Electrical Engineering Undergraduate Program

The Department of Electrical Engineering offers a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering. This degree is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. Electrical Engineering Program aims to develop student skills in four basic areas: mathematics, basic engineering science, engineering design, and the humanities and social sciences. The required courses provide a solid foundation in basic electrical engineering subjects, chemistry, physics, and mathematics. Each student must take four electrical engineering technical electives and five other electives. This would provide opportunities for students to shape the advanced technical part of the curriculum to satisfy their individual needs. Electrical Engineering students have the opportunity to take courses covering variety of topics including:

Analog and Digital Communications
Digital Signal Processing
Digital Systems
VLSI Design
Nanotechnology
Materials and Devices
Electromagnetics and Microwave
Optoelectronics
Power Systems
Power Electronics
Control Systems

By selecting a variety of departmental courses these electives can be used to acquire a broad knowledge of the various sub-disciplines of electrical and computer engineering. Alternatively, students may elect concentrated study in a particular subject area such as computer engineering. Because the complexity of modern society increasingly requires that engineering decisions with political, ethical, economic, and social considerations be made, the curriculum also provides sixteen semester-hours of socio-humanistic electives to acquaint students with important classical and contemporary societal issues in areas such as government, business, religion, history, and language.

5.1 Electrical Engineering Undergraduate Four-Year Curriculum
The four-year curriculum adopted by the department of electrical engineering is given in Appendix A. A flowchart representing the four-year curriculum is also included to show prerequisites and co-requisites of each course as well as an overall picture of EE curriculum.

5.2 Electrical Engineering Course Descriptions
100 Level Courses (Freshman Level)
200 Level Courses (Sophomore Level)
300 Level Courses (Junior Level)
400/800 Level Courses (Senior and Graduate Level)

Required Courses: 121, 122, 215, 216, 222, 235, 236, 304, 305, 306, 307, 316, 317, 370, 494, 495
Note: In the event the prerequisites or co-requisites listed on this web page do not match those in the UNL catalog, the prerequisites in the catalog have precedence. The prerequisites/co-requisites and course objectives listed here are those approved by the Electrical Engineering Faculty.

The description of each course is given in Appendix B.

5.3 Choice of EE Options and Technical Electives
There are twenty-seven (27) credit hours of technical electives required.
Of these 27 credit hours, at least 12 credit hours must be taken in electrical engineering (ELEC) courses which are referred to as "EE technical electives".

Each EE undergraduate student must choose one of the options listed in Table 1 for the EE technical electives.

TABLE 1. Electrical Engineering Options
1. Communications & Signal Processing Elec 462, 463, 464, 465, 410
2. Electromagnetic Fields and Optics Elec 408, 467, 468, 480, 486
3. Electronics and Computer Engineering Elec 361, 469, 470, 475
4. Energy and Power Systems Elec 406, 438, 444, 428
5. Materials and Devices Elec 417, 420, 421, 422

Of these 12 credit hours, 6 credit hours must be taken from one of the five EE options listed (including at least one Bold course). In addition, at least one 3 credit hour course from a different EE Option must be taken. The remaining 3 credits may be satisfied by any non-required 300 or 400 level electrical engineering courses except ELEC 399.

The remaining 15 credit hours of technical electives which are referred to as "other technical electives" may be taken from any 300 or 400 level course offering (with the exception of those listed in Table 2) in the Department of Electrical Engineering or in any other engineering department within the College of Engineering at UN-L, or in the Departments of Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Computer Science and Engineering, Mathematics, Statistics, or Physics and Astronomy at UN-L. In addition, a list of courses at the 100 and 200 level, which also will be accepted as technical elective credits, are listed in Table 3.

In place of a maximum of 6 credit hours of technical electives, up to two courses may be selected from one of the Business Options listed in Table 4. In order for business courses to count as a Business Option, the courses cannot be taken Pass/No Pass.

No more than a total of 3 credit hours may be taken in ELEC 399 or similar offerings from other departments.

TABLE 2. Not Allowed 300 and 400 Level Technical Electives
BIOS 310	School of Biological Sciences Seminar
CHEM 410	Departmental Seminar in Chemistry
IMSE 305	Introduction to Engineering Management
MATH 495	Honors Seminar
MATH 496	Seminar in Mathematics
PHYS 374	Fundamentals of Relativity

 

TABLE 3.  Allowed 100 and 200 Level Technical Electives
AGEN/BSEN 225	Engineering Properties of Biological Materials
ASTR 204	Introductory Astronomy and Astrophysics
ASTR 224	Astronomy and Astrophysics Laboratory
BIOS 213	Human Physiology
CHME 202	Mass and Energy Balances
CHME 203	Equilibrium Stage Operations
CHEM 110	General Chemistry II
CHEM 114	Fundamental Chemistry II
CHEM 2xx	Any 200 level chemistry course
CSCE 156	Introduction to Computer Science II
CSCE 235	Introduction to Discrete Structures
CSCE 251K	C Programming
CSCE 251U	Unix Programming
CSCE 252D	FORTRAN Programming
ENGM 223	Engineering Statics
ENGM 250	Mechanics I
MECH 200	Thermodynamics
METL 260	Elements of Materials Science
METL 262	Materials Laboratory I

 

TABLE 4.  Business Options
1. Engineering Economics	IMSE 206, 305
2. Management	MNGT 360, 465
3. Management Information Systems	MNGT 321, 350, 360

 

5.4   Sample of Elective Sequences

 

 

5.5 Humanities and Social Sciences Electives
Course work in humanities and social sciences helps to fulfill the Comprehensive Education requirement in Essential Studies. A list of areas and courses in each area is given in Appendix C. NOTE: Courses in bold indicate an Integrative Studies course.

Engineering and construction management majors who graduate on the Lincoln campus are required to complete a program of 18 credit hours (6 courses) in the social sciences and humanities.

• At least five courses must be chosen from four of the AREAS C, E, F, G, H listed below (minimum of 15 credits).
• No more than one course (maximum of 3 credits) may be chosen from AREA I with the approval of an academic adviser and the associate dean.
• At least two courses must be taken from a single department.

5.6 Interdisciplinary
Students can receive interdisciplinary bachelor of science degree that combines course work from electrical engineering with course work in other disciplines such as pre-medicine, pre-law, pre-dentistry, business, mathematics, and physics. Note: The BS degree in Interdisciplinary Studies is not accredited by ABET.

5.7 Dual (Double) Major Requirements
Students can major in two departments in the college by completing all the requirements for the departmental major. Students should consult their advisors about this possibility. The student who majors in more than one department will be assigned to an advisor in each department.

5.8 Minors Outside of Electrical Engineering
A minor in one or more subject areas is possible at UNL and in the College of Engineering (COE). In order to have a minor or more than one minor appear on your transcript at graduation, you must have the minor(s) approved well in advance. A minor does not reduce or alter the existing course or degree requirements for a B.S. degree in any of the College of Engineering programs.
There are two types of minors at UNL.

Plan A minors occur when a single minor is involved, or when a college does not offer an alternative "Plan B" minor.

Plan B minors may only be used if more than one minor is approved. Dual minors do not have to be within a single college.

The COE only has Plan A minors. Usually, only minors in the College of Arts and Sciences carry both an A or B alternative. For example, a student could minor in Engineering Mechanics (a Plan A minor in the COE) and in German (a Plan B minor in the College of Arts and Sciences).

To initiate one or more minor(s), a form must be filled out and approved by several people including yourself. This form is used by the Office of Registration and Records at the time of your senior check and degree audit to insure you have completed all the requirements. Thus, it must be approved by your advisor and the Dean of the College of Engineering and forwarded to the Office of Registration & Records well in advance of graduation.

The undergraduate bulletin has a list of minors with details. Applicants should fill out a form given in Appendix D or contact the College Dean's office.

Listing of Approved Minors for the College of Engineering

Agricultural Economics Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communications Agriculture and Natural Resources Agronomy Animal Science Art History Aviation Biochemistry Biological Science Business minor for JD Edwards Communications Studies Construction Management Economics Engineering Mechanics English Ethnic Studies General Business Geography Geology

History International Agriculture and Natural Resources International Studies Japanese Mathematics and Statistics Meteorology-Climatology Modern Languages Czech French, German, Russian Japanese Spanish Music Philosophy Physics Political Science Psychology Sociology Water Science Women's Studies

 

For more information on the criteria needed to receive a minor see the Undergraduate bulletin

5.9 Undergraduate Research
Typically a faculty member in the Electrical Engineering department supervises an independent study course (ELEC 399). Please note that up to 6 credit hours of independent study may be used towards the BSEE degree. If a student is interested in a particular research area, he or she may ask the appropriate professor to see if it is possible to take an independent study course under his or her supervision. Students can also conduct research in their field through the university's Undergraduate Creative Activities & Research Experiences (UCARE) program, which pairs selected students with faculty mentors for research projects lasting up to two years.