To qualify for the BSEE degree you must successfully complete 180 credit hours of course work. A minimum of 45 credits must be earned in residence at the UW in order to receive the BSEE degree. In addition, students must take at least 30 credits of specific EE coursework in residence at the UW. A summary of the current BSEE curriculum requirements and a sample four-year plan is available.

The ECE Advising Office maintains a curriculum chart for each student in the Department This record shows each curriculum area as well as required courses within each area. In addition, you may obtain a DARS (Degree Audit Reporting System) report via the MyUW option on the UW web page. Please note that DARS reports do not always accurately reflect fulfillment of degree requirements; if you have any questions about discrepancies, please contact the ECE Advising Office.

Requirements for the BSEE degree are distributed into twelve areas of study:

Mathematics
Statistics
Natural Science
Computer Programming
EE Core
EE Major Concentration Area
EE Electives
Additional Engineering Electives
Written and Oral Communication
Non-EE Approved Electives
Arts & Humanities (A&H) and Social Sciences (SSc)
Free Electives

Mathematics (24 credits)

  • MATH 124, 125, 126 Calculus with Analytical Geometry 1,2,3
  • MATH 207 (formerly 307) Introduction to Differential Equations OR AMATH 351 Introduction to Differential Equations and Applications
  • MATH 208 (formerly 308) Linear Algebra OR AMATH 352 Applied Linear Algebra and Numerical Analysis
  • MATH 224 (formerly 324)Advanced Multivariable Calculus

Statistics (3 credits)

Choose one of the following classes:

 

  • STAT 390 Probability and Statistics in Engineering and Science
  • STAT 391 Quantitative Introductory Statistics for Data Science
  • MATH/STAT 394 Probability I
  • IND E 315 Probability and Statistics for Engineers

(Students taking 390 or 391 will earn one more credit than necessary for this requirement. Excess credit will apply to Free Electives.)

Natural Science (20 credits)

Computer Programming (4-5 credits)

  • Either CSE 123 Intro to Computer Programming III or CSE 143 Computer Programming II

Electrical Engineering Core (14 credits)

  • EE 215 Fundamentals of Electrical Engineering
  • EE 233 Circuit Theory
  • either EE 235 Continuous Time Linear Systems, or EE 242 Signal Processing I

Electrical Engineering Major Concentration Area (24-40 credits)

Students may also elect to pursue the Nanoscience and Molecular Engineering Degree Option.

Additional EE Electives

In addition to completing the Electrical Engineering Core and at least one of the Major Concentration Areas, students must take enough additional EE courses so that their total of EE credits equals or exceeds 58. EE 393 Advanced Technical Writing in Electrical Engineering does not apply to EE or Engineering Electives.

Professional Issues Course Requirement

All students are required to take a professional issues ethics course. This requirement covers issues relating to professional development, ethical dilemmas, and societal expectations of engineers. Students can choose from the following courses: EE 398, EE 406, EE 418, EE 426, or EE 456. Please see an ECE advisor for a list of the most current course options. EE 398 is not considered a seminar and thus does not apply to the 2 credit seminar limit (see below).

Engineering Internship Program

The Engineering Internship Program provides students with meaningful experience in industry which can help guide their remaining studies. Students enrolled in the Program have full-time or part-time paid employment while earning academic credit. Electrical Engineering students can earn up to 2 credits per quarter (ENGR 321) and apply up to 4 credits (ENGR 321) toward their degree as Engineering Electives or EE Electives. A student may apply no more than 12 credits in total of ENGR 321, EE 499, ENGR 297 or 497, or independent study courses in other departments towards their degree requirements.

Undergraduate Research (Independent Study)

Students may apply up to 10 credits of EE 499 Special Projects work to the EE Electives requirement. This represents research or a design project carried out under the supervision of a faculty sponsor. Students may register for between one and five credits each quarter; the precise number of credits is determined by the student and the faculty supervisor and is dependent on the amount of work to be carried out. Each credit generally represents between three and five hours of work each week. To register for these credits, please pick up an “EE 499 Approval for Undergraduate Research and Special Projects” form from the Advising Office, obtain a faculty signature and turn in to Advising for an entry code. Students may apply a maximum of 12 research credits, subject to course maximum credit limits and individual area limits, to EE elective, non-EE elective, or COE elective requirements. Students may also register for EE 490, which is CR/NC. EE 490 does not apply to any EE degree requirements.

EE 490/499 Approval Form

Additional College of Engineering Electives

In addition to the 58 minimum credits required of EE coursework, you must earn an additional 10 credits in technical courses from departments in the College of Engineering. These credits can come from ECE, another COE department, or a combination of COE departments. These courses must be at the 200-level or above, with the following exceptions:

The following courses DO count:

  • MSE 170 Fundamentals of Materials Science

The following non-EE research courses will apply toward COE elective requirements:

  • AA 299, 499
  • CHEM E 499
  • CEE 499
  • CSE 498, 499
  • ENGR 297, 497
  • HCDE 499
  • IND E 499
  • MSE 497, 499
  • ME 495, 498, 499

Students may apply a maximum of twelve research credits to the EE Electives, College of Engineering Electives and/or Approved Non-EE Electives requirements. The sum of the credits from the EE Core, EE Major Area, EE Electives, and College of Engineering Electives must equal or exceed 68. Please note that these credits do not take the place of the Approved Non-EE Electives requirement described below. That is a separate requirement.

 

Seminar Courses Applied to Required Credits

Students may apply a maximum of two seminar credits to the EE Electives, College of Engineering Electives and/or Approved Non-EE Electives requirements (see list below for Approved Non-EE courses). Seminars are considered any course structured as a seminar (typically 1-2 credits), regardless of whether they are graded or CR/NC. EE 398 is not considered a seminar and thus does *not* apply to the 2 credit seminar limit. Possible seminars include EE 491 (Undergraduate Seminar – Departmental Colloquium), EE 492 (Leadership Seminar), and EE 500 (Energy Seminar). Some EE 500 seminars may not be open to general enrollment, so please check with the responsible faculty member to determine if the seminar is suitable and you can enroll in it. Seminars offered by other departments may be counted towards the appropriate class of elective credit, subject to the maximum two credit limit.

 

Graduate Courses Applied to EE Electives

Under special circumstances you may petition, as an undergraduate, to apply up to 4 credits earned in graduate courses (other than graduate seminars and courses labeled EE 500) toward your minimum 58 required EE credits. Before such a request can be approved, you must demonstrate that you have the required background for the graduate courses. Consult the ECE Advising Office for additional information.

Written and Oral Communication (12 credits)

This requirement includes two components described below: English Composition and Additional Writing Requirements

 

English Composition

At least 5 credits of English Composition must be taken from the UW’s approved list of composition courses. These courses include:

  • C LIT 240 (5) Writing in Comparative Literature
  • ENGL 109, and 110 Introductory Composition (both courses must be completed to receive credit, but you may only apply 5 credits to the BSEE degree)
  • ENGL 111 Composition: Literature
  • ENGL 121 Composition: Social Issues
  • ENGL 131 Composition: Exposition
  • ENGL 182 The Research Paper
  • ENGL 197 Interdisciplinary Writing/Humanities (VLPA)
  • ENGL 198 Interdisciplinary Writing/Social Sciences (I&S)
  • ENGL 199 Interdisciplinary Writing/Natural Sciences(NW)
  • ENGL 281 Intermediate Expository Writing

If you have transfer credit that you think is similar to the courses above, but which did not transfer exactly as any of the courses above, please check with the ECE Advising Office.

 

Additional Writing Requirements

  • ENGR 231 Introduction to Technical Writing (3 cr.)
  • EE 393 Advanced Technical Writing in Electrical Engineering (4 cr.)

Approved Non-EE Electives (10 credits)

Any course offered at the University of Washington numbered 200 or higher may be used for this requirement with the following exceptions:

  • Courses cross-listed with an E E course.
  • Courses in the B EE and TEE curricula.
  • Courses required for the degree, such as MATH 207 (formerly 307), 208 (formerly 308), 224 (formerly 324), ENGR 231, etc.
  • Any independent study course.
  • Seminar courses are subject to the 2 credit seminar limit across Non-E E and 68 credit total area.

The following courses at the 100 level may be counted:

  • BIOL 130, 180
  • CHEM 152, 155, 162, 165

Arts & Humanities (A&H) and Social Sciences (SSc) (25 credits)

A total of 25 credits are required, with a minimum of 10 credits in each separate area. A&H/SSc (formerly known as VLPA/I&S) courses are designated in the quarterly time schedule and the UW course catalog. A minimum of 5 credits of diversity (DIV) coursework is required. The DIV credits may overlap with A&H or SSc. Special Note: For students admitted to the University prior to autumn quarter 2023, the DIV requirement is 3 credits.

Free Electives (12-14 credits)

These credits can be fulfilled by any courses for which the University of Washington gives credit, except courses which duplicate or parallel courses for which you have already received credit.

S/NS and CR/NC Grading

You may not apply any courses graded Satisfactory/Non-Satisfactory (S/NS) to any distribution or major requirement, but you may use them as Free Electives. You may apply courses graded Credit/Non-Credit (CR/NC) where appropriate.

Registration

You should plan your quarterly schedule of classes well in advance of your assigned registration day. You should also meet an adviser to discuss any questions regarding your schedule or to confirm that your schedule of courses covers your requirements. Staff in the ECE Advising Office can also answer questions regarding course availability, scheduling, etc. Be sure to register for courses on your assigned registration day as many EE courses tend to fill up quickly. Please sign up on Notify.UW for closed courses as ECE does not maintain waitlists. If you still haven’t gained a space by the first day of classes, plan to attend the class for the first week to see if a space opens up or if the instructor will let you overload.

Applicability of Requirements

The BSEE requirements apply to all students admitted to the department in or after Autumn quarter 2006 and until such time as a new curriculum or amendment is issued. Students admitted while this curriculum is in effect will not be subject to additional degree requirements except those necessary to comply with accreditation requirements.

If you are a returning student who was originally admitted to the department in a previous quarter, different requirements may apply to you. Please consult the ECE Advising Office for guidance.

Changes in policy and administrative procedures can be applied to students admitted before the effective date of this curriculum, as long as such changes do not modify the total number of credits required for the BSEE degree and the distribution of those credits.