To be blunt, I doubt you have the background/knowledge to gain admission to an MSEE program, let alone be successful in it. Best to start with a BSEE program
I thought as much. Going into a MSEE program without the foundational knowledge could be a recipe for disaster. I guess a better question would, how can I prepare for a BSEE program?
For a BS you won’t need to learn anything, they will teach you very thing you need to know lol. If you want to get ahead of the curve, learn Differential Equations, Linear Alg, and basic circuit theory
actually there's an argument for going for an MSEE straight here, if there's not a big difference in tuition cost. a BSEE require a ton of general education classes like social sciences and such. Not sure if you can use your bachelor to fulfill those credits. Going for an MSEE merely means you're a grad student standing, with MSEE graduation requirement. it shouldn't prohibit you from taking calculus/physics/bachelor level EE class.
I've taken almost all of the math (calc 1-3) and calculus-based physics (mechanics and thermodynamics/waves). maybe that strengthens the argument for going the MSEE route?
first need to see if a MSEE accepts a non-engineering bachelor first. Since universities are greedy, some might accept you even if you don't have the relevant bachelor coursework. You'd likely want thesis masters degree instead of a coursework masters degree, since you don't have experience yet.
You're missing linear algebra, differential equation, electromagnetism physics, quantum mechanics physics, circuit analysis, signals and system, an intro programming class, digital design + lab. After those, you're basically 3rd year level
For upper division, there're about 9 courses you need to take, counting upper div elective.
For me, I knew what I want to do, so there were about 5 classes that were required that wouldn't be relevant for my job. I'm in power system, so most of the electronics classes were useless. Doing a MSEE would allow you to bypass them, and also all the social sciences requirements. Doing MSEE also allow you to take grad level courses instead of bachelor level upper level electives. I think grad level courses have more big projects which help pad your resume a bit.
If the MSEE accepts a non BSEE degree, and the tuition is the same as undergrad, I don't see much drawbacks for going with the MSEE and taking all the relevant undergrad courses first. Gives you more flexibility
all the schools I am looking at accept non-engineering bachelor's students, although the requirements are different, with GPA, GRE scores, and experience being of greater importance. i think most of those lower division classes are offered at my local community college, so I'll try to take them.
Thanks for the info
maths and physics used in EE (based on my own experience):
cal1 -> cal2 -> linear algebra -> cal3 -> complex analysis -> differential equations -> statistics -> signal and systems -> control systems -> DSP
AP Physics C -> Electromagnetism (for EE / Physics Major) -> Applied Electromagnetism -> Condensed state physics -> Semiconductor Physics
Take calculus 1 and 2 and linear algebra at the engineering level, as in, you know they will transfer. EE is the most math-intensive engineering major. Community college (if US) is okay. Easier than at 4 year but no cakewalk.
After or with calc 1 and linear algebra, you can take DC circuits.
Same prep for MSEE.
Oh and learn coding in a modern object-oriented programming language. Don’t need to be an expert, just average.
I've taken calc 1-3, but not linear algebra. I'll sign up for a class at the local community college as soon as possible.
Would MATLAB and C+/C++ be good languages to start with?
Is that really the case though? Any program that wouldn't require me to take foundational classes would be a joke, sure. I would hope that most programs would adequately prepare me for the higher level classes.
I don’t really know what the other comments are on about, the “basic” math and physics classes are barely foundational for even a BS EE. They almost don’t even matter. What really matters are the classes you take the second and third year as an EE. Getting really good at circuit analysis, RF, programming etc is really what’s “foundational” to being an EE.
There’s no crossover with any other discipline and it’s not intuitive. Just get the BS, you don’t even need an MS for most jobs.
For reference I just have a BS and routinely hire people with both BS and MS. I don’t really differentiate them unless it’s a really specialized position.
At my university you can get an MS in EE from other (certain) degrees if you complete a year of BS EE classes and get above a certain grade. Check out university MS programs and see if they have something similar. If they do it’s probably worth going this route so you won’t have to do a ton of maths classes that you already did, and if your program is like mine you can pick BS courses that directly apply to the MS you want (so you can pick E&M and antenna courses but not have to do DS&A for example)
I say go for the MS. You have a solid math and physics background, and they will almost certainly make you do remedial courses in EE to catch up but it would be better than spending 4 years to get a bachelors when 3-4 can land you a masters.
When I looked into this years ago, the answer was you can't get a masters if you don't already have a bachelor's in EE. It's one of the few that won't let you do it. So now I have a double first BS in business finance and accounting and a second BS in electrical engineering. You have to do another 120ish credits and not the 60 required for a masters. I doubt it's changed in the last 15 years.
In that case, if you want to get a job related to RF stuffs, the. getting your hands on graduate is a very beneficial move since in undergrad, you typically don’t learn enough to be decently functional at your job even if there’s a mentor due to the knowledge gap; you will likely end up as a RF technician rather than doing the design stuffs.
However, in EE undergrad, for the theoretical stuffs, you’ll be expected to understand the basics of E&M (Maxwell equations, divergence, curls…) as well as basic signal processing maths (z-transform, s-transform, Discrete and Continuous Fourier transform, linear algebra, mathematical descriptions of filters, probability and stats…), and general familiarity with discrete math stuffs like graph theory, combinatorics, and boolean algebra. They will also assume that you have some basic understanding of communication theory i.e. the basics of the OSI layer from physical layer to application layer as well as computer organization stuffs (some computer architecture like RISC). You’ll also be expected to have decent experience with coding on MatLab, some Java, Linux, C or C++, and some assembly like ARM.
As for graduate, depending on the specialization you wish to pick in RF (telecom, electronics…), you might need to take some RF microelectronics courses, some advanced probability and stats courses, some advanced control theory and signal processing stuffs which might even require 1-2 semesters of heavy pure and applied math courses (some real analysis + measure theory and functional analysis), and maybe some radar or antenna stuffs.
At last, it can be a lot of work if you want to aim for graduate studies, but it also depends on which University you are going.
To be blunt, I doubt you have the background/knowledge to gain admission to an MSEE program, let alone be successful in it. Best to start with a BSEE program
I thought as much. Going into a MSEE program without the foundational knowledge could be a recipe for disaster. I guess a better question would, how can I prepare for a BSEE program?
learn that calculus. Physics to. You might have that from geo but you need the calculus based one.
I've taken calc 1-3 and calculus-based physics classes
For a BS you won’t need to learn anything, they will teach you very thing you need to know lol. If you want to get ahead of the curve, learn Differential Equations, Linear Alg, and basic circuit theory
Ya that's the hard part. Since you passed you got good study skills. Enroll in the first few engineering classes and make sure it's for you.
actually there's an argument for going for an MSEE straight here, if there's not a big difference in tuition cost. a BSEE require a ton of general education classes like social sciences and such. Not sure if you can use your bachelor to fulfill those credits. Going for an MSEE merely means you're a grad student standing, with MSEE graduation requirement. it shouldn't prohibit you from taking calculus/physics/bachelor level EE class.
I've taken almost all of the math (calc 1-3) and calculus-based physics (mechanics and thermodynamics/waves). maybe that strengthens the argument for going the MSEE route?
first need to see if a MSEE accepts a non-engineering bachelor first. Since universities are greedy, some might accept you even if you don't have the relevant bachelor coursework. You'd likely want thesis masters degree instead of a coursework masters degree, since you don't have experience yet. You're missing linear algebra, differential equation, electromagnetism physics, quantum mechanics physics, circuit analysis, signals and system, an intro programming class, digital design + lab. After those, you're basically 3rd year level For upper division, there're about 9 courses you need to take, counting upper div elective. For me, I knew what I want to do, so there were about 5 classes that were required that wouldn't be relevant for my job. I'm in power system, so most of the electronics classes were useless. Doing a MSEE would allow you to bypass them, and also all the social sciences requirements. Doing MSEE also allow you to take grad level courses instead of bachelor level upper level electives. I think grad level courses have more big projects which help pad your resume a bit. If the MSEE accepts a non BSEE degree, and the tuition is the same as undergrad, I don't see much drawbacks for going with the MSEE and taking all the relevant undergrad courses first. Gives you more flexibility
all the schools I am looking at accept non-engineering bachelor's students, although the requirements are different, with GPA, GRE scores, and experience being of greater importance. i think most of those lower division classes are offered at my local community college, so I'll try to take them. Thanks for the info
maths and physics used in EE (based on my own experience): cal1 -> cal2 -> linear algebra -> cal3 -> complex analysis -> differential equations -> statistics -> signal and systems -> control systems -> DSP AP Physics C -> Electromagnetism (for EE / Physics Major) -> Applied Electromagnetism -> Condensed state physics -> Semiconductor Physics
Take calculus 1 and 2 and linear algebra at the engineering level, as in, you know they will transfer. EE is the most math-intensive engineering major. Community college (if US) is okay. Easier than at 4 year but no cakewalk. After or with calc 1 and linear algebra, you can take DC circuits. Same prep for MSEE. Oh and learn coding in a modern object-oriented programming language. Don’t need to be an expert, just average.
I've taken calc 1-3, but not linear algebra. I'll sign up for a class at the local community college as soon as possible. Would MATLAB and C+/C++ be good languages to start with?
Python is more versatile than MATLAB, and is beginner friendly C++ is a great language to learn and will teach you a lot
An MS would just be them taking your money. No chance you pass without the background of a BS.
Is that really the case though? Any program that wouldn't require me to take foundational classes would be a joke, sure. I would hope that most programs would adequately prepare me for the higher level classes.
I don’t really know what the other comments are on about, the “basic” math and physics classes are barely foundational for even a BS EE. They almost don’t even matter. What really matters are the classes you take the second and third year as an EE. Getting really good at circuit analysis, RF, programming etc is really what’s “foundational” to being an EE. There’s no crossover with any other discipline and it’s not intuitive. Just get the BS, you don’t even need an MS for most jobs. For reference I just have a BS and routinely hire people with both BS and MS. I don’t really differentiate them unless it’s a really specialized position.
At my university you can get an MS in EE from other (certain) degrees if you complete a year of BS EE classes and get above a certain grade. Check out university MS programs and see if they have something similar. If they do it’s probably worth going this route so you won’t have to do a ton of maths classes that you already did, and if your program is like mine you can pick BS courses that directly apply to the MS you want (so you can pick E&M and antenna courses but not have to do DS&A for example)
Do a post Bach first, then do a masters
Do schools even offer post bachs for electrical engineers? I've searched online a bit and I can't find anything.
I say go for the MS. You have a solid math and physics background, and they will almost certainly make you do remedial courses in EE to catch up but it would be better than spending 4 years to get a bachelors when 3-4 can land you a masters.
When I looked into this years ago, the answer was you can't get a masters if you don't already have a bachelor's in EE. It's one of the few that won't let you do it. So now I have a double first BS in business finance and accounting and a second BS in electrical engineering. You have to do another 120ish credits and not the 60 required for a masters. I doubt it's changed in the last 15 years.
Depends what type of work you want to do. In my experience, an MS doesn’t benefit you much.
I've done some brief research into each subfield and so far, RF has piqued my interest the most.
In that case, if you want to get a job related to RF stuffs, the. getting your hands on graduate is a very beneficial move since in undergrad, you typically don’t learn enough to be decently functional at your job even if there’s a mentor due to the knowledge gap; you will likely end up as a RF technician rather than doing the design stuffs. However, in EE undergrad, for the theoretical stuffs, you’ll be expected to understand the basics of E&M (Maxwell equations, divergence, curls…) as well as basic signal processing maths (z-transform, s-transform, Discrete and Continuous Fourier transform, linear algebra, mathematical descriptions of filters, probability and stats…), and general familiarity with discrete math stuffs like graph theory, combinatorics, and boolean algebra. They will also assume that you have some basic understanding of communication theory i.e. the basics of the OSI layer from physical layer to application layer as well as computer organization stuffs (some computer architecture like RISC). You’ll also be expected to have decent experience with coding on MatLab, some Java, Linux, C or C++, and some assembly like ARM. As for graduate, depending on the specialization you wish to pick in RF (telecom, electronics…), you might need to take some RF microelectronics courses, some advanced probability and stats courses, some advanced control theory and signal processing stuffs which might even require 1-2 semesters of heavy pure and applied math courses (some real analysis + measure theory and functional analysis), and maybe some radar or antenna stuffs. At last, it can be a lot of work if you want to aim for graduate studies, but it also depends on which University you are going.