The right minor for an electrical engineering major can be confusing if you don’t have much experience in the subject.
Choosing a minor, like choosing a major, is a big decision. It’s not something that you should rush into, or take lightly. If you’re unsure of the value of a minor in general, consider whether it would be worth the investment to you. Do you have time to take the classes required? What other things will you have to sacrifice in order to make room for a minor?
Electrical engineers are unique among potential minors in that they are often interested in pursuing multiple majors and minors simultaneously. For example, many electrical engineers are also interested in mathematics and physics, which could lead them to choose minors in both subjects. This is especially true if your goal is to pursue careers as professors or researchers at universities and research institutions.
If you’re considering a minor, remember that it is important to think about whether it will help you achieve your long-term goals. For example, if your goal is to get into graduate school for electrical engineering, then it’s probably not worth your time and money to take classes outside of your major field of study just so that you can count those credits toward an unrelated minor program at another school.
Read on to discover the latest information about mechanical engineering technology minors, best minors for aerospace engineers, best business minor for engineers, and best minors for engineering majors. On the other hand, you will discover the latest on related topics related to best minors for civil engineers on CollegeLearners.
OPTICS MINOR (NON-TEACHING MINOR, 21 credits)
The ECE and Physics Departments jointly offer a non-teaching minor in Optics. The minor provides a key set of courses and skills needed to join the rapidly growing fields of optical science and engineering.
Optics is the study of light and its interactions with matter, including the use of light for imaging, telecommunications, sensing, and displaying information. The minor will give students both a strong foundation in optics, as well as hands-on experience in optics labs.
The minor requires a minimum of 21 credits in specified subject areas in physics and engineering (see table below), as well as a variety of electives chosen to match the goals and interests of the student.
Required classes: | Credits |
---|---|
EELE 334–Electromagnetic Theory Ior PHSX 423–Electricity and Magnetism I | 3 |
EELE 432–Applied Electromagneticsor PHSX 425–Electricity and Magnetism II | 3 |
EELE 482–Electro-Optical Systems | 3 |
PHSX 427–Advanced Opticsor PHSX 437–Laser Applications | 3 |
Optics Electives (choose at least 9 credits): | Credits |
CHMY 371–Physical Chemistry-Quantum Chemistry and Spectroscopy IPHSX 427–Advanced OpticsPHSX 437–Laser ApplicationsPHSX 444–Advanced Physics LabEELE 408–Photovoltaic SystemsEELE 481–Optical DesignEELE 484–Laser EngineeringEELE 488R–Electric Engineering Design I 1EELE 489R–Electrical Engr Design II 1PHSX 499–Senior Capstone Seminar 1EELE 490R–Undergraduate Research 1PHSX 490R–Undergraduate Research 1PHSX 494–Seminar/Workshop 1EELE 491–Special Topics 2EELE 492–Independent Study 2 | |
Total for Minor (minimum) | 21 |
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING MINOR (NON-TEACHING MINOR, 30 credits)
The ECE Department at the University of Washington offers a non-teaching minor in Electrical Engineering that provides students with a strong foundation in electrical engineering fundamentals, including an understanding of basic circuits, electronics, and signal properties. Students then choose electives from among a variety of EE topics, such as telecommunications, optics, electrical power, and control systems. This 30-credit minor complements majors in science or engineering for those seeking a cross-disciplinary academic program.
If you are a CpE major you can complete a minor in EE by taking three EE classes (9 cr min) from the specified elective list for the EE minor. This can be done within the 126 credits required for the BSCpE degree alone, by carefully choosing the professional elective credits.
Required courses: | Credits |
---|---|
EELE 101—Intro to Electr Fund | 3 |
EELE 201—Circuits I | 4 |
EELE 203—Circuits II | 4 |
EELE 308—Signal and System Analysis | 3 |
EELE 317—Electronics | 4 |
EELE 334—Electromag Theory I | 3 |
Take 9 credits minimum from the following: | Credits |
EELE 321—Intro to Feedback Control | 3 |
EELE 432—Applied Electromagnetics | 3 |
EELE 355—Energy Conversion | 4 |
EELE 409—EE Material Science | 3 |
EELE 411—Adv Analog Electronics | 3 |
EELE 414—Intro to VLSI Design | 3 |
EELE 422—Intro Modern Control | 3 |
EELE 445—Telecommunications Sys | 4 |
EELE 447—Mobile Wireless Sys | 3 |
EELE 477—Digital Signal Processing | 4 |
EELE 482—Electro-optical Systems | 3 |
EELE 484—Laser Engineering | 3 |
Students must receive a grade of “C-“ or better in all courses used to fulfill the minor.
Minors in EE, CpE, Optics, and Mechatronics
- A Minor is a special credential recognizing a curricular focus or specialization that goes beyond the requirements of your Major. A variety of undergraduate minors are available at MSU. A popular combination is to obtain a major in EE with a minor in CpE, or a major in CpE with a minor in EE. ECE students are also often interested in minors in optics, mechatronics, aerospace, math, computer science, and foreign languages.
- Information about the College of Engineering International Engineering Certificate
COMPUTER ENGINEERING MINOR (NON-TEACHING MINOR, 30 credits)
Hey you! We see you staring at your screen, scrolling through the endless online course catalog. You’re a little overwhelmed, aren’t you? So many options! So many opinions about what’s important to learn or not learn!
Well, we’ve got good news. We have a minor that is going to be seriously helpful for whoever you are and whatever major you have or might choose. It’s the Computer Engineering minor, and it’s designed to give you a cross-disciplinary academic experience that will give you a leg up no matter where your career path takes you.
This is one of those things that sounds like it might be hard to get through, but it’s really not. Take a deep breath, and let us help: All you need is 23 credits in seven specified CS and EE courses, plus two or three courses selected from among an extensive list of upper-division EE courses. That’s right—we’ve done all the work for you! Now all you need to do is pick the classes that sound most interesting to you, and go forth and conquer with this super-cool minor under your belt.
If you are an EE major you can complete a minor in Computer Engineering by taking CSCI 111/127, 132, and 232 (a total of 12 credits) plus two courses (7 cr min) from the specified elective list for the CpE minor. Completing the Computer Engineering minor requires 3 credits of professional electives beyond the minimum credits required for EE majors. Thus, a BSEE degree with a CpE minor can be completed in 128 credits.
Required courses: | Credits |
---|---|
CSCI 111—JAVA Programming OR CSCI 127–Joy and Beauty of Data | 4 |
CSCI 112—Program Design with C | 3 |
CSCI 132—Basic Data Structures | 4 |
CSCI 232—Data Structures & Algorithms | 4 |
EELE 261—Intro to Logic Circuits | 4 |
EELE 371—Micr Hrdwr/Sftwr Syst | 4 |
Take 7 credits minimum from the following: | Credits |
EELE 367—Logic Design | 4 |
EELE 465—Microcontroller Applications | 4 |
EELE 467—SoC FPGAs I : Hardware-Software CoDesign | 4 |
EELE 468—SoC FPGAs II: Application Specific Computing | 4 |
Students must receive a grade of “C-“ or better in all courses used to fulfill the minor.
1A maximum of four (4) credits of these classes may be used if the topic is directly related to optics, on approval by academic advisor and research advisor/instructor.
2A maximum of three (3) credits of these classes may be used if the topic is directly related to optics, on approval by academic advisor and research advisor/instructor.
Note: The following 500-level classes can be taken as electives in the Optics minor by seniors with a cumulative grade-point average >= 3.25 (by petition to the Registrar) and provided all prerequisites are met.
- EELE 538 Adv Top Electromagnet & Optics
- EELE 581 Fourier Optics/Imaging Theory
- EELE 582 Optical Design
- EELE 583 Remote Sensing Systems
- PHSX 515 Advanced Topics In Physics (if topic is directly optics related)
- CHMY 527 Analytic Optical Spectroscopy
- CHMY 557 Quantum Mechanics
- CHMY 560 Symmetry, Orbitals, and Spectroscopy