Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE)

ECE Instructional Laboratories

The number of required and elective laboratory courses in the two undergraduate curricula is among the highest of any engineering college in the country. Even though labs are much more expensive than lecture-only courses, our students confirm that the hands-on laboratory component, which reinforces concepts learned in lecture, greatly enhance understanding of those concepts. Industry recruiters confirm that the value of our graduates is definitely increased by their laboratory experiences.

A description of each of the ten laboratory spaces may be found on the following pages:

Our instructional laboratories require a substantial portion of the department's resources to purchase, maintain, and continually upgrade the hardware and software which provides our students with exposure to state-of-the-art industry standards. The many hours of laboratory time require an average of 25 teaching assistants each semester in sections which are of limited size so that each student has adequate access to help as needed.

Because of the heavy financial resources required along with dwindling institutional support, the ECE Department participated in a College of Engineering initiative in 2005 to establish course fees for our laboratory courses in order to enable us to continue to provide the hands-on experiences which make our students among the best. A report on the improvements we have been able to make because of these fees can be found here.

In addition to course fees and expenditures from the department's general budget, we have been fortunate to have received a number of donations and grants from the College of Engineering's Engineering Excellence Fund. Details of these donations and grants may be found at:

Recent EEF Grants

Equipment Donations to Instructional Programs

Other Donations