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ECE496

ECE496 (Senior Research Project) is a 2-credit hour course that satisfies the Advanced Composition requirement for ECE majors, but only if followed up with exactly ECE499 the following semester. EEs need to have a project with some sort of hardware in it, otherwise they are required to implement a special circuit (to be done with ECE499). ECE496 is offered in the fall, spring, and summer, and is administered on a professor-by-professor basis.

How It Works

Students simply pick a professor (preferably someone that knows them well) and ask to do a senior thesis with them. Students can either have their own ideas for what research to pursue, or the professor can provide the ideas for them. In either case, the pair will fill out an agreement for the research project, which is then signed off by Professor Kudeki. There is nothing else that you or the professor need to do afterwards besides performing the research - the reports and presentations will come with ECE499.

Prerequisites

  • RHET105
  • Consent of instructor who you will be doing research with.

RHET105 is the only official prerequisite, as the sequence of courses will require a lot of good writing to complete.

When to Take it

Students usually take this course in the fall semester of the senior year, thus finishing ECE499 during their final semester. Some students have instead taken the combination during their junior year instead, opting for a lighter senior year. The time at which you take this course usually depends on whether you have a good relationship with a professor and some sort of research project available. If you really want to rush this course for whatever reason, make sure to speak up during lecture and ask good questions so professors know your name.

Course Tips

Start your research project early! The earlier you start, the more impressive your project is, and thus the more impressive your thesis and presentation are. Thesis writing always takes much longer than expected, so doing most of the research in ECE496 will set you up for an extremely successful ECE499.