Students with a cumulative AND program QPA of 3.00 or above automatically become eligible for the IMB program in the second semester of their junior year once they have completed at least 270 units. To be officially admitted, students must attend an IMB info session in the term in which they wish to declare and submit a declaration form. IMB info sessions are offered three times per semester and all juniors and seniors receive an email in the first few weeks of classes with that semester’s dates. Students may attend an info session in any semester, but they must attend an info session in the term in which they intend to submit a declaration form. Students who meet all requirements for the IMB program and attend an info session will be emailed the link to declare. The deadline to sign up for the IMB program for students who meet all requirements is late October for the fall semester and mid-March for the spring semester.

The information sessions for the Spring '25 semester will be held on Tuesday, February 18th, Wednesday, February 19th, and Friday, February 21st . ECE juniors and seniors, please refer to your email for additional details. If you are unable to attend an information session due to a class conflict, please contact your academic advisor.

Students intending to declare the MS in Software Engineering must also receive approval from the MS-SE Program Lead, Professor Hakan Erdogmus, and are expected to have satisfactorily completed 18351 - Full-Stack Software Development for Engineers. Additional information is provided at the IMB information sessions.

Students who must petition to enter the program can work with their academic advisor to do so and still must attend an info session. Undergraduate students with a 2.99 cumulative and ECE Program QPA or below may petition only in their final semester. Students with below a 2.5 QPA are not eligible for the program. All undergraduate students who would like to petition must submit their petition to their academic advisor by the declaration deadline. To learn more about the petition process, students can contact their academic advisor.

Professional MS degree requirements 

Please see the MS in ECE section for the requirements for the Professional MS degree. ECE IMB students must complete all of the requirements for the Professional MS degree except 18-989 - Introduction to Graduate Studies. This course is waived for IMB students. For students in the ECE IMB program, all requirements for the Professional MS degree are in addition to the requirements for the BS in ECE. No requirements for the MS degree may be used in any way toward the BS degree, including minors, additional majors, or dual degrees.

Students will be beholden to the MS curriculum requirements that exist at the time they sign their declaration form.

Residency requirements and financial impacts

Once a student who has declared the IMB has completed all of the undergraduate degree requirements, the Bachelor of Science degree will be certified for graduation in the term in which the requirements are completed. Once a student's undergraduate degree has been certified, no more courses may then be applied toward the BS degree. This includes courses toward minors and additional majors, although students pursuing an undergraduate dual degree with another department may still continue to apply additional coursework toward that second degree.

Following graduation, the student will move into graduate status to complete any remaining requirements for the MS degree. If a student takes more than eight semesters to complete the BS degree, then they must be a full-time graduate student for at least one semester before graduating with the MS degree.

Students should consult with Enrollment Services to understand how becoming a graduate student will affect financial aid, housing, etc. and with their academic advisor about their degree plans.

ECE undergraduate students automatically become eligible to declare the IMB program in the second semester of their junior year—once they have completed at least 270 units with a 3.0 QPA and attended an IMB Info Session—but can begin planning for the IMB and discussing with their academic advisors at any time. Students should be aware of the following as they begin this planning:

• Declaring the IMB program is not binding.
• The IMB program is not a distinct degree or a distinct student status. Students will complete the same requirements to earn the Bachelor of Science in Electrical & Computer Engineering and will be in undergraduate status until the BS is awarded, at which time they will advance to graduate status to finish the requirements for the Master of Science in Electrical & Computer Engineering or the Master of Science in Software Engineering. However, courses can be taken while in undergraduate status that will count toward the MS degree.
• Students wishing to declare the IMB for the MS in Software Engineering program are expected to have satisfactorily completed 18351 - Full-Stack Software Development for Engineers (typically offered fall-only). Students interested in the MS-SE will need to submit an intake form and receive approval from the MS-SE Program Lead, Professor Hakan Erdogmus.

Eligible students begin by completing the BS degree in ECE and can either complete the MS degree at the same time or over the next few semesters. If a course is eligible for the MS degree but is used to satisfy a BS degree requirement, it cannot also be used to satisfy an MS  degree requirement. An undergraduate student must complete their BS degree requirements and officially graduate before they can be classified as a graduate student. If the BS degree is not completed, the MS degree cannot be awarded, regardless of whether or not a student fulfills all MS graduation requirements. In the case of MS research projects, an IMB student can only register for the graduate version in their senior year and with written approval from their research instructor confirming the work is at an appropriate rigor for MS students.

Registering for Courses

Students in undergraduate status will not be prioritized for registration in graduate courses. ECE graduate students are prioritized for ECE graduate courses. Undergraduates will be enrolled in graduate courses if and when space allows. This can be close to or past the start of classes in some cases.

Where an ECE undergraduate and graduate course number are crosslisted with one another, an undergraduate student must clear the graduate course number’s waitlist by the semester Add Deadline in order to receive graduate course credit.

All ECE waitlist questions should be directed to ece-waitlists@andrew.cmu.edu.

Some courses offered by other departments may require graduate student status before a student can register for them.