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Requirements for the B.S. Degree

The Computer Engineering degree can be completed in four full-time years of study if the student is capable of completing the two-course calculus, computer science, and electrical engineering sequences, along with physics and English writing, during the freshman year. Only strong training in high school will allow a student to begin at this level.

If a student must instead take preparatory classes as a freshman, more than the normal four years may be required for earning a degree. In any event, it is important to take the required pre-major classes early to allow advancement to full major status as soon as possible.

  1. General Education: The General Education requirements are described in the University of Utah General Catalog. The requirements for Computer Engineering majors are more specific. (If you are classified by the University as a semester transition student, you can elect to satisfy the old Liberal Education requirements instead.)

    1. The University writing requirement is required for Computer Engineering pre-majors.
    2. The quantitative reasoning requirement is satisfied by Math 1210/1220, 1210/1250, or 111/112/113, which are required for Computer Engineering pre-majors.
    3. Students must take two intellectual explorations courses in each of fine arts, humanities, and social sciences. (The two-course requirement in physical and life sciences is automatically satisfied by the pre-major requirements.) These six courses must include an ethics course, a pair of courses that forms an approved concentration, an upper division course, and either an additional concentration or an additional upper division course.

      The second course of a concentration further develops issues introduced in the first. A list of courses satisfying the ethics requirement, a list of sample concentrations, and the General Education Program form are available from the Academic Counselor. Students must complete this form and receive approval for their programs.

    4. The American Institutions requirement can be satisfied by taking one of Economics 2740 or 274, History 1700 or 170, or Political Science 1100 or 110.

  2. University graduation requirements: The University graduation requirements for the Bachelor of Science degree are described in the University of Utah General Catalog.

    1. The communication/writing requirement is satisfied by Writing 3400 or 301, which is required for Computer Engineering majors. This course must be taken prior to taking the Computer Engineering Senior Project course.
    2. The quantitatively intensive course requirement is satisfied by CS/EE 3700 and 3810, which are required for Computer Engineering majors.
    3. The diversity requirement can be satisfied by taking a course from the approved list as part of the intellectual explorations requirement.
    4. Students must complete a minimum of 122 semester hours of course work. At least 40 of the 122 hours must be upper division classes. (Upper division classes are numbered 300/3000 or above. Two-year college credits will not count toward University upper division hours.) At least 30 of the total credit hours and 20 of the last 30 hours must be taken at the University. (For the purposes of this requirement, one semester hour is equivalent to 1.5 quarter hours.)

  3. Mathematics and Science: A minimum of eight math and science courses must be taken.

    1. One year of calculus (Mathematics 1210/1220, 1210/1250, or 111/112/113) is required. (Consult the Mathematics Department for information on satisfying this requirement with a mixture of quarter- and semester-length courses.)
    2. One year of physics for scientists and engineers (Physics 2210/2220 or 221/222/223) is required. (Consult the Physics Department for information on satisfying this requirement with a mixture of quarter- and semester-length courses.)
    3. A course in linear algebra and ordinary differential equations (Mathematics 2250 or 251/252) is required.
    4. Students must take three additional classes chosen from among Chemistry 1210 or 121, Biology 1000 or 101, Math 1260 or 2210 (Calculus III), Math 3150 or 353 (Partial Differential Equations), Math 5010 or 507 (Probability), Math 5600 or 560 (Numerical Analysis), and Physics 3740 or 374 (Modern Physics). At least one of these three classes must be in mathematics and at least one must be in science. Students should take the prerequisites of computer engineering electives into consideration when planning how to satisfy this requirement.

  4. Computer Engineering: A minimum of 20 Computer Engineering classes must be taken. The chart below gives an example four-year degree program leading to a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Engineering. The graph that follows summarizes the prerequisites for computer engineering courses.

    1. Required. The following classes must be taken:

      CS 1010 or 110 Introduction to Unix
      EE 1000 or 120 Introduction to Electrical Engineering
      EE 1010 or 133 Lab Instruments and Methods
      EE 2000 Electric Circuits
      CS 2010/2020 or 201/202 Introduction to Computer Science
      EE 2100 Electronics
      CS 3500 Software Practice
      CS/EE 3700 Digital Design
      CS/EE 3710 Computer Design Laboratory
      CS/EE 3720 Interfacing Microprocessors & Microcontrollers
      CS/EE 3810 Computer Architecture
      CS/EE 4710 Computer Engineering Senior Project

    2. Restricted electives. Two of the following four classes must be taken:

      EE 3300 Electromagnetics and Transmission Lines
      EE 3500 Signals and Systems
      CS 3510 Algorithms and Data Structures
      CS 5460 Operating Systems

    3. Technical electives. Five additional Computer Science or Electrical Engineering classes at the 3000 level or higher, totaling at least 15 credit hours, must be taken. Three of the classes must be in one of these depth tracks:

      1. Communications/Controls/Digital Signal Processing

        EE 3510 Introduction to Feedback Systems
        Two 5000-level or higher courses numbered EE x5xx or EE x6xx

      2. Computer Architecture/Software Systems

        CS/EE 5810 Advanced Computer Organization
        Two 5000-level or higher courses numbered CS x4xx or CS/EE x8xx

      3. Integrated Circuit Design

        CS/EE 5710 Integrated Circuit Design I
        Two 5000-level or higher courses numbered CS/EE x7xx

      4. Microwaves/Optics

        EE 3310 Engineering Microwaves and Optics
        Two 5000-level or higher courses numbered EE x3xx or EE x4xx

      5. Robotics/Intelligent Systems

        CS 5310 Robotics
        Two 5000-level or higher courses numbered CS x3xx

      6. Semiconductor Devices (both classes and labs must be taken)

        EE 3110 Electronics II
        Two 5000-level or higher courses numbered EE x1xx or x2xx

    4. Duplication of Credit: No single class may be counted toward more than one of the requirements listed above.

  5. Continuing Performance: In order to remain in good standing and to graduate, a student is required to maintain a cumulative grade point average of 2.3 or higher, and also to maintain a grade point average of 2.3 in Computer Engineering classes. Each course taken to satisfy the CE requirements listed above must be passed with a grade of C- or better. A student may repeat a course at the 3000 level or above only one time. All CS and EE classes (other than CS 1010 or 110) taken to satisfy the requirements for a Computer Engineering degree must be taken for a letter grade; they may not be taken CR/NC.

    Students whose grade point average in either of these two categories falls below 2.3 are notified that they are on probation and will be given conditions for a return to good standing. Normally, these conditions must be satisfied during the next two semesters, excluding summers. Students failing to meet their probationary conditions are dropped from program rolls.

    All students admitted as full majors are placed on probationary status. If a student's GPA in either of the above categories is below 2.3 at the end of the first academic year during which they take upper level CE classes, the student is dropped from the program rolls.

    Students are expected to complete all requirements for their degree within four years of acceptance to full major status. Students not making satisfactory progress toward their degrees may be dropped from the program and declared inactive. The determination that a student is not making satisfactory progress is made in one of two ways. Either (1) the student has not completed a CS or EE course for a period of one year, or (2) there is no reasonable way in which the student can complete all degree requirements at the end of the required period of time.

    In order to be reinstated from inactive status or from being dropped due to a low GPA, students must petition the Computer Engineering Committee. Reinstated students proceed under the latest graduation requirements.

    If personal circumstances prevent completion of all degree requirements within four years of acceptance as a full major in the program, a student may request an extension of a specific duration and submit a revised schedule of completion.

Example Computer Engineering Degree Program

FallSpring
Freshman Math 1210 tex2html_wrap_inline1861 (4) Math 1220 tex2html_wrap_inline1861 (4)
CS 2010 tex2html_wrap_inline1861 (4) Physics 2210 tex2html_wrap_inline1861 (4)
CS 1010 tex2html_wrap_inline1861 (0.5) CS 2020 tex2html_wrap_inline1861 (4)
Writing 2010 tex2html_wrap_inline1861 (3) EE 1000 tex2html_wrap_inline1861 (4)
Gen Ed (3) EE 1010 tex2html_wrap_inline1861 (0.5)
tex2html_wrap_inline1879 tex2html_wrap_inline1881
Sophomore EE 2000 (4) EE 2100 (4)
Physics 2220 (4) CS/EE 3700 (4)
Math 2250 (3) Gen Ed (3)
CS/EE 3810 (4) Math/science elective (3)
tex2html_wrap_inline1883 tex2html_wrap_inline1885
Junior CS/EE 3710 (3) CS/EE 3720 (4)
Writing 3400 (3) CE restricted elective (3)
CS 3500 (4) CE technical elective (3)
Math/science elective (3) Math/science elective (3)
Gen Ed (3) Gen Ed (3)
tex2html_wrap_inline1887 tex2html_wrap_inline1887
Senior CS/EE 4710 (3) CE technical elective (3)
CE technical elective (3) CE technical elective (3)
CE restricted elective (3) CE technical elective (3)
Gen Ed (3) Gen Ed (3)
Gen Ed (3) Free elective (3)
tex2html_wrap_inline1883 tex2html_wrap_inline1883

This table gives an eight-semester example program leading to a B.S. in Computer Engineering. It is meant only as a guide, since the scheduling of electives and General Education classes depends upon which ones are selected. This schedule assumes adequate high school preparation in mathematics; it is not advisable to take Physics 2210 without some previous training in calculus. Note that Math 1210, Writing, and Computer Science 2010 must all be taken during the fall semester in order to complete the required pre-major classes during the first year. ( tex2html_wrap_inline1861 Class required of pre-majors.)

 

Computer Engineering Prerequisites

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This graph shows the order in which classes must be taken to satisfy prerequisite and corequisite requirements in Computer Engineering. Prerequisites are connected bottom-to-top; corequisites are connected side-to-side. Two of the four courses contained in dashed boxes must be taken. Where not otherwise indicated, courses are offered during both semesters as well as the summer. ( tex2html_wrap_inline1901 CS 3510 also has CS 2100 as a prerequisite. tex2html_wrap_inline1861 EE 3500 also has Math 2210 as a prerequisite.)

 

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Department of Computer Science Departmental Handbooks