Only students with the highest academic credentials are invited to participate. Classes are limited to a small number of students which facilitates discussion and close interaction with faculty. Research opportunities and design projects are an integral part of the program, providing students with hands-on experience during their undergraduate education. Students meet frequently and informally with faculty advisors.
During the first two years in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Honors Program, students participate in accelerated course work in math, taught in smaller seminar-type classes. ECE Honors courses in the junior year are a vehicle for faculty and students to delve deeper into the electrical engineering curriculum. Open discussions and projects in these classes reinforce the foundations of electrical engineering and motivate an appreciation for emerging technologies. As seniors, ECE Honors students have the opportunity to engage in research under the guidance of faculty advisors. Successful completion of the ECE Honors Program is noted on the BSEE or BSCP diploma.
Note: Participation in the ECE Honors program does not preclude membership in the University Honors Program or other accelerated academic opportunities on campus, but, in fact, offers additional challenge for talented students who choose electrical engineering as their major.
The Department is committed to excellence in undergraduate education, which is reflected in on-going reviews of the curriculum, state-of-the-art upgrades in laboratories and the integration of software tools for interactive instruction, computation and design. An important component of the undergraduate experience is participation in student professional societies, which provide a social forum as well as opportunities for networking. The quality of the undergraduate program is reflected in the placement of electrical engineering graduates, who in recent years have gone to top graduate schools such as Stanford, Berkeley and MIT, and have been employed by companies such as Intel, AT&T, Lockheed Martin, Texas Instruments, Lucent Technologies, TRW, Hughes Network Systems, Bay Networks and Northrup Grumman.
Admission to the Electrical and Computer Engineering Honors Program is separate from admission to the University of Maryland, and requires a brief application form accompanied by one or two letters of recommendation. Application deadlines are January 15 for admission in the fall semester and October 15 for admission in the spring semester. Decisions are normally made within a month of the application deadline. Admission to the Electrical and Computer Engineering Honors Program is contingent upon admission to the University of Maryland.
If you seek excellence in the academic and professional arenas of electrical and computer engineering, the Electrical and Computer Engineering Honors Program will provide you with the challenge and training to attain your goals. ECE Honors participants are among the most gifted and motivated undergraduate students at the University. Entering first year students typically have a high school GPA of 3.5 or above, a math SAT of 700 or higher and, on average, a combined SAT score around 1440. While the majority of participants are selected prior to their freshman year, as well as prior to their junior year (including transfer students). If you would like to receive an application form, or if you have questions about the Electrical and Computer Engineering Honors Program, call (301)405-3685, or write to the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, A. James Clark School of Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742-3285. You may send email to eceadvise@umd.edu.
