Electrical and Computer Engineering

Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering

Western's Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering is designed to provide students advanced electrical and computer engineering education and research opportunities. The program will engage doctoral students in independent research in the field of electrical and computer engineering which will prepare them for research and development positions in the rapidly growing information and electronics sectors.

Electrical and Computer Engineering
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5329 USA
(269) 276-3150

What will I study in the electrical and computer engineering doctoral program?

The Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering equips students to advance the current state of knowledge in a wide variety of rapidly growing fields, while preparing them for advanced work in academia or industry.  

Your doctoral work will be specific to you, especially as you work on research. You must complete the general requirements listed below and should consult the course requirements catalog or the advisor for further details.

  • Minimum of 50 credit hours beyond the master’s degree
  • Qualifying comprehensive examination and comprehensive examination after completion of all coursework
  • Presentation/publication requirements as specified by the doctoral dissertation committee
  • A one-year residency during which the student will conduct research
  • Final dissertation defense and approval by committee
  • Enrollment on campus in four consecutive semesters or sessions

Information you need

Please contact the graduate director, Dr. Janos Grantner, when considering the Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering.
Program requirements
Contact Dr. Janos Grantner, graduate director

Research

Research and Program Focus Areas

Department faculty have a strong record in funded
research and scholarly activity. Current faculty
research areas include:

  • Biomedical engineering
  • Circuits and systems
  • Communications and networking
  • Computer architecture and systems
  • Control systems
  • Electric power and energy conversion
  • Fuzzy logic-based decision support systems
  • Image processing
  • Medical electronics
  • Neural networks
  • Power electronics systems
  • Reconfigurable digital systems
  • Semiconductor materials
  • Sensors and nanotechnology

Funding 

A limited number of graduate assistantships are awarded
through a selective and highly competitive process.

Spotlight on faculty research

Meet the faculty
Explore labs

Application requirements

  • Admission decisions will be made by the department doctoral committee.
  • All students must meet the general requirements for a doctoral degree specified in the Graduate College Catalog.
Admissions requirements

International admissions and CPT information

We get it. Applying and filling requirements for a degree in another country is daunting. WMU is here to help and seeks to make the transition as easy as possible for you. Let us know what you need.
Learn about international admissions and requirements
Advising and CPT information

Additional information

Please note that applicants must possess a M.S. in electrical or computer engineering, with a minimum 3.0 grade point average. Exceptional applicants with a master’s degree in other closely related quantitative fields such as engineering, mathematics, physics or computer science will be considered on a case by case basis, after completing a prescribed set of prerequisite courses.