
** for Professional Master’s degree.

Thesis and project credits will be counted towards the 30-credit degree requirement. The seminar credit may be counted towards the 30-credit degree.

The master’s thesis, project or report must be completed before the scheduled final examination week so that a proper grade may be assigned at the end of the final examination period.

Any student working toward a master’s degree must be matriculated for the last 12 credits toward the degree.

Effective current academic rules, requirements and procedures governing transfer credits, program adjustments, and course grade corrections will be available from the Grove School of Engineering Graduate Office, ST-209.

If a student expects to be graduated at the end of a given term, he/she must file an “Application for Degree” at the Registrar’s office on or before the date set for this purpose during the given term.

Master’s graduates who have attained a GPA of 3.75 or better for the required 30 credits (taken at City University) will receive the Grove School of Engineering Graduate Citation.

The Grove School of Engineering offers 12 credit (4 course) programs leading to Advanced Certificates in Special Topics. These programs are organized for degreed practicing engineers who may be entering disciplines requiring knowledge beyond their previous education, and for which they wish to prepare in a short time. Acceptable undergraduate preparation is, of course, required to enter the program.

An Advanced Certificate in Special Topics is awarded by the Grove School of Engineering on satisfactory completion of the course work (minimum GPA of 3.00). While subject to enrollment, it is expected that a sufficient number of classes will be offered each term so that the certificate work can be completed in 2 semesters.

The requirements for admission to the Advanced Certificate in Special Topics programs are similar to those required for admissions to the Professional Master’s degree. Application for the program shall be made by way of The City College Graduate Studies Application, indicating the field of study and the specific certificate desired. The application shall be accompanied by an official transcript from the college awarding the bachelor’s degree. The undergraduate record shall be from an accredited scholastic curriculum in the appropriate field.

All international students with baccalaureate degrees from non-English speaking countries must submit a TOEFL score of at least 500, if paper based, and of 61, if computer based, to be considered.