The Master of Science (MS) degree in electrical engineering encompasses academics and research that is often a precursor to a doctorate in electrical engineering. This degree is for students interested in teaching or working in the field of research as opposed to working as a professional electrical engineer in an office environment. As with all master's degrees, a thesis is a requirement for graduation. Many universities in the United States offer an MS degree in electrical engineering, including Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. Stanford's degree generally takes an average of three to five years to complete and requires courses such as computer hardware, electronic circuits, network systems, signal processing and advanced technology.
Another graduate electrical engineering degree offered is a master's in electrical engineering. Unlike the Master of Science degree, a master's in electrical engineering provides hands-on training for those interested in being professional electricians or bachelor's degree holders who want to further their education. The course work for this degree includes chemistry, electrical systems, statistical analysis, electrical circuits, intelligent systems and project design. Universities conferring this degree include the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, a highly-ranked institution which requires 162 units of study and an acceptable thesis in order for a student to earn a master's in electrical engineering.
The Master of Electrical Engineering Systems degree is designed to combine study of new technologies with a foundation in core electrical engineering training. Because it's a newer postgraduate program, only a few universities offer this degree, including the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. The university offers a one- to two-year graduate program that requires 30 credits of coursework with an optional thesis. The program falls under the school's electrical and computer engineering division and features instruction in communications, power and energy, robotics and computer vision, signal and image processing and control systems.
A graduate degree in bioengineering provides students with advanced training in biological and medical science, mathematics, engineering principles, physics, chemistry, physiology and biology. The purpose of this degree is to combine a base education in electrical engineering with education in the sciences so that graduating students can work in the field of research, teaching, biotechnology and as consultants to government institutions and medical firms. Applicants must usually meet the requirements of a school's electrical engineering department prior to entry into a bioengineering postgraduate program.
Florida Atlantic University offers a master's in bioengineering that requires 33 credits without a thesis and 30 credits with a thesis. Coursework includes bioengineering basics, biosystems modeling and control and genetic engineering.
Students holding master's degrees in electrical engineering can choose to pursue a doctorate. Doctoral candidates select courses in consultation with their faculty advisers. The University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA), offers a PhD in Electrical Engineering with minimum requirements of a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering degree or a closely related field. A 3.5 grade point average (GPA) is also required, and the doctorate must be finished within five academic years from the time of admission. Doctoral candidates are expected to pass a PhD preliminary examination and an oral qualifying examination given by the doctoral committee, prior to writing and defending their dissertation.