EE M.S. Provisional Examination

In rare cases when the Graduate Committee feels the student is not adequately prepared for graduate school but does shows some potential, the student may be admitted provisionally. In such cases, and when the admission is without deficiencies, the student must take the M.S. Provisional Examination in the first semester in which they begin to take EE graduate courses. The examination is offered only during the Fall and Spring semesters. Students admitted provisionally, and with deficiencies, may need to take undergraduate background courses before beginning graduate courses. In such cases, the student must take the examination the first semester in which they are enrolled in graduate EE courses. The student is allowed only a single attempt to pass the examination. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that students, who feel unprepared to take the M.S. Provisional Examination, allow at least one semester to undertake remedial activities. For example, a provisionally admitted student may wish to enroll in particular undergraduate courses in which they do not feel confident.

The examination will consist of six problems, one from each of the required courses listed below. At the time of the examination, four problems are selected by the student, and a grade of at least 70% overall is required to pass. The examination is closed book and closed notes. Non-programmable calculators will be supplied by the Department during the examination. All work must be shown to receive full credit. It is given in a single day, with a total of eight hours for all problems. After the overall grade has been compiled, the student may review the examination but is not allowed to keep the examination.

• ELEC 216, Electronics & Circuits II
  
• ELEC 304, Signals and Systems
  
• ELEC 305, Probability & Random Processes
  
• ELEC 306, Electromagnetic Field Theory
  
• ELEC 316, Electronics & Circuits III
  
• ELEC 370, Digital Logic Design

Information concerning the course outlines and appropriate books can be obtained from individual professors who have recently taught the courses. See the EE graduate secretary for recent teaching assignments or check the department web page. A general description of the courses can also be obtained in the UNL Undergraduate Bulletin.

An announcement of the examination sign-up will be posted at the beginning of each semester. The student should register for the examination with the EE graduate secretary on or before the posted deadline. The examination date/time will be set by the Graduate Committee Chair and will typically be one to two months after the beginning of classes each semester.