ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING GRADUATE

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERINGGRADUATESTUDENT HANDBOOKSEVENTH EDITIONDEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICALAND COMPUTERENGINEERINGCALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITYLOS ANGELESOctober 2020Edited by Dr. Charles Liu

CONTENTSIINTRODUCTIONIITERMINOLOGY - YOUR STATUSIIIHOW TO SEE AN ADVISERIVHOW TO REGISTERVPOLICY ON DROPPING CLASSESVITHE GRADUATE PROGRAMVIIPREREQUISITESVIIIWRITING REQUIREMENTIXCOMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION/THESISXPROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIESXIAPPLYING FOR GRADUATIONXIIACADEMIC STANDARDSXIIICURRICULUM SHEET

FULL-TIME FACULTYNameFred DaneshgaranArash Jamehbozorg*Charles LiuMarina MondinLili TabriziMasood Shahverdi#Curtis WangDeborah WonRoomE&T A304E&T A335E&T A343E&TA305E&T A313E&T A314E&T A136E&T calstatela.edudwon@calstatela.edu#IEEE Faculty Adviser* Department ChairpersonEMERITUS FACULTYGeorge B. BouseRoger D. BrandtLeslie CromwellLouis W. Eggers, Jr.Robert C. HowardKamran KarimlouJack G. LevineM. Morris ManoVictor PayseRaj S. RamchandaniMartin S. RodenHelen Ryaciotaki-BoussaisSidney SoclofHarold StorchAlthough every attempt has been made to keep this handbook up to date and accurate, it is anadvising tool and not an official University policy statement. Therefore, in cases where there arecontradictions, the Official University rules take precedence over statements in this handbook.

I. INTRODUCTIONWelcome to the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Cal State LA. The facultyof the department is pleased to provide you with this information manual. You are expected toread this entire manual. Failure to become aware of the information presented may well delayyour graduation! If you have any questions, make sure to ask an adviser.If you have not already done so, you should familiarize yourself with the University catalog eonlineathttp://ecatalog.calstatela.edu/index.php and a schedule of classes for the current semester which isalso available online at http://www.calstatela.edu/classschedule/ . The schedule contains muchmore than the listing of classes being offered during the semester. It also contains important rulesand regulations.The schedule is generated long before the semester begins, and changes can occur after itsrelease. The most up to date version of the Electrical Engineering class schedule is posted on abulletin board next to the department office (A342). You should check this schedule regularly tonote any changes in classes offered or assigned instructors.Instruction in Electrical Engineering is offered in two semesters in the semester system. Each ofthe two semesters that comprise the academic year (Fall and Spring) is 16 weeks in duration - 15weeks for instruction and one week for final exams. You may accelerate your program byattending winter and summer sessions, although to maintain continuing student status, you needonly attend one semester within any 12-month period.You will need a minimum of 30-semester units to obtain the degree. The 30 units are dividedinto Area of Specialization, and Electives in Engineering as follows: Minimum of 18 units in Area of Specialization (5000-level courses)4000-level courses in Electrical Engineering, including the prerequisites to thespecializationFeel free to talk with any faculty adviser about any problem you may have. As you become moreinvolved with the Department, you will benefit more.The advisers are available to answer questions as they arise. You are strongly encouraged to seean adviser prior to each registration. Additionally, you must see an adviser your first semester ofattendance. This is an orientation session where the adviser makes sure that you understand allthe rules. .The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering is here for you!advantage.Use it to your

II. TERMINOLOGY - YOUR STATUSPost-baccalaureate students fit into one of two categories: Conditionally classified, andClassified. The distinctions have always been important, but have recently become critical asthe State of California has tightened up on whom they are willing to financially support in school.The State will only support those seeking an initial Masters degree, and will not support peoplesimply seeking continuing education. It is therefore critical that you “get on the right track” asquickly as possible. Hopefully, the following will clarify the situation.When you first are admitted to the program, you have conditionally classified student G1 status.It means that you have been admitted but you need to see an adviser in the ECE department toselect classes and determine whether or not you would need to complete qualifying courses orpre-requisites before your status changes to classified graduate student G2 status.(a) If your grade point average in the last 60 semester units in your BS degree major isless than 2.75, you must first prove yourself capable of graduate study. The department willassign qualifying courses, (4000 or 5000-level) as a test, and you must achieve at least a Baverage in these courses to be eligible for admission. These are known as qualifying courses, andyou MUST take them before starting on the program. That is, these courses must be the firstcourses you take in our MS degree program. If scheduling problems make it difficult for you totake these in a timely manner, you should see an adviser to discuss changes in the list. If youcomplete these courses with less than a 3.0 average, you are permanently disqualified frombecoming a graduate student in Electrical Engineering at Cal State LA. If you complete thecourses with a 3.0 GPA or higher, you have met this condition for classification.(b) If your BS degree is in a related field such as mathematics or physics but not inElectrical Engineering, or is not equivalent to the BSEE degree offered by Cal State LA, we mayrequire you to complete certain prerequisite courses before being admitted to our program. Thesewill normally be 3000-level courses, though the list might contain a number of 2000- or 4000level courses depending on each individual’s specific circumstances. Under certain conditions,you may start on the graduate program prior to finishing the entire list of prerequisite courses.You should discuss this with an adviser. Your grade point average on the prerequisite coursesshould be at least 3.0 and at least as high as your undergraduate grade point average. Since theprerequisites are considered part of the BS degree requirement, poor performance (i.e., averageGPA below 3.0) on the prerequisite courses could lead to a re-evaluation, and we may have to askyou to take qualifying courses. In other words, even though you are admitted with over a 2.75GPA in the upper division major, it is possible you will need to take qualifying courses.Once you have successfully completed all specified conditions (qualifying courses andprerequisite courses), you are ready to become a classified graduate student. The department willnormally process this automatically.Once you are classified, it is time to think about the final category - Advancement to Candidacy.Upon completion of at least 12 units of your graduate program with the grade point average of atleast 3.0, you are eligible to advance to candidacy G3 status for the MSEE degree. Advancementto candidacy is a requirement to apply for thesis or comprehensive exam, and also to apply forgraduation.

III. FINDING AN ADVISERIn an attempt to better serve our undergraduate and graduate EE majors, and to shorten the timebetween your discovering a problem and getting advice on the solution, the department has set upan “OPEN ADVISING” system. There are many hours during the week (usually over 12) duringwhich you can see a faculty adviser without any appointment. Signs are posted early eachsemester listing the open advising hours; each faculty member’s advising hours are posted outsidehis/her office door and a list of all the faculty members’ hours are posted on the Departmentbulletin board (outside ET A342). Any of the faculty advisers should be able to help you withyour problems or with any necessary forms. Of course, with this open advising system, theremay be peak times when a large number of students are seeking advising. If you see a crowd atthe faculty member’s door, we suggest you return at the next available time. We try to schedulethe hours according to the needs of the students, but we hope you understand that, as in anyEngineering problem, trade-offs are involved. Since no appointments are required, there is littlecontrol to assure against overload situations.IV. HOW TO REGISTERIf this is your first registration at CSULA, you must first see an adviser. Following advising, youobtain the department approval to register. Provided you are not trying to take any restrictedcourses (see description below), you are ready to pay your fees and register. New students arestrongly encouraged to attend the Department’s orientation session for new students. Atthat session, you will receive valuable information about the University and registration. Theinformation you receive at the Department’s orientation session supplements that given by ourfaculty advisers. You will also perform your first registration as part of the orientation.Continuing student registration is very simple. You register following instructions in theschedule of classes, and use your GET account to register online. You get immediate verificationof your schedule since the computer is adding you to classes immediately upon your request.You must pay fees prior to registration. See the schedule of classes for details.In an effort to simplify the registration procedure, the Electrical Engineering department has“unrestricted” most of our classes. This means you can register for them without any specificcourse approvals provided that you have taken the prerequisites for these courses at CSULA. Ifprerequisites have been taken elsewhere you would need to contact our EE Department toapprove that you have taken an equivalent course which satisfies the prerequisite and to thenissue a permit in GET to override the prerequisite and enable you to register. The restrictedclasses are the independent research, thesis, and comprehensive exam. As described later in thismanual, you must file the necessary forms, meet with an adviser, and secure the necessarysignatures before the computer registration system will accept your request to register in theseclasses.Adding classes is done online using the GET system. You must attend the first class meeting orthe instructor can drop you from the class. If the class is full, or once the semester starts you mustobtain the instructor’s permission to ADD. The instructor would give the names of studentsadding the course to the Department Staff to enter a permit in GET to allow students to register.Maximum Study Load: The University has a maximum study load of 16 units for graduatestudents. If you wish to take more than the maximum, you would need to file an “OverloadPetition Form” signed by the Department Chair and Associate Dean to allow you to register formore than 16 units.