FIU College of Engineering and Computing

Florida International University - Electrical and Computer Engineering
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Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering

Degree Requirements

To be eligible for a doctoral degree in electrical and computer engineering, students must:

  1. Satisfy all university requirements for a doctoral degree degree
  2. Complete at least 75 credit hours beyond a bachelor’s degree. A maximum of 30 credits of course work earned in a master’s degree in electrical or computer engineering from FIU or other accredited institution may be counted toward the Ph.D.
  3. Complete at least 9 credits in their major area and at least 6 credits in two different breadth areas (a grade of “B” or better in each course is required). Students majoring in electrical engineering should have one minor in computer engineering and those majoring in computer engineering should have one minor in electrical engineering
  4. Complete a minimum of 45 credits of graduate course work toward the Ph.D. before eligible for candidacy
  5. Complete one academic year of full-time residency (18 credit hours within a period of 12 months)
  6. Graduate Supervisory and Research Committee should be appointed as soon as possible and no later than 15 months after being admitted to the Ph.D. program
  7. Identify your research area within 12 months of acceptance into the Ph.D. program
  8. Earn a minimum grade point average of 3.0 in all approved courses in your program of study
  9. Successfully pass the qualifying examination
  10. Successfully prepare and defend a formal dissertation proposal
  11. Successfully submit and defend the final research dissertation (all dissertations submitted must conform to university guidelines)

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Admission Requirements

  • GPA score of 3.0 or higher out of 4.0 in upper-level undergraduate work or 3.3 or higher out of 4.0 in master's program
  • GRE is not required.
  • Three letters of recommendation in the forms provided in the online application portal.
  • International graduate student applicants whose native language is not English are required to submit a score for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or for the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). A total score of 80 on the iBT TOEFL or 6.5 overall on the IELTS is required.
  • Credentials of all other applicants will be examined by the Graduate Admission Committee on a case by case basis. In addition to the departmental requirements, all students must satisfy the University’s Graduate Policies and Procedures.

For more information on admission and graduation requirements, review the Graduate Course Catalog and check out FIU's Graduate School website.

Interested? Next steps:

  1. Contact faculty in your area of interest to find an advisor. 
  2. Consult with Graduate Program Director (PhD Program only), Dr. Nezih Pala (npala@fiu.edu) for additional information/questions. 
  3. Apply to the program throughFIU Graduate School. 
  4. Applicants will be notified by the department and FIU Admissions of the decision on their applications.