Carnegie Mellon University

Course requirements for Spring 2020 and prior

*All students who will matriculate into the ECE MS program in Fall 2020 or later, please see the program options and requirements here.

All students who matriculated into the ECE MS program up to and including Spring 2020, please see the program requirements below.


A: ECE core graduate coursework: 60 units

The ECE program requires 60 units of core coursework that may not be waived or substituted. These courses should be in the ECE Department (18) at the 600-level or above. Additionally, courses in the Computer Science Department (15), Machine Learning Department (10), and Robotics Institute (16) at the 600-level or above can be counted. Exceptions to this rule, as well as courses outside the ECE and Computer Science Departments that can be counted, are listed below.

  • 02-710, 02-712
  • 05-830
  • 08-640, 08-737, 08-801
  • 11-731, 11-747, 11-752, 11-777, 11-785, 11-830
  • 14-735, 14-736, 14-848
  • 17-722 (formerly 08-735), 17-769 (formerly 08-769), 17-780, 17-781 (formerly 08-781)
  • 19-640, 19-714
  • 21-801
  • 24-751, 24-785
  • 33-755, 33-758, 33-761, 33-762
  • 36-752, 36-783
  • 42-744

Note: Unless otherwise noted, these courses are approved to be counted as restricted and less-restricted electives.

  • ECE Department (18): 18-601, 18-603, 18-605, 18-606, 18-700, 18-701, 18-702, 18-703
  • Computer Science Department (15): 15-749, 15-862, 15-894
  • Machine Learning (10): 10-737
  • Robotics Institute (16): 16-861*, 16-865*, 16-899 (not approved except for 16-899: Special Topics: Nuclear Robots)

*Denotes courses that may only be counted as less-restricted electives.


B: Electives: 36 units

B1: Restricted electives: 24 units
Any ECE course (18) at the 500 level or above will satisfy this requirement, as well as courses from select colleges and departments, as listed below. Courses that are exceptions to this rule are also listed below.

Courses at the 600-level or higher from the following colleges or programs:

  • Carnegie Institute of Technology (CIT) (39)
    • Biomedical Engineering (42)
    • Chemical Engineering (06)
    • Civil & Environmental Engineering (12)
    • Engineering & Public Policy (19)
    • Information Network Institute (14)
    • Integrated Innovation Institute (49)
    • Materials Science & Engineering (27)
    • Mechanical Engineering (24)
    • CMU–Africa (04)
  • Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences
    • Statistics (36)
    • Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition (86)
  • Heinz School of Information Systems (95)
  • Heinz College-Wide Courses (94)
  • Mellon College of Science (MCS)
    • Biological Sciences (03)
    • Chemistry (09)
    • Mathematical Sciences (21)
    • Physics (33)
  • School of Computer Science (SCS)
    • Computational Biology (02)
    • Computer Science (15)
    • Entertainment Technology Center (53)
    • Institute for Software Research (08)
    • Robotics Institute (16)
    • Human–Computer Interaction Institute (05)
    • Language Technologies Institute (11)
    • Machine Learning (10)
    • Software Engineering (17)
  • Tepper School of Business (45)
  • Additional courses outside these departments that are approved to be counted toward the 24 units of Restricted Electives include:
    • 46-926, 46-929
    • 47-830, 47-834
    • 51-882
    • 57-947, 57-948
    • 80-606, 80-713
    • 84-688
    • 90-756, 90-808
    • 93-711
    • 99-783

Note: These courses are approved to be counted as less-restricted electives.

  • Carnegie Institute of Technology (CIT) (39): 39-699
  • Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE) (18): 18-580 
    • Engineering & Public Policy (19): 19-602, 19-655
    • Integrated Innovation Institute (49): 49-750, 49-751, 49-761, 49-762, 49-763, 49-764, 49-765, 49-766, 49-767, 49-770, 49-771, 49-772, 49-773, 49-774, 49-775, 49-780, 49-781, 49-782, 49-788
    • Mechanical Engineering (24): 24-792
    • CMU–Africa (04): 04-601, 04-602, 04-605, 04-900, 04-980
  • School of Computer Science (SCS)
    • Computational Biology (02): 02-713
    • Computer Science (15): 15-602, 15-603, 15-604, 15-649,15-669,15-689, 15-697, 15-698, 15-749
    • Robotics Institute (16): 16-861, 16-865
    • Software Engineering (17): 17-643

B2. Less-restricted electives: 12 units
The remaining 12 units must be at the 300-level or greater from the same colleges, departments, and programs listed above. Up to 3 units of professional development courses can count toward the less-restricted electives. Other courses outside these departments that can be counted toward the less-restricted electives include the following:

  • 51-673
  • 85-777
  • 90-765, 90-769

*Petitions for exceptions to the above criteria may be considered by the Graduate Studies Committee. Please see your academic advisor for more information.

  • 18-994 Internship for Electrical and Computer Engineering Graduate Students
  • 39-699 CIT Professional Development Course

Restrictions

Course restrictions

Students are responsible for checking their classes' syllabi to ensure they meet these requirements. Of the 96 required units, you may not count the following:

  • Courses numbered as xx-299 or lower
  • More than 27 units of graduate research project (18-980) units: 12 units can count towards core requirements and 15 units can count for restricted elective requirements. Students cannot take more than 15 units of 18980 in a single semester.
  • More than 12 units of undergraduate courses (at least 300 level or greater)
  • Any units of physical education, ROTC, seminar/practicum/independent study courses, or courses taken as pass/fail or audit
    • Known courses include but are not limited to: 49-790, 49-791, 49-792, 49-793
  • Courses where more than 50% of the course grade is based on a group project
  • Courses where more than 20% of the course grade is based on attendance
  • Mini courses worth 12 units
    • Known courses may include but are not limited to: 49-750, 49-751, 49-761, 49-762, 49-763, 49-764, 49-765, 49-766, 49-767, 49-770, 49-771, 49-772, 49-773, 49-774, 49-780, 49-781, 49-782, 49-788

Restrictions for courses outside the College of Engineering

ECE Master’s students will take 97 units toward their degree, 48 units of which may be from outside the College of Engineering. This rule applies to all students matriculating Fall 2018 to spring 2020 and to all IMB students who sign their intent form before the start of the Fall 2020 semester. IMB students will be beholden to the program requirements in place when they sign their intent form and officially agree to enter the program. 

Maximum units allowed

Students pursuing the MS degree cannot register for their final semester if they have already completed 120 units of coursework. These units include courses taken for audit, pass/no pass, and withdrawal. Please refer to CIT policy on MS degree units for additional information.