Electronics
Courses | FAQs | Advisors | EE Tech Areas
Electronics involve the design and analysis of the circuits that provide functionality of the overall system. The types of circuits that students encounter include analog integrated circuits, radio frequency (RF) circuits, mixed signal (combination of analog and digital) circuits, power electronics, and biomedical electronics. A student should chose the Electronics area if he/she is interested in chip-level integrated circuits design as opposed to system-level designs (e.g. Digital Systems Design Using VHDL) and will have career opportunities in chip-level circuit layout, analysis and design or as a circuit design manager.
Courses
Students must complete three of the following courses:
- EE 321K Mixed Signal and Circuits Laboratory (EE 438; and credit or registration for EE 333T)
- EE 338K Electronic Circuits II (EE 438)
- EE 338L Analog Integrated Circuit Design (EE 438 and EE 339)
- EE 360S Digital Integrated Circuit Design (EE 438 and EE 339)
- EE 361R RF Circuit Design (EE 325 and EE 438)
- EE 362L Power Electronics (EE 438; and credit or registration for EE 333T)
- EE 374K Biomedical Electronics (EE 438)
- EE 379K Development of a Solar Car for NASC (Admission to major sequence)
- M 346 Applied Linear Algebra (M 340L)
FAQ
Which courses in the core curriculum (i.e., required basic sequence and major sequence courses) might indicate whether this is a good technical area for the student?
What are the key courses in this technical area?
Electronic Circuits II (EE 338K), and Analog Integrated Circuit Design (EE 338L), are good representative courses for this technical area. In addition, courses in solid-state devices (EE 339), electromagnetics (EE 325), and microprocessor applications (EE 345L) are important.
What are the immediate and long-term employment opportunities for students who have some exposure to this technical area?
Both the computing and communications industries continue to advance the state of the art. The merger of these two industries is underway at this time with advent of wireless connectivity. Computing is being distributed to the personal client and the remote server and communications linkage between the two computing domains is becoming increasingly important. Thus, students with exposure to the topic in the Electronics technical area will be well positioned to contribute. Many companies (large and small) which are involved in the areas of communication, audio, video, mixed signals, biomedical, instrumentation are also excellent employment opportunities for students who have exposure to this area.
How important is a graduate degree (MS or PhD) in this area?
Circuit design skills are acquired through experience. However, a good fundamental understanding of design tradeoffs is necessary. Most circuit designers would say that a M.S. degree in this area is preferable and is important for students who want to specialize in a particular field such as communications, embedded system or VLSI design. A PhD is required for students who are interested in working in an R&D environment doing basic technology and tool development.
This information provided by Dr. Jack Lee and Mark McDermott, professors in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Lee holds the Cullen Trust for Higher Education Endowed Professorship in Engineering. Mark McDermott teaches as an adjunct professor and was formerly the head of Intel's Texas Development Center in Austin, TX.
Faculty Advisors for Basic and Conditional Major Students
The faculty advisors listed below can meet with Basic Sequence and Conditional Major Sequence Students to discuss topics such as:
- Educational opportunities within ECE
- Course planning to meet a student's educational goals
- Short-term and long-term career planning
Students should either meet with the faculty during their office hours or send them an e-mail to make an appointment. Students in Major Sequence should discuss this matters with their assigned faculty advisor.