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Caltech has a reputation as a world-class research university, and it is no exaggeration to say that much of this reputation is based on the quality of its graduate students. The Electrical Engineering Department at Caltech is no exception: its bright and motivated graduate students collaborate with its professors in their research efforts and make it one of the top Electrical Engineering departments in the country.
Graduate Option Rep
Option Manager
For questions regarding the Graduate Program, please contact Tanya Owen at [email protected]
An application for admission can be completed electronically through the Graduate Studies Office website. Admission will be granted only to a limited number of students of superior ability, and application should be made by the posted deadlines. Completed applications are due in the Graduate Office between December 15 and January 15. Please refer to the Graduate Office website for specific deadlines. Some options will review an application received after the deadline, but that applicant may be at a disadvantage in the allocation of financial assistance or in the priority for admission. In general, admission to graduate standing is effective for enrollment only at the beginning of the fall term. The California Institute of Technology encourages applications from members of groups underrepresented in science and engineering, including women. Graduate admissions are covered by Caltech's Nondiscrimination Policy. For more information on this policy, please refer to page 70. Applicants will automatically be considered for financial aid; no additional application is required.
To be admitted to graduate standing, an applicant must in general have received a bachelor's degree representing the completion of an undergraduate course in science or engineering equivalent to one of the options offered by the Institute. He or she must, moreover, have attained such a scholastic record and present such recommendations as to indicate fitness to pursue, with distinction, advanced study and research. Admission sometimes may have to be refused solely on the basis of limited facilities in the option concerned.
Please visit the Caltech Graduate Studies website for downloadable forms, important dates, and further information about the admissions process. Apply now!
Award of the Bachelor of Science degree may be followed by graduate study leading to the Master of Science degree in electrical engineering, and the more advanced degrees of Electrical Engineer or Doctor of Philosophy. Because admission to graduate studies in electrical engineering at Caltech is extremely competitive, the Admissions Committee attempts to select those applicants it judges both best qualified and best suited for the graduate program. The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) will not be required or considered for admission to the Ph.D. or M.S. degree programs in Electrical Engineering. The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy offers two tracks: EE only and Medical and Electrical Engineering (Med-EE). The Med-EE track is offered jointly by both departments of Electrical Engineering and Medical Engineering (see MedE Section), available to any students to graduate after Fall 2022; the single degree to be shown on the diploma is "Ph.D. in Medical and Electrical Engineering."
Normally, the master's degree in electrical engineering is completed in one academic year. The principal criteria for evaluating applicants for the MSEE are the excellence of their preparation for the math- and physics-oriented nature of Caltech's graduate courses, and the judgment of the Admissions Committee on their ability to successfully pursue and benefit from the course program. The Institute does not normally admit an applicant to the master's degree in a field in which the applicant already has a master's degree from another U.S. institution. Financial aid is seldom offered to those who intend to complete their graduate work with a master's degree. A joint B.S./M.S. degree is not available in electrical engineering.
135 units (100 or above) are required as approved by the electrical engineering graduate student adviser. No more than 30 units of pass/fail grades may be counted toward this requirement. Units toward this are not transferable from other schools. At least 54 units of EE letter-graded courses (courses listed or cross-listed as EE) labeled 100 or above and not counting EE 291 are required. EE 105 ac and EE 102, Electrical Engineering Seminar, is also required. Students are urged to consider including a humanities course in the remaining free electives.
Students who have been admitted to the M.S.-only program must reapply if they are interested in the Ph.D. program.
The engineer's degree may be awarded in exceptional cases. The awarding of this degree requires fulfilling the Institute requirements for an engineer's degree and receiving a recommendation for its awarding from the candidacy oral examination committee.
As a rule, applicants who wish to undertake research work leading to a degree of Doctor of Philosophy in electrical engineering are admitted initially only for the MSEE. They are, however, evaluated according to additional criteria, the most important of which is the applicant's interest in and potential for research in one of the areas described below. The statement of purpose required as part of the application should clearly address this match. Considerable weight is also given to the opinions expressed in the applicant's letters of recommendation.
During the Ph.D. applicant's master's degree year, evaluation continues. It is based in part on performance in courses and in part on a qualifying oral examination scheduled early in the second quarter. As the year progresses, the electrical engineering faculty get to know the student, and the student makes contact with the professor in his or her area of research interest. Upon acceptance into a research group, the student begins research work and defers receiving the master's degree until formal admission into the Ph.D. program. If the Adviser is not an EE faculty member, the student should meet with the EE Option Representative and develop an oversight plan to monitor progress. Before the end of his or her third academic year of graduate study, the student takes the Ph.D. oral candidacy examination.
Financial aid available to a Ph.D. applicant includes teaching assistantships and fellowships. TA duties consist of grading papers or lab instruction but not classroom lecturing. A fellowship may be supplemented by a teaching assistantship, and either or both include a full tuition scholarship. Tuition scholarships alone are not available.
To be recommended for candidacy for the EE Ph.D. degree, the applicant must satisfy the following requirements (and pass the Ph.D. qualifying oral examination) no later than the end of the third academic year:
The Ph.D. qualifying oral exam and the final defense exam are conducted by committees that are set up by the student and approved by the option representative. Members of these Ph.D. committees also serve as second or backup mentors in cases where such additional advising and problem solving are appropriate.
The candidate is required to take a final oral examination covering the doctoral thesis and its significance in and relation to his or her major field. This final examination will be given no less than two weeks after the doctoral thesis has been presented in final form, and before its approval. This examination must be taken at least four weeks before the commencement at which the degree is to be granted. The Med-EE Ph.D. thesis must be related to both options. The final thesis defense exam is conducted by a committee that is set up by the student and approved by the option representative of the home department. The committee must be composed of 2 members from each option. The committee must include the advisor, but another member of the committee must be selected as chair.
Periodic meetings between the advising faculty and the graduate student are an integral part of the Ph.D. program. These meetings should be at sufficiently frequent intervals, as determined by the student and adviser. Students are also encouraged to meet with other members of the Ph.D. committee, the option representative, the executive officer, or Caltech's ombudsperson to discuss problems relating to satisfactory progress.
The track was established by Andrew and Peggy Cherng Department of Medical Engineering and the Department of Electrical Engineering at Caltech in the Fall 2022. The single degree to be shown on the diploma is "Ph.D. in Medical and Electrical Engineering".
Admission to candidacy
To be recommended for candidacy for the Med-EE Ph.D. program, each student must do the following.
MedE course requirements
EE course requirements
Thesis and final examination
The Med-EE Ph.D. thesis must be related to both options. The final thesis defense exam is conducted by a committee that is set up by the student and approved by the option representative of the home department. The committee must be composed of 2 members from each option. The committee must include the advisor, but another member of the committee must be selected as chair. The committee chair must be a Caltech Professorial faculty member. This final examination will be given no less than two weeks after the doctoral thesis has been presented in final form, and before its approval. This examination must be taken at least four weeks before the commencement at which the degree is to be granted. This thesis examination will be a defense of the doctoral thesis and a test of the candidate's knowledge in their specialized doctoral research area.
A student majoring in another option at the Institute may elect a subject minor in electrical engineering. The student must obtain approval from the electrical engineering faculty of a course of study containing at least 45 units (over the 100 level) of advanced courses with an EE listing (excluding 291). At least 36 of these should be for letter grades no lower than C. Undergraduate first-year classes cannot be counted toward this.
