Degree completion timeframe:
- Doctoral students must: (a) submit their PhD Comprehensive Portfolio and receive a pass grade (P) within four (4) semesters of entrance to the program (six (6) semesters for part-time students); (b) develop and defend a doctoral dissertation proposal and be admitted to doctoral candidacy within four (4) years of entrance to the program (five (5) years for part-time students); and (c) complete all Ph.D. requirements for their field of specialty within four (4) years of admission to doctoral candidacy.
- The doctoral dissertation must be an original and substantive contribution to knowledge in the student’s major field. It must demonstrate the student’s ability to carry out a program of research and to report the results in accordance with standards observed in the recognized scientific journals related to that field.
Coursework:
Students are required to take a minimum of 11 courses (33 credits) beyond the bachelor’s degree, where the following requirements should be met:
- At least two courses out of 11 (6 credits) must be from CMPE Group A courses.
- The student must receive a grade of B or better in two of the Group A courses so that these courses can be counted as Group A courses.
- At least five courses out of 11 (15 credits) from the courses listed under Groups A and B for CMPE.
- At least 7 courses out of 11 (21 credits) must be graduate ENEE or CMPE courses (ENEE/CMPE 600- or 700-level).
- Remaining courses:
- A maximum of 3 credits of Independent Study (ENEE/CMPE 699) are allowed.
- The remaining four courses (12 credits) can only be from CMPE/ENEE/CMSC at the 600-level or above.
Exceptions:
- Only if the student’s advisor approves that a course from another department (typically Math/Stat, Physics, Biology) is needed for the student’s research, a maximum of three courses can be taken from those disciplines. Note that requests for approval of non-CMPE/ENEE/CMSC course credits must be submitted before registering for the course. Otherwise, the credit will not be considered towards graduation. For this request, the Request for Approval of Course(s) Outside of Chosen Program form should be completed and signed by the student’s research advisor and the graduate program director. The form should include the advisor’s justification/reasoning for the student taking the course regarding the student’s research needs.
- Students who completed their bachelor’s degree at UMBC may request to double-count up to three 600–700-level courses they passed during their undergraduate program toward their Ph.D. degree. To submit this request, the Request for Approval of Double Counting B.Sc. Course(s) form must be completed and signed by the student’s research advisor and the graduate program director. Please note that, if approved, these courses will not appear on the Ph.D. transcript and will not contribute to the graduate GPA, but they will count toward the Ph.D. degree requirements. For list-A courses, a grade of B or higher is required to be considered towards the Ph.D. degree.
Note: In cases where a Ph.D. student transfers course(s) taken outside of UMBC, i.e., from a previous graduate program to be counted towards the Ph.D. degree, those course transfers should be finalized before the submission of their PhD Comprehensive Portfolio.
Group A Courses (offered every year):
- CMPE 611/CMSC 611: Computer Architecture
- CMPE 640: Custom VLSI Design
- CMPE 691: Reconfigurable System Design
Group B Courses (selected subset is offered every year)
- CMPE 641: Advanced VLSI Design II
- CMPE 645: Computer Arithmetic Algorithms & Implementation
- CMPE 646: VLSI Design Verification and Test
- CMPE 647: Analog IC Design
- CMPE 684: Wireless Sensor Networks
- CMPE 691: Hardware Security
- ENEE/CMPE 605: Applied Linear Algebra
- ENEE 601: Signal and Linear Systems Theory
- ENEE 610: Digital Signal Processing (Cross-listed with CMPE 422)
- ENEE 612: Digital Image Processing
- ENEE 620: Probability and Random Processes
- ENEE 621: Detection and Estimation Theory
- ENEE 622: Information Theory
- ENEE 630: Solid-state Electronics
- ENEE 631: Semiconductor Devices
- ENEE 639: Neural Engineering and Instrumentation
- ENEE 680: Electromagnetic Theory
- ENEE 683: Lasers
- ENEE 684: Introduction to Photonics
- ENEE 712: Pattern Recognition
Note: Students must consult with their assigned advisors prior to registration and finalize their course selection with their advisors. All courses need to be approved by the student’s advisor.