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BSEE Electives

There are a variety of electives in the EE program. These electives are divided into 7 categories:

Unless otherwise noted, all electives are 3 credits each.

300 Level EE/CMPEN Technical Electives
  • EE 311 - Electronic Circuit Design (Electronics II)
  • EE 320 - Introduction to Electro-optical Engineering
  • EE 351 - Discrete-time Linear Systems
  • EE 360 (was EE 367) - Introduction to Communications Systems
  • EE/CMPEN 362 (was EE 458) - Communication Networks
  • EE 380 (was EE 428) - Linear Control Systems
  • EE 387 (was EE 365) - Energy Conversion (Introduction to motors and generators)
  • CMPEN 331 - Computer Organization and Design
400 level EE/CMPEN Technical Electives
  • EE 410 (was EE 448) - Linear Electronic Design (Electronics III)
  • EE 413 (was EE 423) - Power Electronics
  • EE/CMPEN 416 (was EE 447) - Digital Integrated Circuits
  • EE/CMPEN 417 (was EE 478) - Field Programmable Devices
  • EE 420 - Electro-Optics; Introduction to Holography
  • EE 421 (was EE 412) - Optical Fiber Communications
  • EE 422 - Optical Engineering Laboratory
  • EE 424 (was EE 414) - Principles and Applications of Lasers
  • EE 430 (was EE 411) - Principles of Electromagnetic Fields
  • EE 432 - UHF and Microwave Engineering
  • EE 438 - Antenna Engineering
  • EE 439 - Radiowave Propagation in Communications
  • EE 441 (was EE 418) - Semiconductor Integrated Circuit Technology
  • EE 442 (was EE 419) - Solid State Devices
  • EE 453 - Fundamentals of Digital Signal Processing
  • EE/CMPEN 454 (was EE 486) - Fundamentals of Computer Vision
  • EE/CMPEN 455 (was EE 485) - Introduction to Digital Image Processing
  • EE/E SC 456 - Introduction to Neural Networks
  • EE 460 (was EE 459) - Communication System II
  • EE/AERSP/NUC E 471 (was EE 490) - Introduction to Plasmas
  • EE/AERSP 472 (was EE 492) - Space Astronomy and Introduction to Space Science
  • EE 474 - Satellite Communications
  • EE/METEO 477 (was EE 433) - Fundamentals of Remote Sensing
  • EE 482 (was EE 429) - Introduction to Digital Control Systems
  • EE 487 - Electric Machinery and Drives
  • EE 488 (was EE 461) - Power Systems Analysis I
  • EE 497 - Special Topics:  Course selection varies semester by semester

There are a small number of Computer Engineering (CMPEN) courses listed below which are not cross-listed as EE but which can still be taken as EE technical electives. However, at least two of your 300/400-level technical elective courses must be EE, not CMPEN. Courses that are cross-listed (such as EE/CMPEN 417) will count as EE courses, even if they show up on your transcript as CMPEN.

  • CMPEN 411 (was CSE 477) - VLSI Digital Circuits
  • CMPEN 431 - Computer Architecture
  • CMPEN 471 - Logical Design of Digital Systems
Engineering/Science Technical Electives

Students are required to take 3 credits of engineering/science technical electives from the following list.

  • Any course from the EE technical elective lists (300 or 400 level)
  • CMPSC 122, CMPSC 221 or any 400-level CMPSC course
  • ANy 400-level CMPEN course except CMPEN 472, 473
  • E SC 312, E SC 313 or any 400-level E SC course except E SC 400H
  • Any course from I E except I E 452
  • Any course from M E except M E 445, 455, 462
  • Any course from NUC E except NUC E 445
  • Any course from A B E, A E, AERSP, ACS (acoustics), BIOE, CHEM E, C E, E MCH
  • Any 400-level ASTRO course
  • BIOL 141 or any 400-level BIOL course
  • Any CHEM course beyond CHEM 110 except CHEM 400
  • Any 400-level EGEE course
  • Any 400-level MATH course except MATH 470, 471, 475
  • Any 400-level MATSE course
  • METEO 300 or any 400-level METEO course
  • Any 400-level MNG course
  • Any 400-level P N G course
  • PHYS 237 and any 400-level PHYS course except PHYS 400, 401, 402, 444, 457, 458
  • Any 400-level STAT course not being used to meet the Statistics elective requirement
    (STAT 414 and STAT 418 cannot both be taken for credit)
Statistics Electives

Students are required to take one of the following 3-credit statistics-related courses.

  • STAT 418 - Probability - standard statistics elective for most EE students. If you are planning to go to graduate school (particularly in the areas of signal processing, control, or communications), this course is a MUST.
  • STAT 401 - Experimental Methods - a less-rigorous alternative to STAT 418 for students who are not as strong in math and who aren't planning any graduate study
  • STAT 414 - Probability Theory - similar to STAT 418, but intended for STAT majors. Compared to STAT 418, it will have more emphasis on theory rather than application.
  • I E 424 - Process Quality Engineering - for students interested in quality control and industrial/manufacturing applications
  • PHYS 410 - Quantum Mechanics - for students interested in device physics
Arts/Humanities/Social Sciences (AHS) electives (GA, GH, and GS courses)

Students are required to take a total of 18 credits (normally 6 courses) of general education in the Arts (GA), Humanities (GH), and Social and Behavioral Sciences (GS). These credits must be divided as follows.


Intercultural and International Competence (Diversity) Requirement

Applies to students who have started at PSU prior to SU05
At least ONE of the AHS courses must also be a Diversity Focused (DF) or Intercultural/International Competence (GI) course
Note: All GI courses are now designated as either US or IL courses. Either US or IL designations satisfy the old GI requirement.

United States Cultures and International Cultures Requirement

Applies to students who have started at PSU in SU05 or later
At least ONE of the AHS courses must also be a US Cultures (US) course
At least ONE of the AHS courses must also be an International Cultures (IL) course

Exceptions to AHS elective rules
  • Foreign Language option:  Students who have earned credit for a level 3 (or higher) foreign language (e.g. Spanish 3, French 3) may use 3 credits of this language to count towards any one of the groups above (GA, GH, or GS). The student needs to submit a petition to the EE Department in which they specify which category (GA, GH, or GS) the language is being used for.
  • 3-6-9 option:  Students may complete the 18 AHS credits in an unbalanced way (e.g. 3 credits of GH, 6 credits of GS, 9 credits of GA).  The student needs to submit a petition to the EE Department in which they specify how they will redistribute the 18 credits. Note that students may only redistribute 3 credits.
  • Students who opt for both the 3-6-9 option and the foreign language option may not use the foreign language to replace the 3-6-9 area that only has 3 credits.
Health Physical Activity (GHA, GHS, and GPE courses)

Students are required to take a total of 3 credits of ESACT/HEALTH (any combination).
A list of acceptable Health and Physical Activity (GHA) courses (all programs) is available here.


Related electives

Students are required to take 6 credits of related electives from the following list. The Related elective is a 6-credit requirement aimed at broadening the knowledge base of our students through additional EE technical electives or courses in some other field that complements the EE Degree, or through professional development. There are numerous ways that this elective can be satisfied – additional technical courses, non-technical Engineering courses (leadership, green Engineering, etc.) , business courses, language courses, minor courses, ROTC credits, or Co-operative Education credits.

See next section for a list of courses that cannot be used to meet related electives

COURSES NOT ALLOWED TO MEET ANY GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS:
  • Remedial courses
  • 2-year and 4-year technology degree courses
  • Courses that closely resemble other courses taken
  • EE courses for non-majors
This list includes, but is not necessarily limited to, the following courses:
All assoc engineering tech courses (EE T, etc.)
All CHEM below 110
EE 220/211, 305/212, 317/353
E SC below 300 level
All EES&E courses
English 004, 005
ENGR 195 (Engineering Internship)
I E 452
All IETBD courses
MATH 001-111, 200, 318-319, 470, 471, 475
ME 445, 455, 462
NUC E 445
All PH SC courses
PHYS 001-200, 215, 255-400, 401, 402, 444, 457, 458
All PL ET courses
RCLED 010, 005
All SC courses
All SC&T courses
SPCOM 126

Last Updated: September 10, 2007





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