Electrical and Computer Engineering
Overview
The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering doctoral program draws students from all over the world, with most candidates entering the program directly after completing an undergraduate degree in disciplines such as electrical engineering, computer science or physics. Although our doctoral program is one of the largest at Princeton, its scale still allows students to receive personal attention and extensive faculty interaction.
Research in the Department is collaborative and interdisciplinary. The current main themes of research span areas from applied physics, devices, advanced circuits, and high-performance computing to security, data and information science, and artificial intelligence. Details on those research themes and related application domains can be found on the Department’s website under the Research link as well as on faculty and research group websites. There are also a variety of interdisciplinary research centers at Princeton that enhance and broaden educational and research opportunities.
New graduate students spend the first semester on coursework and typically select a thesis research advisor at the start of the spring semester, based on a match of research interests. The program combines a balance of preliminary and advanced coursework (400/500 numbered courses) and innovative research leading to a doctoral dissertation and award of the Ph.D. degree. Candidates earn a Masters of Arts degree en route to the Ph.D. degree. The nominal length of the program is five years. Students maintaining good progress will be provided with full financial support during the duration of the program. This support covers university tuition and fees and provides a stipend for living expenses. It is awarded through a combination of university fellowships and research/teaching assistantship positions. Housing is available for all first-year graduate students, and most students are accommodated in university housing for the duration of their regular enrollment. Many additional details about the program can be found in the Graduate Student Handbook.
Applying
Ph.D. applicants are required to select a research area of interest when applying.
Optional: Applicants may submit a statement with their application, briefly describing how their academic interests, background, or life experiences would advance Princeton’s commitment to diversity within the Graduate School and to training individuals in an increasingly diverse society. Please submit a succinct statement of no more than 500 words.
Please note, the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering is not currently accepting applications for the M.Eng. program.
Ph.D.
The doctoral program combines course work and participation in original research. Most students enter the program with an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering, computer science, physics, or a related discipline. Some have a master’s degree, but that is not necessary for success in the program. Every admitted Ph.D. student is given financial support in the form of a first-year fellowship. Students in academic good standing are supported on a teaching assistant or research assistant after the first year. Students who remain on campus working with their adviser during the summer will receive summer salary. In addition, all admitted Ph.D. students are automatically considered for the prestigious Wu and Upton Fellowships.
In the first year of the program, the main emphasis is on coursework. Students take courses both for proficiency within their specialty as well as for breadth. The program has no specific required courses, but there is a required minimum course count and a required minimum GPA. During the first year, students must complete a minimum of six courses in their area(s) of interest in preparation for research and the general examination. Each student is assigned a first-year academic adviser who assists the student in determining the appropriate courses. Students must complete a minor area of study. This can be completed by achieving a GPA of at least 3.3 in two or more coherent courses approved by the adviser. The courses must be in an area distinct from the student's research.
Research Adviser
Each incoming student to the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering is assigned an academic adviser to help with course selection and other concerns the student may have. Mid-way through the fall semester, each student gives a rank ordered list of preferred research advisers. This information is combined with the faculty’s preference ranking of students and available funding to arrive at the faculty-student pairing. This is usually done by the end of the fall semester in the student’s first year. Students should consult with their academic adviser and the faculty coordinator for guidance during the adviser selection process. Once the advisee-adviser pairing has been agreed upon by the adviser and the student, the chosen adviser takes over academic and research advising.
Choosing a research adviser is one of the most important steps in the Ph.D. program; it should be done with care. Students should prepare for adviser selection by reviewing research materials for all faculty members in their area of interest and speaking with potential advisers to determine intellectual fit and capability.
Students are expected to successfully complete the general during the fourth term of their Ph.D. studies. Students are not normally readmitted to a third year (fifth term) of graduate study unless they have successfully completed the general examination. The general examination consists of a research seminar and an oral exam. The seminar is a 45-minute presentation of research accomplished at Princeton. It is intended to indicate that a student is capable of independent research and has started a research topic that has the potential to lead to a doctoral dissertation. The oral exam is administered by the examination committee and is held not more than one month after the research seminar, and within the periods set by the Graduate School for the general exam. The examination committee is selected by the research adviser in consultation with the student.
The Master of Arts can be earned by Ph.D. students en route to their Ph.D., after the student has: (a) presented a research seminar approved by the student’s general examination committee and (b) passed the oral general examination. It may also be awarded to students who, for various reasons, leave the Ph.D. program, provided that these requirements have been met.
Please note, students admitted to the Ph.D. program who do not wish to complete the program may be considered for an M.S.E. degree with approval from the department and the Graduate School. Ph.D. students who have already been awarded the incidental M.A. are not eligible to earn an M.S.E.
Teaching experience is considered to be a significant part of graduate education. Prior to completion of the program, doctoral students must complete at least one assignment as a teaching assistant (TA). To be a teaching assistant, a student must first demonstrate proficiency in English by passing, or being exempted from, the Princeton Oral Proficiency Test (POPT). Students are encouraged to satisfy the POPT requirement as early as possible.
At least six months prior to your FPO (or with the permission of the Director of Graduate Studies for another time), you must schedule and hold a preliminary FPO with your FPO committee present. At the pre-FPO presentation, you are required to present research progress, results till date and present plans, and a timeline to complete your dissertation work. The pre-PFO is meant to give you valuable feedback by the committee.It is not graded..
The final public oral examination is taken after the candidate’s dissertation has been examined for technical mastery by a committee and approved by the Graduate School; it is primarily a defense of the dissertation.
The Ph.D. is awarded after the candidate’s doctoral dissertation has been accepted and the final public oral examination sustained.
M.Eng.
The Master of Engineering (M.Eng.) program is designed to enable students develop a stronger foundation in a technical area for professional practice or for preparation for a higher degree. The degree requires the successful completion of eight courses. A thesis is not required for the M.Eng. degree. However, research project courses are available.
Master’s students must successfully complete eight graded technical courses at the 400 and/or 500 level, including at least four courses at the 500-level. These courses must be approved by the student’s academic advisor. All eight courses must be taken for a grade, and students must have an overall G.P.A. of "B" (3.0) or better at the time they complete the program requirements in order to receive the degree.
Faculty
Chair
- Sharad Malik
Associate Chair
- Claire F. Gmachl
Director of Graduate Studies
- Kaushik Sengupta
Director of Undergraduate Studies
- James C. Sturm
Executive Committee
- Claire F. Gmachl, Electrical Engineering
- Niraj K. Jha, Electrical Engineering (fall)
- Sharad Malik, Electrical Engineering
- Peter J. Ramadge, Electrical Engineering
- James C. Sturm, Electrical Engineering
- Naveen Verma, Electrical Engineering (spring)
Professor
- Ravindra N. Bhatt
- Stephen Y. Chou
- Jason W. Fleischer
- Claire F. Gmachl
- Andrew A. Houck
- Niraj K. Jha
- Antoine Kahn
- Sanjeev R. Kulkarni
- Sun-Yuan Kung
- Ruby B. Lee
- Stephen A. Lyon
- Sharad Malik
- H. Vincent Poor
- Paul R. Prucnal
- Peter J. Ramadge
- Mansour Shayegan
- James C. Sturm
- Naveen Verma
Associate Professor
- Emmanuel A. Abbe
- Prateek Mittal
- Barry P. Rand
- Alejandro W. Rodriguez
- Kaushik Sengupta
- Hakan E. Türeci
- Mengdi Wang
- David Wentzlaff
- Gerard Wysocki
Assistant Professor
- Minjie Chen
- Yuxin Chen
- Jaime Fernandez Fisac
- Chi Jin
- Jason D. Lee
- Jeffrey D. Thompson
- Nathalie P. de Leon
Associated Faculty
- Amir Ali Ahmadi, Oper Res and Financial Eng
- Craig B. Arnold, Mechanical & Aerospace Eng
- David I. August, Computer Science
- Jianqing Fan, Oper Res and Financial Eng
- Gillat Kol, Computer Science
- Kai Li, Computer Science
- Lynn Loo, Chemical and Biological Eng
- Margaret R. Martonosi, Computer Science
- Jason R. Petta, Physics
- Warren B. Powell, Oper Res and Financial Eng
- Jennifer L. Rexford, Computer Science
Lecturer
- Hossein Valavi