The general requirements for the Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering are equivalent to those of The Graduate School.

Learning Outcomes

1. An expertise in their specialty area that is requisite for conducting research in that area.  
2. An understanding of fundamental concepts and an ability to solve problems in their major area of research. 
3. An ability to solve basic problems in related areas of research other than their major area. 
4. Demonstrate an ability to perform research in one of the major areas of the department. 
5. Demonstrate an understanding of the discovery and innovation process as it relates to electrical engineering. 
6. Demonstrate the ability to describe complex ideas to others. 

Degree Requirements

The Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering fall into four categories: course requirements, the qualifying examination, the comprehensive examination, and the doctoral dissertation. ​

The Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering requires 60 credit hours of graduate level work beyond the B.S. degree. Among the 60 credit hours, it includes a minimum of 12 hours of dissertation preparation work under a PhD dissertation advisor from the electrical engineering department culminating into a PhD dissertation. The remaining 48 hours of graduate level work can be completed or met differently based on whether a student enters the program with a bachelor’s degree or a master’s degree.​

Students who enter the program with a bachelor’s degree must complete 48 credit hours of course work of which at least 24 hours of coursework must be in the major and at the level of 700 or above. This may include up to 12 hours of ELCT 797 (Research) and 6 hours of ELCT 897 (Directed Individual Study). The remaining 24 hours can be completed from a mixture of approved ELCT and non-ELCT courses at the 500-level or above with the condition that no more than 6 hours can be met using non-ELCT courses. Non-ELCT courses may include but not limited to courses with prefixes CSCE, EMCH, MATH, CHEM, PHYS. Courses with other prefixes than those listed above may also be taken in consultation with and approval of the student's dissertation advisor and the graduate director.   ​

Students who enter the program with a master’s degree must complete 18 credit hours of course work of which at least 9 hours of coursework must be in the major and at the level of 700 or above. This may include up to 6 hours of ELCT 897 (Directed Individual Study). Students entering the Ph.D. program with an M.S. or M.E. may not enroll and receive credits from ELCT 797 (research) unless they have obtained their degrees from the University of South Carolina. The remaining 9 hours can be completed from a mixture of approved ELCT and non-ELCT courses at the 500-level or above with the condition that no more than 6 hours can be met using non-ELCT courses. Non-ELCT courses may include but not limited to courses with prefixes CSCE, EMCH, MATH, CHEM, PHYS. Courses with other prefixes than those listed above may also be taken in consultation with and approval of the student's dissertation advisor and the graduate director.  

 The Program of Study (POS) must be defined in consultation with the student’s advisor and approved by the graduate director. Changes in the POS require permission of the student’s advisor and approval of the Graduate Director. Any such changes must be approved before the beginning of a student’s final semester.​

​Additional Degree Requirements

Ph.D. Students must take and pass a Qualifying Examination within 3 academic semesters of initial enrollment in the program. The exam will be administered by a departmental committee for the purpose of ascertaining that the student has mastered the essentials of electrical engineering. Details of the exam format and contents will be made available to the concerned students well in advance of the exam. Students are allowed to take the qualifying exam not more than twice.

Students must be admitted to Ph.D. Candidacy at least one year before graduation. Admission to candidacy requires passing the qualifying Exam and filing an approved Program of Study. Each Ph.D. student must write and present a dissertation proposal and have it approved by his/her advisory committee, which constitutes the Comprehensive Exam. The dissertation proposal and its presentation must delineate the scope and depth of the original research that the student proposes to undertake. 

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