Minor in Electrical Engineering

On this page:

• Why choose a minor in electrical engineering?
• Careers
• Academics and Curriculum

Why choose a minor in electrical engineering?

A minor in an Electrical Engineering (EE) field is a great way to diversify your academic background! Additional skills acquired with an Electrical Engineering minor will provide you with all the essential tools needed to be a leader in technology and scientific discovery.

Careers

The main duties of an electrical or electronics engineer include working with multimedia, telecommunications, electric power, signal processing, and control systems. All of these skills produce automated cars, robots, aviation electrical systems, new forms of wireless communication, and other not-yet imagined products and software. There’s no limit to how electrical engineers can improve and invent ways to help make life easier and safer!

Job Outlook

According to The Bureau of Labor Statistics, the mean annual wage of electrical engineers in May 2020 was $105,990 The lowest 10 percent of electrical engineers earned $64,870, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $159,520. Employment of electrical and electronics engineers is projected to grow 4.5 percent. Job growth is expected because of electrical and electronics engineers’ versatility in developing and applying emerging technologies.

Academics and Curriculum

The Department of Electrical Engineering offers six undergraduate minors:

Available for all undergraduate students:

• Assured and Trusted Digital Microelectronics designs and assesses the trustworthiness of secure hardware.
  • EE 2000/L or CEG 3320/L, EE 4540/L or CEG 4322/L, EE 4550/L or CEG 4326/L, and EE 4620/L or CEG 4324/L.

Available for non-EE majors:

• VLSI minor concentrates on the design and development of computer hardware and very large-scale integrated microchip systems.
  • EE 2000, EE 4540/L, EE 4620/L, and one of EE 4000, EE 4100, or CEG 3310/L
• Microwave minor concentrates on the design and development of microwave devices, transmission lines and antennas.
  • EE 4420/L, EE 4460/L, and EE 4470/L and one of EE 3450/L or PHY 4510
• Digital Signal Processing(DSP)/Wireless minor concentrates on signal processing, sensor and MEMS technology, radar systems, and the design and development of wireless communication devices and systems.
  • EE 3210, EE 3260, EE 4000, EE 4210/L, and EE 4360
• Controls Systems minor concentrates on design and development of control and robotic systems.
  • EE 4130/L, EE 4170/L, and two of EE 4120/L, EE 4190/L, and EE 4560/L
• Electronics minor concentrates on electronic devices and power electronic systems.
  • EE 3210, EE 3310/L, EE 4100/L, and EE 4440/L required.

Electrical Engineering Minor

Program Information

EE Minor Program Guide >

A Minor in Electrical Engineering (EE) provides an avenue for a diverse education for students and can enhance your experience with any number of other fields. EE provides you with all the tools you need to be a leader in technology, scientific discovery, or any career of your choice. Not to mention, EE gives you some of employers’ most sought-after skillsets!

Program Information

To declare a minor in EE, you’ll need:

• To be declared in a major (other than CE or EE!)
• To have finished at least one full semester at U of M
• An overall GPA of 2.0 or better
• To have credit (either by transfer or letter grade) for at least one class in each of the following categories
  • Calculus (such as MATH 115, 116, 120, 121)
  • Calculus based physics lectures (such as PHYSICS 140 or 160) or chemistry lecture (CHEM 130)
  • Required engineering courses (such as ENGR 100, 101, 151 or EECS 180)

Whenever you’re ready to declare, go to the EE Minor Appointment Scheduler to set up an appointment with an EE faculty advisor to declare!

For more information about the structure of this program, see the guide below:
EE Minor Program Guide

Many program options and applications, including:

Circuits and Solid State

○ Biomedical Devices
○ Electronics of Any Kind 
○ Environmental Monitoring
○ Sensing Applications 
○ Computers
○ Energy-Saving Devices 
○ Lighting and Displays
○ High and Low Power Circuits 

Electromagnetics and Optics

○ Antennas
○ Homeland Security 
○ Remote Sensing
○ Weather and Environment 
○ Biomedical Applications
○ Laser Applications 
○ Space Applications
○ Wireless Technologies 

Systems (Communications, Control, Signal Processing)

○ Energy and Power Systems
○ Musical Devices
○ Information Technology
○ Robotics 
○ Electric Vehicles
○ Medical Scans 
○ Networks
○ Statistics

The EE Minor is a great option for students in the following majors:

• Engineering Majors – EE impacts all current engineering practice
• Business – high tech entrepreneurship, technology industry
• Life Sciences and Pre-Med – electronics, signal processing, electromagnetics for patient treatment
• Mathematics – algorithms for a wide variety of applications
• Physical Sciences – complex electronics and signal processing to collect and analyze data
• Pre-Law – patents, energy, transportation, medicine