Electrical Engineering Bachelor of Science Degree

The electrical engineering major is a five-year program designed to prepare you for exciting careers within the electrical engineering and allied disciplines. In addition to a comprehensive curriculum, you will spend nearly a year on co-op, where you will gain invaluable hands-on experience in industry. Your co-ops will begin after your second year of study. .

• Years 1 and 2: Establish a foundation in mathematics and the physical sciences, which is essential to the study of electrical engineering. In other courses, you will learn about electrical engineering principles such as circuits and digital systems. Practicum courses introduce you to electrical engineering practice and computer-aided design (CAD) tools that are used throughout the program.
• Years 3 and 4: Focus on the subjects that form the core of electrical engineering. Courses in circuits, electronics, linear systems, electromagnetic fields, semiconductor devices, communication systems, control systems, and microelectromechanical systems are taught.
• Year 5: Specialize in an area of professional interest and complete a senior design project as part of the graduation requirements

Learn more about the Student Learning Outcomes and Program Educational Objectives for the Electrical Engineering BS.

Electrical Engineering BS Options

You may select one of the following options, which provide in-depth study in a focused area of electrical engineering:

• Artificial Intelligence: The artificial intelligence option teaches you how agents work while understanding the ethical implications and societal impacts of their designs.
• Clean and Renewable Energy: The clean and renewable energy option provides an in-depth education into the development of clean electrical energy and the increased efficiency of existing electrical generation and distribution systems.
• Computer Engineering: The computer engineering option educates you in areas such as C programming, object-oriented programming, and logic design.
  Microelectronics: The microelectronics option combines specific courses focused on semiconductor processes and devices with a solid foundation in electronics, programming, and systems design, making it an excellent complement to RIT's bachelor's degree in electrical engineering.
• Robotics: The robotics option provides you with the theoretical and practical skills required to design robots and robotic devices.

Hands-On Experience in Electrical Engineering

Multidisciplinary Senior Design: A highlight of the applied engineering experience is the senior project. You will work on a challenging project under the tutelage of an experienced faculty advisor. While experiencing the satisfaction of completing an interesting project and exploring the latest in technology, students develop engineering management and project organization skills, learn to communicate their ideas effectively within a multidisciplinary team, and present their project and ideas to a diverse audience of students, faculty, and industrial partners. Explore our students’ multidisciplinary design projects.

What’s The Difference Between Engineering and Engineering Technology?

It’s a question we’re asked all the time. While there are subtle differences in the course work between the two, choosing a major in engineering or engineering technology is more about identifying what you like to do and how you like to do it.

Furthering Your Education in Electrical Engineering

Today’s careers require advanced degrees grounded in real-world experience. RIT’s Combined Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s Degrees enable you to earn both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in as little as five years of study, all while gaining the valuable hands-on experience that comes from co-ops, internships, research, study abroad, and more.

• Electrical Engineering BS/MS: In the combined accelerated electrical engineering BS/MS, you'll synthesize science, mathematics, technology, and application-oriented designs into world-class consumer products, timely microprocessors, state-of-the-art computers, advanced electronic components, robotics, smart energy systems, and much more. As part of your studies in the electrical engineering master's degree, you may also engage in innovative research to investigate and explore solutions to industrial and business challenges.
• Electrical Engineering BS/Microelectronic Engineering MS: This accelerated dual degree allows students to deepen their knowledge of semiconductor processes and devices and perform leading-edge research in several technology areas such as nanoelectronics, integrated photonics, power electronics, and photovoltaics. MS courses in microelectronic engineering are a perfect complement to courses in analog and digital IC design offered in the electrical engineering BS program, preparing students for jobs as design, process, device, and test engineers.
• Electrical Engineering BS/Science, Technology and Public Policy MS: The synergy between the electrical engineering BS and the science, technology, and public policy MS can help produce engineers with a keen awareness of their role in society and develop policy experts and researchers ready to tackle some of society's most complex problems. With an emphasis on critical, informed, and data-driven research, the dual degree can help students become socially informed technologists with a full appreciation for the societal context of their work. The BS/MS degree will produce policy experts and researchers with a solid undergraduate grounding within their area of electrical engineering.