ECE graduate students should regularly (each term) discuss their study plans with an advisor, taking into consideration academic interests, research goals, and course availability.

1. University requirements
   Course requirements for the Ph.D. degree comprise at least 60 semester credit hours of course work beyond the bachelor degree. Specific requirements for these 60 semester hours are as follows.
   • A minimum of 30 semester hours of graded (eg. A,B,C) graduate course work (6000-level and above).
   • A minimum of 30 semester hours of additional graduate course work, satisfying the following:
     • Must include at least 10 semester credit hours of research and dissertation (ELEC 8990).
     • May include ungraded courses.
   • The total number of credit hours that may be transferred from another accredited institution toward a doctoral degree must be less than 50 percent of total credit hours. Such transfer credit:
     1. must fall within the time limits of the degree; and
     2. must be approved by the advisory committee and the dean of the Graduate School.
     3. A maximum of four hours of 7990 (Research and Thesis) from a completed master's program may be counted.
   • All doctoral students must complete a minimum of 10 hours of 8990. Enrollment in 8990 may take place at any time the student and his/her advisory committee deem appropriate. During any one semester, the number of hours of 8990 in which the student enrolls should reflect the amount of time being spent on the dissertation and the degree to which university resources are being utilized. Students may enroll, during any one semester, for as few as one hour or as many as 10 hours of 8990. No grade is assigned.
   • Additional course work may be required by the student's advisory committee according to the student's background and interests.
2. ECE department requirements
   • No more than 3 semester hours of independent study (ELEC 7900 or 8900).
   • No more than 3 semester hours of seminar (ELEC 7950 or equivalent).