A Brief Guide to MIT's EECS Degree Programs

Contents

Introduction

The Department offers a five-year integrated professional program leading to a simultaneous Bachelors and the Master of Engineering [M.Eng., designated VI-P] degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. In addition to the Bachelors degrees in Electrical Science and Engineering, VI-1, and in Computer Science and Engineering, VI-3, we offer a Bachelors in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, VI-2. The Master of Science degree is offered only to graduate students who did their undergraduate preparation outside our Department.

Available Degrees and Programs

Bachelors Degrees:

Masters Degrees:

Engineers Degrees:

Doctoral Degrees:

Entry to EECS Degree Programs

Designating a Bachelor of Science Program

M.I.T. undergraduates may enter the Department's undergraduate programs by designating the desired program (VI-1, VI-2 or VI-3), either at the end of the freshman year or at any time after that during their undergraduate years. Students in other programs may petition to add Course VI as a second degree prior to the senior year. They must satisfy all departmental requirements, but can petition the Department to substitute similar subjects. Students in Course VI programs are not permitted to pursue multiple undergraduate degrees within Course VI (e.g., VI-1 and VI-3).

Bioelectrical Engineering

Course VI undergraduates and M.Eng. students may elect to take courses in Bioelectrical Engineering within the VI-1 undergraduate program and the M.Eng. program. Also available is a minor program in Biomedical Engineering administered by the Biological Engineering Division.

Selection to the VI-A M.Eng. Thesis Program

The VI-A Program, in which students combine regular academic terms with work assignments at participating companies, augments the M.Eng. and all three S.B. programs by providing valuable company experience and financial support. Course VI undergraduates apply in the fall term of their third year at M.I.T., and are selected by the VI-A companies. VI-A students qualifying for the graduate M.Eng. program complete three work assignments.

The Department's Internship Program is very successful, popular with both students and companies. There are approximately twenty participating companies and around 50 students in the program.

VI-A provides excellent industrial experience that enhances students' academic success and motivation. VI-A is not just for students planning to work at companies after they graduate; it can be valuable for those planning to complete a Ph.D. and teach, as it provides them with real-world experience and contacts they might otherwise never make. Since students spend their undergraduate academic terms on campus, the company internship assignments do not prevent students from involvement in on-campus academic research.

VI-A salaries can also help to subsidize student expenses, and most companies pay one or more terms of students' graduate tuition. For information about the selection process contact the VI-A Office in 38-409E, 253-4656, 6a@mit.edu.

Admission to the VI-P Master of Engineering Program
[Masters Only Admission]

Course VI undergraduates make informal application to the VI-P M.Eng. program at the end of the junior year by submitting a checklist. During the summer following, those who have maintained an appropriate grade point average will be informed that they may continue into the M.Eng. program. While there is no sharp cutoff, students with a 4.25 gpa are very likely to be admitted, while those with a 4.0 gpa are very unlikely to be admitted. In borderline cases the admission decision may be delayed for one term. Students who successfully complete the program will receive both the M.Eng. degree and an S.B. degree, normally simultaneously. Most students complete these degrees in five years. M.Eng. students are expected to maintain at least a 4.0 grade point average while in the program. Course VI undergraduates cannot enter the Engineer or Ph.D. programs until they have completed an M.Eng. degree.

Admitted students normally enter the M.Eng. graduate program, becoming graduate students, after eight undergraduate terms. In cases where graduate student status is needed earlier to obtain graduate financial support, students who have completed the number of units needed for an undergraduate degree (180 beyond the GIRs) may become graduate students, even if they may not have completed all the subject requirements for an S.B. Students continue with their undergraduate advisors throughout the M.Eng. program, which is administered by the Course VI Undergraduate Office.

Course VI undergraduates may choose to break their enrollment after four years to work for a year or two before returning for graduate study. Such students should complete the requirements for and receive the Bachelors degree before leaving. Normally deferrals will be granted for a maximum of two years.

In the academic year 2006-2007, over 160 students were in the graduate VI-P program.

Admission to the Master of Science, Engineer, and Ph.D. Programs
[Regular Graduate Admission]

Applications for these programs can be obtained from the Graduate Office, in 38-444, 253-4603. All applicants to the regular graduate program are reviewed for their ability to complete a Ph.D., regardless of their intended final degree.

M.I.T. EECS undergraduates make formal application for regular graduate admission during the fall of their senior year, or the fall of the M.Eng. graduate year, and are informed of their admissibility in the early spring. All students must complete both the S.B. and M.Eng. degrees before actually entering the Engineer or Ph.D. programs.

Non-M.I.T. students and students in other departments at MIT apply to the Ph.D. program while in their final undergraduate year or while they are in a Masters program elsewhere. Such students who are admitted and attend and do not have masters degrees will complete the S.M. requirements; they are not eligible for the M.Eng. degree.

Department Degree Requirements

Engineering Concentrations

In the Spring of 2007, the Department announced new undergraduate degree programs involving new introductory and foundational subjects along with a new overall structure. The Class of 2010 may choose either the new or old curricula; while hte Class of 2011 and beyond must complete the new programs. The requirements for these new curricula and information about the new subjects are available here.

Students completing the new curriculum will take Advanced Undergraduate Subjects (list is under development) instead of Engineering Concentration electives. A key feature of the M.Eng. and S.B. degrees is the idea of an Engineering Concentration-- a collection of subjects, both undergraduate and graduate, in a particular technical area of the Department. There are currently seven such Concentrations, three from Computer Science, three from Electrical Engineering, and one from Bioelectrical Engineering. Each Concentration has a header subject(or subjects) which serves as the primary entry point to the concentration, and is generally a prerequisite for most of that concentration's electives.

These listings reflect the 2007-2008 MIT Bulletin.

EECS Subject Descriptions (to find out what these numbers actually mean).

Computer Science Concentrations

*No longer offered, but may be used if taken in previous years.

Electrical Engineering Concentrations

*No longer offered, but may be used if taken in previous years.

Engineering Design Points

Students completing the new curriculum announced in Spring 2007 do not need to complete this requirement. To ensure that students include reasonable amounts of design in their programs, the M.Eng. and S.B. programs require 48 Engineering Design Points(EDPs). A point is equivalent to an academic unit. Department subjects that have significant design components have been assigned appropriate numbers of EDPs, as shown in the Bulletin subject listings. The numbers of EDPs associated with independent subjects such as UROP and Thesis are determined by the supervisors of those subjects. Students who wish to receive EDPs for other subjects, such as out-of-department subjects, may petition the Undergraduate Office. The following is a list of the EDPs assigned to Department subjects.

This list reflects the MIT Bulletin.

The Departmental Requirements for the VI-1 and VI-1A (B.S.E.E.) Programs - Effective through the Class of 2010. See the New Curriculum for info about requirements for the Class of 2010 and beyond.

Students who take both 6.021 and 6.022 may use 6.022 to satisfy the department laboratory requirement; 6.022 cannot then be used as an engineering concentration elective.

The Departmental Requirements for the VI-2, VI-2A (B.S.in E.E.& C.S.) Programs - Effective through the Class of 2010. See the New Curriculum for info about requirements for the Class of 2010 and beyond.

Students who take both 6.021 and 6.022 may use 6.022 to satisfy the department laboratory requirement; 6.022 cannot then be used as an engineering concentration elective.

The Departmental Requirements for the VI-3, VI-3A (B.S.C.S) Programs - Effective through the Class of 2010. See the New Curriculum for info about requirements for the Class of 2010 and beyond.

The Departmental Requirements for the VI-P and VI-PA (M.Eng.) Programs - A new M.Eng. Program, available to the Class of 2010 and beyond, will be announced in 2008.

Students who take 6.021J and 6.022J may use 6.022 to satisfy the Department Lab requirement; 6.022 cannot then be used as an engineering conentration elective.

The choice of engineering concentrations and electives, such as the Department Lab, must be made so that at least one of the three undergraduate programs is satisfied. In the case that the program satisfies the requirements for more than one undergraduate program, the student must select which undergraduate degree will be awarded.

The S.M., E.E., E.C.S., and Ph.D. Requirements

The requirements for the S.M. degree Master of Science are a total of 66 units, of which at least four subjects, totaling 42 units or more, must be Grad-H subjects, plus a 24-unit thesis. Like the M.Eng. thesis, the S.M. thesis will be limited to 24 units. The S.M. degree program is to be completed within four terms (not counting summers).

The requirements for the E.E. degree Electrical Engineer and the E.C.S. degree Engineer in Computer Science are completion of 162 units, of which 90 must be Grad-H, together with an acceptable thesis. An M.Eng. or S.M. thesis of superior quality will satisfy the Engineer thesis requirement.

The requirements for the two doctoral degrees Doctor of Science and Doctor of Philosophy, consist of a minor program, qualifying and area exams, and completion and defense of a thesis.

Financial Support

Undergraduate Financial Aid

Undergraduate financial aid is need-based; MIT Financial Aid provides students with aid packages based on their parents' assets. This support is usually limited to eight terms of undergraduate study. For more information, contact MIT Student Financial Services, 11-120, 258-8600.

M.Eng. Financial Support

When undergraduates enter the M.Eng. graduate program, usually after eight semesters as undergraduates, they are considered to be graduate students and are no longer eligible for undergraduate need-based financial aid. However, there are several kinds of support available to M.Eng. graduate students. There is no guarantee that M.Eng. students will be able to obtain RAs or TAs, as the Department prefers to support students in the Ph.D. program. Some M.Eng. students have been unable to find graduate support.

Note: Support, in the form of RAs orTAs will not be provided to M.Eng. students beyond their third regular term (not counting summer) of graduate registration. Students whose Teaching Assistant activities have seriously delayed their theses may petition to be eligible for one additional term of support. For all M.Eng. students, if the M.Eng. thesis is completed and subject requirements remain, an additional term of support eligibility will be granted.

S.M. and Ph.D. Financial Support

Note: Department support, in the form of RAs, TAs or Departmentally-administered Fellowships, will not be provided to S.M. students beyond their fourth regular term of registration (summers not counted). Students whose Teaching Assistant activities have seriously delayed their theses may petition to be eligible for one additional term of support.

Variations from Required Curricula for S.B./M.Eng. Students

Substitutions for Institute requirements, primarily the Institute laboratory requirement and HASS requirement, must be petitioned to the Institute Committee on Curricula using an Institute Petition. That committee operates out of the Registrar's Office, 5-119. The Institute takes the General Institute Requirements very seriously and does not grant substitutions lightly.

Undergraduate advisors act with power to approve substitutions-in-kind for department requirements. The advisor should email approval of such substitutions to Vera Sayzew, vera@mit.edu.

More major not-in-kind substitutions of Department requirements will be handled by the Department's designated faculty examiners. Petitions for substitutions involving CS subjects should be sent to Prof. Verghese (verghese@mit.edu), while those involving EE subjects should be sent to Prof. J. Kirtley (kirtley@mit.edu).

Instructions for Requesting Changes in 6-2/3 Concentration Requirements

First, did you discuss this substitution with your advisor? If so, does your advisor approve?

Next, please tell me your program (6-3, 6-2, SB, MEng, ...), and please make a chart listing, under the assumption your petition is approved, the courses you have or will take to satisfy ALL your course 6 concentration requirements.

The chart should have 4 sections: courses fulfilling your three engineering concentrations and your electives. Include grades of those course you've taken, and mark with an asterisk (*) the ones for which you are seeking approval. Also mark with double asterisk (**) nonstandard courses previously approved for your requirements.

Here's a sample for the M.Eng. program:

    MINOR 1 (Computer Systems and Architecture Engineering)
          Grade   Class
          B       6.033
          A+      6.826 (Principles of Computer Systems)

    MINOR 2 (Theoretical Computer Science)
         Grade   Class
         A       6.046
                 18.443 (Linear Prog. and Combinatorial Optimization)

    EXELECTIVES
         Grade   Class
                 9.641 *  (Neural Nets)
                 18.446 ** (Time Series Analysis)
                          (approved by Kirtley, Spring 97)
        
That is usually enough for me to make a decision
on a proposed concentration requirement change. 
        

Yours truly,
Prof. George Verghese
verghese@mit.edu

******************************************************************

6-1/6-2 Engineering Concentration Substitution Procedures

This note contains an outline of the procedures you should follow in asking for a 'not in kind' substitution of one or more subjects within the Engineering Concentrations. Please note that I will not automatically approve any substitution. You must make a sound argument.

1. Talk with your advisor about what you want to do. I will take no action without your advisors approval.

2. Write down what your program will consist of in this format:

Major Concentration Header Subject Elective Subject(s)

Minor Concentration Header Elective

Repeat as necessary

Elective Subjects

3. Describe which substitutions are here and why they are important to you. How do they fit in with your professional objectives?

4. Putting all of this into an electronic mail message, send it to your advisor with a request that your advisor endorse it and forward it to me. I will expect to get an email from your advisor containing an endorsement and your original message.

If all of this is done correctly and I approve, I will forward to the note to all who need to have it (you, your advisor and EECS).

J.L. Kirtley Jr.
kirtley@mit.edu

The Advisor

The person with primary responsibility for a student's academic program is the academic advisor. Almost all official actions require the advisor's approval. Students should work to develop positive relationships with their advisors.

Students continue with their undergraduate advisor through the M.Eng. program, which is administered by the Undergraduate Office. Students in the S.M., Engineer and Ph.D. programs are assigned graduate advisors. These programs are administered by the Graduate Office, 38-444, 3-4603.

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EECS Undergraduate Programs