ECE Undergraduate Advising Blog

France in Junior Year Spring – Ensea FAME

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CpE and EE majors can study in Cergy, France, in Spring of junior year! Core 3rd-year courses are offered that can apply to your MTU degree. Apply for the France American Exchange Program (FAME) at the study abroad office/webpage.  Application deadline is October 15th.

Robotics Engineers can get these courses: EE3160, EE3131, Ma/Sci Elective, 3 cr. RE Technical Elective (EE4219,4220), and Lower level HASS which apply to the degree. RE’s would need to add one semester (maybe two) to the graduation date due to postponing spring-offered class(es) and prerequisite chains. See Kailee if you’d like to make a plan.

Plan ahead both Fall and Spring semester classes if you’d like the option to go to France next Spring. Are you ready to skip a Houghton Winter?

Sample flowcharts are available in the Advising Office, or email the academic advisor for a sample flowchart. Meet with your advisor to plan ahead both fall and spring of 3rd year, take EE3901 in fall before going to France. (may need a waiver since EE3901 requires EE3131 co or pre req- see advisor). If you’re on track with the 4 year plan, you can stay on track with careful planing.

Courses offered:

Electronic Circuits; Lab ———————— EE3131, 4 cr
Signals and Systems ————————— EE3160, 3 cr
Communications Systems ——————— EE4250, 3cr. As of 7/2019 and later.
Power Engineering—————— EE4219, 2 cr. and EE4220, 1cr. (Spring 2020 and later)
Computer Arch. & Intro to Microprocessors   EE3171, 3 cr,   EE’s, RE’s only. Make up 1 cr with EE elective.
Object Oriented Programming in java through video games— CS 1XXE.  5/3/2023. (per Leo)
Operating Systems ———-  CS 3411 4/25/23 per Jean.  (previously CS3xxE, 3 cr. CpE tech elective.)
Probability and Statistics ———————–MA4760, 3  May not substitute for EE3180. EE’s = Approved Elective (not SELECT); CpEs may use for MA3710. Pre-requisite waivers will need to be requested for follow-on courses at MTU.
Internet of Things —————EEnXXE, 3 cr.; EE Elective or CpE Technical Elective
Image and Virtual Reality————-EE3XXE, 3 Cr.; EE Elective or CpE Technical Elective or Photonics Elective
Big Data and AI —————-CS4XXE, 3 cr., CPE Technical Elective (Laura, 4/27/23)

French language and Culture (beg,int,adv) —- HUnXXX, 3 cr HASS-HU/FA; n=1 or 2 or 3

PLANNING NOTES:

  •  Save 3 credits of HASS-HU/FA (or your HASS any) for France; lower level
  •  Take EE3901 in Fall prior to France semester. Or take a substitution for EE3901 prior to 4th year or EE4901/ENT4950.
  •  Re-plan your junior year considering the courses you’d like to take in France.

FAME program website

Cergy, France

For details on application, airfare, cost, etc…see the Study Abroad & Away Coordinator in the Study Abroad Office , email studyabroad@mtu.edu

Outdated course evaluations:
Communications Systems ———– (EE3250, 3 cr effective Spring 2019 and earlier).
Fundamentals of Power Engineering ——— EE4219, 2 cr   (2 credit EE elective or CpE tech elective) Spring 2019 and earlier.

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Focus Areas and Concentrations for BS-EE

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What is a focus area?
What are “EE Electives” (also called EE Technical Electives)
What is a concentration?
What is a minor?
This short advising tutorial introduces the ECE Focus Areas and Concentrations available for the B.S. in Electrical Engineering. It includes a brief introduction for each area and concentration so you can plan your options.
The slides without narration are no longer available here. Email the advisor if you’d like the presentation .pdf slides with activated links.

It is best to plan ahead for at least 2 or 3 future semester to take the EE Elective courses, concentration or focus area(s) you’d like to graduate with.

Find EE flowcharts with and without a concentration under “8-semester Flowcharts” on the EE Advising Page.

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Enterprise Course Number Registration Guide

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Determine which enterprise course number to register for: Blue text are courses required for meeting the Engineering Design requirement.

# Semesters remaining at MTU: Register in

Course # for

Project work

 Register 

Your Enterprise

Section #

 Look up the section number and CRN that pertains to the enterprise you wish to register in, in the Schedule of Classes.
8
7  ENT 1960 Optional; usually w/Calc II
6  ENT 2950 Optional; usually w/Diff Eq
5  ENT 2960 Optional; usually w/EE2112
4  ENT 3950  Required w/Enterprise Design path
3  ENT 3960  Required w/Enterprise Design path
3  ENT 3980 Optional; If prereqs not met
2  ENT 4950  Required w/Enterprise Design path
1  ENT 4960  Required w/Enterprise Design path
1  ENT 4961 Optional; After ENT4960 completion.

Tells which course number to register in based on the number of semester you have remaining on campus.

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Spring Advising Meetings

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Registration for Fall and plan your next year courses.

2023 Spring:  RE students;  EE students

2021-2022 First year RE and EE students
EE Spring 2021 Advising Meeting: slides with active links. Recording (20 Min.).
RE Spring 2021 Advising Meeting: Slides; Recording (22 min)

Sophomores, juniors, & seniors not yet graduating: Click the academic year you are/were in the sophomore/junior ECE courses to view your 2nd Spring Advising meetings (Sophomore and Beyond).
To view past first-year advising meeting, click the year your began at Tech, and view the first-year meeting.

 EE Sophomores, Juniors, Seniors   Part 1  &  Part 2  

2019-2020 (pub. spring 2020)

2018-2019 (pub. spring 2019)

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Senior Design or Enterprise?

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Part of being a nationally accredited degree program, includes the application of your major skills and knowledge in engineering design.
BS-RE, BS-EE and BS-CpE Engineering Design requirements may be fulfilled by one of the following options:

1) Senior Design – the Year-long engineering design-focused project team. Real-life engineering problem, typically sponsored by a company that loves to recruit Tech engineers!

EE4901 + EE4910  or   MEEM4901 + MEEM4911 or BE4901 and BE4910.

2) Enterprise:  Students may use four semesters of enterprise project work, beginning with junior year or at that point when you have 4 semesters left until graduation:  ENT3950, ENT3960, ENT4950 and ENT4960.
(ENT1950, ENT1960, ENT2950, ENT2960, and ENT3980 may not be applied to engineering design requirements) Add business and leadership skills to your resume, along with practicing your major skills in engineering design.

3) EPS – European Project Semester:  be a part of a team overseas and fulfill your design requirements in one semester, working on a project with students from other countries.  Look for details on the Study abroad website and attend Study Abroad 101. Your project must be approved by the ECE Department beforehand, to satisfy  EE3901(4900), EE4901, EE4910. Provide detailed project description to your academic advisor. Some HASS credits may be possible.  Senior Class standing at time of project, and EE3131 and EE3171 for EE’s,  or EE3173 for CpE’s must be complete prior to EPS.

4) Other – occasionally another team project experience may apply.  If you find another opportunity where you can apply your major design skills on a team project (such as with another engineering department), you may bring your project course syllabus to the Undergraduate Program Committee for review and possible approval. (see your academic advisor first)

Engineering Design Prerequisites must be complete, so that you are “Senior Design Ready”.

Engineering Design outcomes:

  • Ability to design a system, component or process- CpE’s: including an integrated hardware/software system to meet desired needs;  EE: using EE skills and modern EE tools; RE using RE skills and modern RE tools.
  • Function on multi-disciplinary team(s) as demonstrated by the execution of a team project that is too large, complex, or diverse for a single person
  • Identify, formulate and solve engineering problems, including the ability to evaluate hardware/software trade-offs (CpE’s).
  • Understand professional and ethical responsibility
  • communicate effectively in IEEE-compatible written and oral presentation styles
  • use relevant techniques, skills and modern EE, RE, and/or  computer-engineering tools, including methods and tools for modeling and simulation of digital system performance and dependability
  • ability to function in a major design experience incorporating most of economic, environmental, sustainability, manufacturability, ethical, health and safety, social and political considerations
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New Computer Organization course for Computer Engineers, EE 3172

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Great News! A new Computer Organization course for Computer Engineers is being developed by the ECE Department and will be offered beginning academic year 2023-2024 (starting Fall 2023).

EE 3172 – Fundamentals of Computer Organization replaces CS 3421 – Computer Organization on the computer engineering degree.
EE 3172 covers processor basics like decoding instructions, implementation of an ALU, an introduction to pipelining, and an overview of caches. There will be a significant processor implementation project in Verilog, so pay attention in your Digital Logic labs.

Students who did not take CS 3421 prior to Fall 2023, will take EE 3172 instead of CS 3421. Update your flowcharts and academic planning sheets accordingly.
EE 3172 will meet the prereq requirement for courses that require CS3421. Examples: CS 3411: The prerequisite will become: CS 3421 or EE 3172.CS 4121: The prerequisites will be: CS 2321 and (CS 3421 or EE 3172) and CS 3311.
The new CpE core sequence will be: EE 2174 — EE 3172 — EE 3173 — EE 4173.

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approved Enterprise Modules/ 3 semester option

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List of Enterprise Modules (classes) which are approved for the 3-semester enterprise for design option, in place of ENT3950.  Be sure to check the schedule of classes for offerings and plan in advance.  Begin the 3-semester enterprise sequence in ENT3960, Project Work IV.

Fall approved modules:

  • ENT3959   Fundamentals of Six Sigma I
  • ENT2961   Teaming in Enterprise
  • ENT3982   Continuous Improvement Using Lean Principles

Spring approved modules:

  • ENT3963   Explore, Develop, Execute!
  • ENT3966   Design for Manufacturing
  • ENT3967   Design for Six Sigma
  • ENT3971   Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
  • ENT2962   Communication Contexts

The 3 – semester enterprise project work option is ENT3960, ENT4950, and ENT4960 plus one Approved Enterprise Module from above list.  ENT3950 does not apply.  ENT3958 and ENT3964 may not be taken due to similarity with EE3901.

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Photonics – the use and study of light

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EE majors may take photonics courses for EE elective credit, or may follow requirements to earn a Concentration in Photonics – which is listed on the diploma.

View a sample Photonics Concentration flowchart (2021-2022).

Photonics is using light energy to do work: sensing, imaging, communication. Photonics entails the control of photons in making systems faster, more efficient and more accurate, in a wide range of applications from energy generation to detection to communications and information processing. Robotic sensing and vision, space photography, medical instrumentation, imaging, and satellite communication are a few areas using photonics.

Students study laser systems, optics, and the control of photons/light.

EE2190, Introduction to Photonics, offered spring semesters.

EE3190, Optical Sensing and Imaging, Spring semesters.  Prereq: MA3521/20; JR/SR.

EE3290, Photonic Material, Devices, and Applications, Spring semesters. Prereq: EE3140 or EE3090 or PH2400.

EE4490, Laser Systems and Applications, check schedule for semester offered.  Pre-req: EE3140.

Companies hiring MTU photonics majors include Raytheon, NAVSEA and CRANE. To add the Photonics Concentration, submit a request in MyMichiganTech curriculum changes .

Photonics elective courses (6 credits minimum with the concentration): BE4250,BE4410,EE4240,EE4252, EE4253,  EE4290,  MSE/PH4292, PH3410,PH4510,PH4640

We are unique!  Very few universities offer an undergraduate photonics program.  For additional information on courses, SPIE, OSA or getting involved in research, contact:

  • Dr. Durdu Guney,  EERC 729,    dguney@
  • Dr. Chris Middlebrook,  EERC 628,  ctmiddle@

Cool Beams!

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Grades, probation and suspension

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Grades, probation, and suspension:

If you are earning low grades, see your academic advisor early on. See your instructor(s) early on to get a good understanding of the tasks at hand. Once you get on probation, it can be a very long and difficult process to get yourself back to Good Academic Standing. If your grades do not improve after two semesters, consider whether or not you are in the right major. Continuing on probation two consecutive semesters, leads to a notice of academic suspension, which can be appealed.

The Career Services advisors can be helpful in exploring majors if you are thinking you want to change.  If you are thinking of changing majors, but do not know what, meet with one of our advisors for undecided students.

If you are overwhelmed, unable to focus on homework and studying for exams, experience test anxiety, are depressed, or have high anxiety, call our Center for Student Mental Health and Well-being at 906-487-2538. Learn new study skills and how to focus on what’s important to you, in order to reach your personal goals.  If you are on probation and interested in one of our very helpful workshops or programs or events, see options here.

When you are in a tough class, and you just “give up”, do you really want to take the class again? Seek help as soon as you know you need it.    See the instructor and the academic advisor. Go to the learning center.

These 3 situations result in Probation status:  1) Cumulative GPA falls below 2.0  2) your semester GPA falls below 2.0  3) Departmental GPA falls below 2.0 (after reaching 16 department credits).

Repeating courses:  You may repeat a course with a grade of CD or lower.  For a 3rd attempt, obtain permission from the Dean of Students and your Academic Advisor and Financial Aid.  Your most recent grade is used in your GPA calculation(s), even if it is lower.  The prior grade drops out of your GPA calculation(s).  If a course is required for your major and you do not pass the 3rd attempt, you will not be able to complete degree requirements for your major, and have to change your major.

What to shoot for early on, to be successful in EE and/or CpE:

In Computer programming (CS1121, CS1122 or CS1131), Math (MA1160, EE1110, MA2160, MA2321, MA3521) and Physics(Ph2100, PH2200)  achieve an A or B grade (but at least a C), to be successful in subsequent major classes and in your career.

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EE3901 – Design Fundamentals (substitutions)

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Courses which may substitute for EE3901 – Design Fundamentals, 2 credits.

1. ENT 3964(1) Project Management
AND ENT3958(1) Engineering Ethics.

Usually offered:

ENT3964 – online in summers; spring (JR or SR standing)

and ENT3958 – spring

Prereqs: ENG1101 or (ENT1001 and ENG1100) (JR or SR standing)ENG 1101 or (ENG 1001 and ENG 1100

  2. OSM 4300(3) – Project Management

Usually offered:

Summer online; fall; spring

Pre-Requisite(s): BUS 2100 or CEE 3710 or MA 2720 or MA 3710 or EE 3180 or BE 2110 or MA 2710

Instructor permission required to request EE3180 as prereq.

 

Your academic advisor will need to adjust your online degree audit for this substitution.

Email them when you are enrolled or complete the course(s).


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