ECE Policies and Procedures

Academic Probation

ECE students who are currently on academic probation are limited to taking a maximum of 15 credits per semester. University policies and information on academic probation can be found in the University Regulations as well as on our scholastic deficiency page. Students on academic probation are also not permitted to enroll in the internship course, ECE 47000.

Active ECE Course Enrollment

ECE students who have not taken an ECE course for two consecutive semesters will be required to CODO to another major, not take courses at the West-Lafayette campus or resume progress in ECE courses for the following  semester.  Students will not receive their Registration PIN until they have met with their academic advisor.

Calculator Policy for ECE Undergraduate Exams

Effective beginning in January 2015, the only calculator permitted for exams in ECE undergraduate courses (those at the 10000 – 40000 level) will be the Texas Instruments TI-30X IIS scientific calculator. This is an inexpensive calculator with a 2-line display, a fraction feature, one or two-variable statistics, simple conversions, and basic scientific & trigonometric functions. Students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the use of this calculator well in advance of any exam. Of course, instructors can still choose to not allow calculators on their exams. This policy addresses the potential for academic dishonesty given the features of many advanced calculators (programmability, large memory capacity, wireless communication, etc.), thus ensuring the integrity of the exam. In addition, a common calculator provides a fair and uniform exam experience for all students.  

Course Attendance and Absence Reporting

Instructors are expected to establish and clearly communicate in the course syllabus attendance policies relevant to individual courses. Students should also review the general University information for class attendance and absence reporting.

CODO Students

Current Purdue students who wish to CODO in to ECE should review the ECE CODO Requirements.

Computer Science Minor & Dual Degree

BSEE students are eligible to pursue a minor or dual degree in Computer Science. However, due to a significant overlap in content, BSCmpE students are not eligible to pursue a minor or dual degree in this discipline.

ECE Course Section Changes

Section changes for ECE courses may only be made during the 1st week of the semester.  

ECON 21000

Credit in ECON 21000 applies toward the ECE Foundational Outcome General Education requirement. However, due to a significant overlap in course content, if a student goes on to take ECON 25100 or ECON 25200, credit in ECON 21000 becomes a complimentary elective toward ECE degree requirements.

Email Communication

Students who wish to communicate with the ECE Undergraduate Office or an ECE Academic Advisor must use their official Purdue email due to the confidential nature of most electronic conversations. Emails sent from external email services (eg. Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, etc.) may be caught in the quarantine filter or not receive a response.

Entering Sophomores

First Year Engineering students must have a minimum Engineering Admissions Index (EAI) of 2.0 to be admitted to the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. All First-Year Engineering students who plan to complete their First-Year Requirements during the current semester and who have indicated ECE as their professional school choice will receive an email inviting them to make an appointment with an ECE advisor to register for the upcoming term. Registration for all Electrical and Computer Engineering courses is contingent upon admission into the program.  

Graduation Requirements

ECE students must complete the Candidate for Graduation Application to indicate their intent to graduate.  Advanced Credit/CLEP exams for courses toward degree requirements must be taken by the conclusion of the student's next to final term.   Student must be registered for all remaining degree requirements in their final term in order to be considered for candidacy. 

Pass/No Pass Grade Mode

ECE students may take general education or complementary elective courses with the pass/no pass grade option. Students are not permitted to take any engineering, mathematics, or science course required for an ECE degree using this grade option. FYE Requirements, courses being used toward a minor, and courses that explicitly forbid pass/no pass are also excluded.

In the event that a student has completed all required engineering, mathematics, or science courses and wishes to take additional courses from these disciplines, he/she may then take these excess courses using the pass/no pass grade mode as they are then essentially complementary electives. Please note that ECE courses may only be completed in this grade mode under very limited circumstances as students must have completed all ECE requirements for their degree, including the minimum 47 (BSEE) or 49 (BSCmpE) ECE credits, prior to being eligible. Courses that are currently in progress do not count toward this eligibility requirement.

A maximum of 24 credit hours may be taken under the Pass/No Pass grade option and a grade of at least C- must be achieved in order to receive a “Pass.” Study abroad students should be particularly aware of this 24 credit limit.

Students taking a foreign language course for the purpose of receiving back credit (i.e., taking 20200 to get credit for 10100 - 20200) cannot use the Pass/No Pass option. 

Students who are repeating a course must repeat it using the same grade mode as the original attempt.

To view the deadlines for when the grade mode of a course can be modified, please refer to the add/drop/modify calendars from the Office of the Registrar. 

Physics II Requirement

PHYS 27200 is the only approved Physics II course for ECE students and taking PHYS 24100 after being accepted to ECE is not permitted. First Year Engineering students who are planning on pursuing ECE should take PHYS 27200. Students who were initially planning to enter an engineering discipline that required only PHYS 24100, but later decided to pursue ECE must then also take PHYS 25200 (1 cr). Students in this situation who are unable to take PHYS 25200 (enrollment is limited), must then take PHYS 27200 and the PHYS 24100 credits will not be applicable to degree requirements.

Repeating Courses

Students may only attempt a course 3 times at the West Lafayette campus and grades of W or WF are included in this limit.  If this course is required for a BSEE or BSCmpE degree, this can result in the student being dismissed from the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue's West Lafayette campus.  Per the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering's policy, attempts exceeding three taken at a regional campus or another institution will not be considered toward ECE degree requirements.

When repeating a course, all attempts appear on a student’s transcript; however, it is the most recent attempt that is factored into a student’s cumulative GPA. If you fail the course in your most recent attempt, even if you passed it earlier, you will no longer receive credit for that course.

If a student takes a course at Purdue, he/she is then unable to retake that course outside of the Purdue system for the purpose of grade replacement. Students interested in retaking a course at a Purdue Regional Campus should first consult their academic advisor.

Students may not change the grade mode when retaking a course. For example, if a student takes a course for a grade, he/she is unable to change the grade mode to Pass/No Pass for a subsequent attempt.

Repeating a course for cosmetic reasons (i.e. strictly to improve your GPA) is generally not advisable. If you feel as if your grade does not reflect your true ability, doing well in a higher level course will likely impress prospective employers or graduate schools more than just repeating a class you have already passed with a C. Of course, if you sincerely believe that you have not mastered the material, as is likely the case if you received a D or lower, then repeating the class is a wise choice. If you have failed a required course or did not receive the minimum grade required for an ECE course (see below), you must repeat it.

  • ECE 20100 requires a grade of C- or higher in MA 16200 or MA 16600
  • ECE 20200 requires a grade of C or higher in ECE 20100
  • ECE 25500 requires a grade of C or higher in ECE 20100
  • ECE 26400 requires a grade of C- or higher in CS 15900
  • ECE 30100 requires a grade of C or higher in ECE 20200
  • ECE 33700 requires a grade of C or higher in ECE 27000
  • ECE 36200 requires a grade of C or higher in ECE 27000
  • ECE 36800 requires a grade of C or higher in ECE 26400
  • MA 26600 requires a grade of C- or higher in MA 26100
  • MA 26500 requires a grade of C- or higher in MA 26100 if not taken concurrently

Transfer Credit

Students should become familiar with Purdue's Transfer Credit Database and Transfer Criteria.

Courses listed in the transfer credit database as XXXX (i.e. MA 2XXXX) indicate that there was no direct equivalent found at Purdue and the credit will come in as undistributed. In such cases, it is at the discretion of the ECE undergraduate office how and if the credit will be used. Students should be prepared to provide a course description for evaluation.

At least 32 hours of ECE courses used to fulfill the ECE Requirements of the BSEE and BSCmpE degrees must be completed at the Purdue West Lafayette campus. Students who are considering taking courses at another institution with the intention of using the credit toward their Purdue ECE degree should first consult their academic advisor to ensure that their planned courses will count toward degree requirements.