May 09, 2024  
General Catalog 2023-2024 
    
General Catalog 2023-2024 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Electrical and Computer Engineering


About the Department

Reza Raeisi, Department Chair
East Engineering Building, Room 254A
559.278.6038
engineering.fresnostate.edu/ece/

Electrical Engineering

The Electrical Engineering Program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).

Electrical engineers design and develop electronic circuits, equipment and systems in the areas of electromagnetics (antennas; radar, radio, and television systems), communications (telephone systems, satellite communications; laser and optical fiber communications; aircraft and missile guidance systems), computers and digital systems (computers, microprocessors, and microcomputers; artificial intelligence), physical electronics and optics (transistors; integrated circuits; optical display devices; lasers; optical fibers), power systems and energy conversion (electric power generation; analysis and synthesis of power transmission and distribution protection systems design; on-line power control protection systems design), and control systems (computer control, robotics, automated manufacturing, intelligent sensors). Hands-on experiences are emphasized and gained through laboratory work and design projects.

Interesting Classes You Might Take

  • Digital Signal Processing
  • Communication Engineering
  • Wireless Communications Systems
  • Electromagnetic Theory and Applications

What You Can Learn

  • Principles of electrical circuits
  • Structural organization, hardware architecture and design of digital computer systems
  • Design of digital systems utilizing microprocessors
  • Analyze and design high frequency amplifiers

Computer Engineering

The Computer Engineering Program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). Computer engineering is a discipline which allows the student to obtain expertise in the design, programming, and applications of computers. It prepares the graduate for professional practice or graduate studies.

The program combines the following:

  • A strong emphasis on electrical engineering (primarily electronic circuits and systems)
  • A broad basis in mathematics, physical science, and general engineering
  • Fundamentals of computer science including programming methodology, software engineering, and operating systems
  • Introductory and advanced concepts in the design of computers and computer systems

A rich set of technical area courses is available to allow students to broaden their knowledge within any of several computer engineering areas.

Interesting Classes You Might Take

  • Digital Logic Design
  • Signals and Systems
  • Electricity, Magnetism and Heat
  • Principles of Electric Circuits

What You Can Learn

  • Electronic prototyping and tools for computer productivity
  • Computer assisted engineering
  • Analysis of direct-current circuits
  • Verification of basic circuit laws and principles

Mission and Program Educational Objectives

The mission of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering is to fulfill the needs of the region and state by providing an undergraduate and graduate technical education in electrical engineering and computer engineering to a diverse group of students. Additionally, the department strives to continually update its rigorous programs of study in order to qualify its graduates for positions in industry located in the region and beyond while providing sufficient programmatic breadth and depth to assure a successful practice in the profession. Furthermore, students are grounded in the rigorous scientific and theoretical foundations of the discipline, in order not only to enable graduates to enter and be successful in any advanced level educational program of their choosing, but also to be able to build upon this strong foundation and extend it to new depths.

The Electrical Engineering Program and the Computer Engineering Program award degrees to students who within three to five years of graduation, through work experience and/or graduate education in the engineering field, will be expected to

  1. have grown technically to the level sufficient to be productive in their respective industry workplaces.
  2. be capable of addressing technical problems of increasing complexity.
  3. communicate and function effectively in an interdisciplinary team environment at a level commensurate with their career development.
  4. demonstrate an ability for independent learning and continued professional as well as ethical development.

The mission of the department complements and is enhanced by a graduate program leading to the M.S. in Engineering. For more information, see Master of Science in Engineering Program.

The faculty members possess depth and breadth in their specialty areas and are active in bringing these experiences and skills to the classroom. The identifiable strengths of the academic program are the laboratory and hands-on experience for students, the proper attention given to the scientific and mathematical foundation of electrical engineering and computer engineering, and the rigor of upper-division courses coupled with design and culminating senior projects. The technical and liberal arts components of the curriculum provide the students with the opportunity for gaining self-development, technical competence, and awareness of economic and ethical responsibilities. The technical curriculum includes (1) basic engineering science, (2) core electrical and computer engineering subjects, and (3) a junior-/senior-level choice for more depth in communications and analog systems, power systems and controls, or digital systems and computers.

The department requires mandatory advising to help students make sound academic decisions.

Organizations

Student chapters of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) and Eta Kappa Nu (the national honor society for electrical engineers) are active in the department. The Lyles College of Engineering, in addition, has chapters of Tau Beta Pi, the Society of Women Engineers, the Society of Hispanic Engineers, and the National Society of Black Engineers.

Co-op Program

The department participates in the Valley Industry Partnership Program which allows students to integrate planned industrial experiences into their academic programs. Students interested in this program should contact the chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the college’s co-op coordinator.

Mandatory Advising

Students must complete mandatory advising with a faculty member at least once during each academic year. Students who fail to do so by the established deadline (usually around the end of April) will be prevented from participating in the registration process prior to the start of classes.

Changing/Adding an Electrical and Computer Engineering Major

Students currently enrolled at Fresno State are welcome to change/add an Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) major offered in the Lyles College of Engineering. In order to add/change your major, students must meet all of the following conditions: Submit an application detailing their motivation and academic/all other preparation for potential success in the new major.

  1. Students shall have completed MATH 75, PHYS 4A and ECE 1 with a grade of C or better, or be exempt from these courses because of AP credit or other transfer credit.
  2. Students shall meet with the department chair (or designee) and develop a plan of study that shows that the student can complete the remainder of the degree in less than 8 semesters.
  3. Students who will be adding/changing their major with more than 144 units will need to receive approval from the Dean of Undergraduate Studies.

Career Opportunities

Computer Engineering
Computer Engineering encompasses digital and computer systems, embedded processors, digital signal processing, R. F. (wireless) systems, optical communications, solid-state electronics, integrated circuit design and fabrication, computer networking and software engineering. Our BS degree program provides:

  • A strong emphasis in electrical engineering (primarily electronic circuits and systems);
  • A broad basis in mathematics, physical science, and general engineering;
  • Fundamentals of computer science including programming, methodology, software engineering; and
  • Introductory and advanced concepts in the design of computers and computer systems.

What You Can Earn

  • Computer Engineer Median Salary, $117.2 K (in California)

Source: http://www.careerexplorer.com (2021)

What You Can Do

Pursue careers in optical communications, microelectronics, computers, radar, microwave communications, and innovative alternative energy sources.

Electrical Engineering
The Electrical Engineering course of study broadly prepares the graduate for professional practice or graduate studies while offering several areas of emphasis. Electrical engineers design and develop electronic circuits, equipment and systems in the areas of electromagnetics , communications and control , computers and digital systems, physical electronics and optics, power systems and energy conversion, and control systems.

By the appropriate choice of technical area courses, the student may emphasize the following areas:

  • Electronics and communications
  • Computers and digital systems
  • Power and energy conversion and control systems

What You Can Earn

  • Electrical Engineer Median, $99.4K

Source: http://www.careerexplorer.com ( 2021)

Programs

    BachelorMasterMinor