ECE Department Regulations
In some cases, Department regulations differ from those of the College of Engineering.
Students should make themselves aware of the following regulations as well as the
regulations in the College Advising Guide.
Accreditation
The two baccalaureate degrees offered by the Department, B.S. in Electrical Engineering and B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering, are both accredited by ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology).
Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) Credits
For students who have taken an advanced placement or international baccalaureate course in high school and who make the required score in the College Entrance Examination Board's Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate examination, college credit will be granted if the subject would normally be part of the student's curriculum. If the student elects to take the equivalent college course, the credit for that course will replace the AP or IB credit. All such credit must be validated by satisfactory achievement in subsequent courses.For exam scores and corresponding CU course equivalents, see the tables for AP or IB credits.
Advising
All freshmen must see a freshman adviser. All students should see the Undergraduate Advising Coordinator in ECEE 1B20 at the beginning of their sophomore year to be assigned a permanent advisor. Students with questions concerning Department regulations and requirements should check with the Advising Coordinator first. Those with questions about technical content of courses, recommended courses for their particular curriculum, and the like, should see their faculty advisor.
Double Degrees
It is possible to obtain bachelor's degrees in two engineering disciplines or one in EE (or ECE) and one in another college. Students must satisfy curricula for both programs and complete a minimum of 30 additional hours beyond the largest minimum required by either program.
Grades
A final grade of "D-" or better in a course is sufficient to satisfy degree requirements unless the course is a prerequisite for another course in the student's program (see the section on Repeat Courses). If a course is a prerequisite, the minimum acceptable grade is a "C-".
GPA
In addition to other University requirements, each student must satisfy the following at the time of graduation:
- a cumulative grade point average of 2.00 in all courses taken on any campus at the University of Colorado; and
- a cumulative grade point average of 2.00 in all departmental courses (labeled ECEN xxxx or crosslisted with ECEN) taken on any campus at the University of Colorado.
Graduate-Level Courses
Courses at the ECEN or CSCI 5000-level are closed to undergraduates with a GPA of less than 2.85 except by petition. Other campus departments may have different restrictions. Courses at the 6000- and 7000-level are closed to all undergraduate students. Graduate level courses applied towards the graduation requirement for the B.S. degree cannot be used again toward a graduate degree, either here or at another school.
Graduation Check
Each student should make an appointment with the Undergraduate Advising Coordinator one semester prior to the semester in which he or she plans to graduate to review credits toward graduation. Even though all students are invited to review credits several times throughout their studies, this final graduation check is extremely important. If a student has not been through the graduation check and problems are found at graduation, an extra semester or more may be necessary.
Graduation List
At the beginning of the final semester, students must notify the Engineering Dean's Office of their intent to graduate by filling out an Application for Diploma Card and turning it in to the Dean's Office. The graduation list is available in the ECE Undergraduate Office (ECEE 1B20) about a month after the beginning of each semester. Students intending to graduate should make certain that their names are listed. Any omissions or changes should be reported to both the Dean's Office and the ECE Undergraduate Office as soon as possible.
Honors
Students with an overall GPA of 3.75 or above at the end of the semester prior to graduation will be awarded the designation "With Distinction" on their diploma. A GPA of 3.90 or higher earns the citation "With High Distinction." At least 50 hours must have been earned at the Boulder campus; and grades earned during the semester of graduation will not be considered.
Independent Study
Upper division independent study (ECEN 3840/4840) may be used as a technical elective to fulfill graduation requirements without petitioning. If it used is to fulfill a distribution requirement, it must be approved ahead of time by petition. Any Independent Study course sponsored by a faculty member in another department must be approved by petition and may not be used to fulfill the distribution requirement.
No Credit
Courses registered for as "no credit" are not allowed toward fulfilling graduation requirements. Once a course has been taken for "no credit" it cannot be repeated for a grade.
Pass/Fail
Pass/fail credit will not be permitted for any courses used for fulfilling graduation requirements.
Petitions
Any exceptions to department or college rules must have prior approval by petition. All petitions must be submitted to the Undergraduate Advising Coordinator for departmental approval. Petitions involving exceptions to College rules will then be submitted to the Dean's Office for approval. It is the student's responsibility to find out if a petition has or has not been approved. Blank petition forms are available in the ECE Department Office (ECEE 1B55), the ECE Undergraduate Office (ECEE 1B20), or the Dean's Office (AD 100) or they may be downloaded as a PDF file.
Pre-medical/Bioengineering
Students who are interested in a pre-medical program or in the bioengineering option should contact the Biomedical Engineering Advisor, Howard Wachtel, early in their academic programs because of the particular chemistry and biology requirements.
Repeat Courses
If a grade of "D+" or lower is received in a course prerequisite to another, the student may not register for the subsequent course until a grade of "C-" or better has been achieved in the prior course. By petition, the rule may be waived upon the approval of the instructors in the prerequisite and succeeding courses and the permission of the Department.A course in which a grade of "C-" or better has been received may not be repeated.
Residence Requirement
Students graduating from UC-Boulder must complete their last 45 hours on the Boulder campus. Courses taken through Continuing Education or by correspondence, even though registered for in Boulder, are not considered Boulder campus courses. Any exceptions to the 45-hour rule must be approved by petition in advance before registering or they will not be counted toward the degree.
ROTC
Three hours of ROTC credit may be used toward the social-humanistic requirement. Additional hours may be accepted by prior petition in certain cases. See the Undergraduate Advising Coordinator for details.
Telecommunications Courses
The Interdisciplinary Telecommunications Program offers special courses, most of which are usually not suitable as technical electives in the departmental programs. Therefore, a student may use only that Telecommunications course for which he or she has received prior approval, by petition, in his or her degree program. Only one approved Telecommunications course may be applied to the B.S. program. A brochure listing courses offered in the Telecommunications Program may be obtained in the Telecommunications Office (ECOT 311).
Transfer Credits
All transfer students should see the Department's Transfer Credit Evaluator, (Prof. Edward Kuester, ECOT 248) about acceptance of transfer credits immediately after being accepted into the College and before making up a schedule. Acceptance of transfer credits is provisional for one academic year following admission to the ECE Department and until academic competence in subsequent courses has been established. (Those transferring here from UCD or UCCS are not considered transfer students, but they should review their credits with the Undergraduate Advising Coordinator in order to determine how credits received at another campus will fit into this program.)Transfer students should understand that all credits received at other universities may not - in fact, most likely will not - apply toward their ECE program. Transfer credits are first reviewed by the University, which accepts those it feels are comparable to courses at CU. Then that list of courses is reviewed by the Transfer Credit Evaluator who approves only those courses which are comparable to courses required by departmental curricula. In most cases, this is only a fraction of total transfer hours.
Once the Transfer Credit Evaluator has approved transfer hours, the student should deliver a copy of the signed sheet to the Undergraduate Advising Coordinator in the Undergraduate Office to be made a part of his or her departmental file.
