Upon graduating, McCormick students are prepared to innovate and perform at the highest level in academia and the private sector.Upon graduating, McCormick students are prepared to innovate and perform at the highest level in academia and the private sector.

Academics
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Graduate Study
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PhD Programs
PhD in Electrical Engineering

The PhD program in electrical engineering provides students with the opportunity to work with leading, world-renowned faculty members in research areas such as solid-state devices, photonics, image and video processing, and wireless communications.

Students are fully funded by a combination of research assistantships, teaching assistantships, and fellowships. Students work with faculty members in state-of-the-art labs and can pursue interdisciplinary collaborations.

For its PhD program in electrical engineering, the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering looks for students who have a strong academic record, and for those who display a clear motivation in becoming a leading researcher.

Programs of study are offered within the department’s two research interest groups: Signals and Systems and Solid State and Photonics.

View the department's graduate curriculum

Admissions

Each student receiving the PhD should have a solid background in his or her field as preparation for a career in research or teaching. To ensure that each of our students receives this background, we require them to choose and complete a program of study corresponding to his or her intended field of inquiry.

Admissions Apply now

Download a PDF program guide about your program of interest and get in contact with our graduate admissions staff.

request info about phd degree

The Crown Family Graduate Internship Program

PhD candidates may elect to participate in the Crown Family Graduate Internship Program. This opportunity allows the doctoral candidate to gain practical experience in industry or in national research laboratories in areas closely related to his or her research.

Learn more about this internship program

Career Paths

The PhD program emphasizes excellence in education and research, providing graduates with a solid foundation for a career in industry, academia, and research labs.

Recent graduates are pursuing careers in industrial research labs (Intel Labs, IBM Research, Google, Facebook, and Qualcomm), industry (AMD, Bloomberg, IBM, Intel, Globalfoundries, and Mentor Graphics), and universities (Iowa State, Penn State, and the University of Maryland). In the last decade, recent graduates have founded more than half dozen successful startups.