UAlbany Launches Graduate Programs in Electrical and Computer Engineering

ALBANY, N.Y. (September 11, 2018) – The University at Albany’s College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (CEAS) has reached another major milestone, officially launching graduate degrees in electrical and computer engineering.

The new master of science and Ph.D. programs (M.S. ECE and Ph.D. ECE) have been approved by the New York State Education Department (NYSED). UAlbany will start accepting applications immediately.

The new graduate degree programs, coupled with the college’s current undergraduate program in computer engineering, will provide learning opportunities in a wide range of topics spanning computer engineering, communications and networks, signal and information processing, electronic circuits and systems, power electronics, and control.

“The launch of these programs is another major step in the evolution of our College of Engineering and Applied Sciences,” said University at Albany Provost James Stellar. “UAlbany is creating pathways for students from all backgrounds to pursue careers in engineering while having access to the interdisciplinary opportunities a comprehensive public university offers and that benefit students in seeking jobs and further education.”

“Building a fully-featured, research-intensive College of Engineering and Applied Sciences at UAlbany continues apace,” said CEAS Dean Kim Boyer. “In keeping with our mission of ‘Science in Service to Society,’ these new graduate programs, our first foray in graduate education beyond computer science, will educate the next generation of professional innovators and undergird our rapidly expanding research enterprise."

Incorporating concepts from engineering, mathematics, computer science and physics, the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering already offers a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering.

A proposal to broaden the scope of the bachelor of science program to Electrical and Computer Engineering as well is under review by NYSED. Using the principles of basic science and mathematics, the computer engineer designs, analyzes, and implements computing technology into devices and systems that use computers as components or tools.

Electrical engineers study and apply electricity, magnetism, and light to a wide range of problems. Electrical and computer engineering’s numerous sub-disciplines include energy sources and systems, control systems, electronics (including micro- and nano-electronics), signal processing and image analysis, pattern recognition, telecommunications, instrumentation (including medical instrumentation), computers, and more.

Industries in communications systems, high speed and embedded computing, computer hardware and software design all compete for computer engineering graduates. Electrical and computer engineers are also leaders in the area of robotics, including autonomous air, water, and ground vehicles.

Created in 2015, CEAS was designed to provide the Capital Region’s first public option for computer engineering, and to create opportunities for students, faculty, public engagement, and to drive regional economic development.

The new programs are also significant as UAlbany continues to move forward with plans to renovate the former Schuyler Building to serve as a new home for the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

UAlbany is seeking $60 million in capital funding to support the renovation of the North Lake Avenue facility. The renovation will also broaden UAlbany’s downtown footprint and make CEAS a hub for public partnerships and significant public engagement opportunities, including use of the facility’s 1,000-seat auditorium, “maker-tinker space” for unstructured learning, student entrepreneurs, and capstone design projects, and programs for local K-12 schools.

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