Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering - Solid State Devices

The MS program in electrical and computer engineering requires 36 to 40 semester hours of study. How you earn those credits—and what your academic experience is like—depends on whether you select the thesis option or the coursework-only option

Solid state devices is a wide area of electronic devices and systems based on semiconductors. Those materials could be elemental semiconductors, such as silicon (Si) and germanium (Ge), or compound semiconductors that combine two or more materials from the periodic table, such as GaAs, InP, and AlGaAs. Silicon, the most studied material in the periodic table, has been the material of choice for semiconductor device fabrication since the early 1960s. Compound semiconductors, on the other hand, have electrical properties superior to Si and are now replacing Si in high-speed electronic applications. The main advantage of these semiconductors is that their electronic properties can be precisely tailored to specific electronic and photonic applications. The solid state device area concentrates on theory and device fabrication to provide a solid background for future electronic device development.

Successful masters program applicants should have an undergraduate degree from an accredited college or university in electrical engineering computer engineering engineering physics computer science or a related field We also will consider outstanding applicants with other appropriate academic backgrounds who demonstrate the promise to succeed in graduate-level study in ECE MS applicants should have a GPA of 3.0 or higher on a scale of 4.0 based on the last 60 hours of undergraduate coursework completed Transcripts of all previous undergraduate and graduate work GRE general test scores The GRE requirement is temporarily waived for Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 applications Students do not need to submit scores but are encouraged to do so if they feel their test performance would enhance their prospects for admission or financial aid For score reporting our institution code is 1851 and no department code is required English competency test Applicants whose native language is not English are required to take an English competency test Minimum required scores are iBT Internetbased TOEFL of 80 with subscores of Reading 19 Listening 17 Speaking 20 and Writing 21 New PaperBased TOEFL after August 2018 of 60 with subscores of Reading 19 Listening 17 Writing 21 Institutional Testing PaperBased TOEFL prior to August 2018 of 550 IELTS of 6.5 with all four subscores of at least 6.0 or PTE Academic of 54 with subscores of Reading 51 Listening 47 Speaking 53 and Writing 56 GRE TOEFL IELTS and other test scores must be sent directly from the testing service to UIC UICs Institutional Code is 1851 for the GRE and the TOEFL Personal statement and rsumCV PhD applicants only These items are required for PhD applicants Use the personal statement to tell us who you are what has influenced your academic or career path so far what your professional interests are and what you hope to do after completing your graduate education Letters of recommendation PhD applicants only Letters should be written by people who are familiar with your academic work and who can assess your potential for success in graduate studies and research Note during the application process you will be asked to provide the email addresses of your references and UIC will contact these individuals to request the references directly