This track will take students 3 semesters to complete and is intended to reflect an intensive one-year research project. Students who complete the undergraduate Research Thesis Option may use 3 hours of ECE4699 as ECE elective credit and the remaining 3 hours of ECE4699 plus 3 hours of ECE2699 as approved electives. ECE 2698 and/or ECE4698 ("Research Assistantship," which are taken by PURA students and other undergraduates being paid to perform research) will count toward the undergraduate Research Thesis Option, but will NOT count toward credit hours for graduation because the courses are offered as audit only.

Semester 1

ECE 2699 (3-0-3, Letter Grade (LG)) Undergraduate Research

OR

ECE 2698 (3-0-3, Audit) Undergraduate Research Assistantship (working 9 hours per week for pay)

LCC 4701 (1-0-1, LG) Undergraduate Research Proposal Writing

While taking ECE 2698/2699 and LCC 4701, a student is expected to develop a formal proposal for the remaining research. This proposal must be approved before the student may register for ECE4698/4699.

  • The ECE Research Thesis Option cover page, research proposal, and a current copy of the student's transcript must be submitted to the faculty research advisor.
  • After the research proposal is approved by the faculty research advisor, the student must submit the signed cover page and a copy of the research proposal to the ECE Academic Office.
  • It is normally expected that a student will have at least a 3.30 GPA. If a student's GPA is less than 3.00, he or she must submit a petition (with the endorsement of the faculty research advisor) to the ECE Associate Chair for Undergraduate Affairs, who may grant an exception.

Semester 2

ECE 4699 (0-9-3, LG) Undergraduate Research

OR

ECE 4698 (0-9-3, Audit) Undergraduate Research Assistantship (working 9 hours per week for pay)

Semester 3

LCC 4702 (1-0-1, LG) Undergraduate Research Thesis Writing

ECE 4699 (0-9-3, LG) Undergraduate Research

OR

ECE 4698 (0-9-3, Audit) Undergraduate Research Assistantship (working 9 hours per week for pay)

Additional ECE-specific tasks to be completed during LCC 4702

  • The student's thesis must be graded using the QEP rubric by two faculty members.
  • The student's thesis presentation in LCC4702 must be videotaped.
  • The student must participate in a poster presentation at the ECE Fair (or equivalent event).
  • The student must create a web-based research portfolio that includes the following:
    1. PDF of research proposal (QEP format)
    2. PDF of thesis (8-page IEEE journal format)
    3. PDF of thesis presentation slides
    4. Streaming video of thesis presentation
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