Project Track Degree Requirements (Students Starting Fall 2023 and Later)

About this track: Students in this track will take specific Ideas to Innovation coursework, in which they will complete a project that has the same scope and ambition as a nine-credit MS thesis. This track is designed to allow students to build both technical and professional skills.

Project: Student teams consisting of members from different ECE technical areas will select and complete a significant design project. During the fall semester, teams will work on faculty-suggested topics or continuing topics from the prior year. In this course, each team will define the project goals/metrics, including “proof-of-concept” demonstrations for main aspects of the proposed approach. In the spring semester, student teams will continue their work on their design project, including iterations through stages of design, final demonstration, and testing to verify operation of key functionalities and quantify metrics. Processes for project proposals, approvals of project concepts, design reviews, and final reports are modeled on those of leading technology innovation companies.

Ideas to Innovation courses: All students in the project track must complete Ideas-to-Innovation Design Project I and II, two-semester course sequence focused on an intensive design project and professional development exercises:

• Fall start: Ideas to Innovation I (3 credits) in Fall; Ideas to Innovation II (3 credits) in the following Spring
• Spring start: Ideas to Innovation I (3 credits) in Spring; Ideas to Innovation II (3 credits) in the following Fall

Degree requirements:

• Total credit hours: 30, including at least 15 credit hours of graduate-level ECE credits; includes the Ideas to Innovation courses
• Required project-track coursework, 9 credits total:
  • ECE 69500, Ideas to Innovation I (3 credits) and ECE 69500, Ideas to Innovation II (3 credits)
  • ECE 69500, Communication for Engineering Leaders (1 credit)
  • Additional 2 credits of coursework from the following list:
    • Ideas to Innovation, Ideation Catalyst (2 credits, Fall & Spring): Learn the fundamentals of the ideation process and propose novel ideas for a big societal problem.
    • Ideas to Innovation, Intellectual Property Generation and Management (3 credits, Fall, Spring, Summer): Learn about intellectual property and patents.
    • IE 59000: Project Management (3 credits, Spring)
    • IE 54500: Engineering Economic Analysis (3 credits, Fall)
    • IE 54600: Economic Decisions in Engineering (3 credits, Spring)
    • SYS 50000: Perspectives on Systems (3 credits, Fall)
    • STAT 514: Design of Experiments (3 credits, Fall or Spring)
    • ENGR 502: Engineering Leadership (3 credits, Fall)
• Required ECE core course: 1 (3 credit hours)
• Required math course: 1 (3 credit hours)

Sample plan of study: Most students take 4 semesters to earn the degree, but you could progress quicker if desired. A sample plan of study is shown below.

• Fall
  • Ideas to Innovation I (3 credits)
  • Communication for Engineering Leaders (1 credit)
  • ECE courses (6 credits) 
• Spring
  • ​Ideas to Innovation II (3 credits)
  • ECE or Math courses (6 credits)
  • Selected project track coursework (2 credits minimum)
• Fall
  • Selected project track coursework (if not taken in Spring; 2 credits minimum)
  • ECE courses (6 credits)
• Spring
  • Additional ECE coursework or electives to meet curriculum requirements

Additional notes:

• Project-track students are not required to take ECE 69400, ECE Seminar.
• Project-track students are not allowed to use ECE 69600, Advanced ECE Projects or ECE 69700, Directed Reading in ECE on the MSECE plan of study.