Degree Programs

To prepare the electrical engineers of the future, the University of South Carolina offers bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programs in electrical engineering. Requirements for these comprehensive programs include:

Bachelor’s degree: 121 semester hours, including 21 hours of general education requirements, 43 hours of math and science, and 57 hours of engineering and technical career track electives

Master’s degree: 30 semester hours of course work beyond the bachelor’s degree, including 6 hours of thesis preparation for the Master of Science, or 30 semester hours of course work beyond the bachelor’s degree for the Master of Engineering, which is a non-thesis graduate degree that focuses on professional development for practicing engineers

Doctoral degree: 60 semester hours beyond the bachelor’s degree. Course requirements are established by the student’s advisory committee. Master’s and Ph.D. programs in electrical engineering emphasize research-oriented graduate study.

For more information

To learn more about the undergraduate electrical engineering program, click to e-mail Dr. Charles Brice or call Dr. Brice at 803.777.7049.

For more information on the graduate program, click to e-mail Dr. Antonello Monti or call Dr. Monti at 803.777.4195.

About Electrical Engineering

Electrical engineering deals with energy and power; micro-, nano- and optoelectronics; digital and analog electronics; control systems; sensors; telecommunications; and many other exciting areas. In such vital areas as medicine and biomedicine, homeland security, weaponry, supercomputers, lighting, the internet, and mobile communications, rapid progress crucially depends on breakthroughs in electronics and electrical engineering.

With tremendous proliferation of electronics in everyday life and with humanity’s increasing dependency on electricity as an energy source, the field of electrical engineering has evolved into one of the most important and lucrative areas of development.

The study of electrical engineering requires an inventive mind with an interest in mathematics, physics, computer science, software programming, and industrial and laboratory training. The broad and in-depth cross-disciplinary knowledge is rapidly becoming an essential requirement for future electrical engineers.

Salaries among new B.S. degree holders average about $53,000 while Ph.D. graduates can command a much higher amount. According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s latest report, the employment of electrical engineers will increase 9 to 17 percent through the year 2014.

Areas of Study

The Department of Electrical Engineering at USC prepares students for a wide range of professional practice. Undergraduate opportunities in all areas of study abound here at USC, where research begins in the early undergraduate years. Our state-of-the-art laboratories will give you the experience needed for your career.

At USC, the study of power systems and power electronics focuses on next energy challenges, developing highly efficient all-solid-state power sources with digital controls, simulations of high-complexity electromechanical, chemical, bio- and other systems using the Virtual Test Bed package developed in the electrical engineering department (EE).

At USC, the study of microelectronics generates new revolutionary concepts, devices, and systems for people of the 21st century. EE students are involved in the studies of solid-state light sources that can emit light of any color combination with unprecedented efficiency; invisible ultraviolet sources curing cancer and disinfecting water, air, and food; transistors operating at incredibly high speeds of thousands of billion bits per second, capable of working at enormous temperatures above 600º F; and other next-generation devices.

At USC, the study of communication systems designs miniature electronically reconfigurable antennae for applications spanning from cell phones and PDAs to radars. Electromagnetic simulations solve the problems of microwave signal propagation, control and redirection in microelectronic circuits, cables, and computer boards.