Electrical Engineering

Electrical Engineering is the largest technical profession, which permeates today’s high technology society. “EE” encompasses numerous disciplines such as microelectronics, photonics, computer engineering, signal processing, control systems, and communications. The Department has a world renown faculty, involved in cutting-edge research involving graduate students and undergraduate students alike. Electrical Engineering at Yale trains students to have both technical depth, as well as a balanced and well-rounded education, to be better equipped to compete and lead in the global community of the 21st century.

Many of the frontiers of engineering are interdisciplinary, and students will find many of the faculty involved in joint projects with other departments, laboratories, and programs. This provides opportunities for the students in the Department to receive a broad engineering education in more than one technical field, in a liberal arts setting.

The Electrical Engineering curriculum places an emphasis on basic theory to provide a sound framework, as well as emphasizing practical experience and entrepreneurship. As a result, every student in the Department has an opportunity to map out a unique program suited to her/his background, interests, and goals.

Of the many fields that constitute Electrical Engineering, Yale offers three basic tracks of specialty. The track a student will follow typically is chosen in the junior year, with the freshman and sophomore year constituting core curriculum courses.

Electrical Engineering offers three tracks: 

• Microelectronics and Photonics Track: microelectronic and photonic materials, fabrication, and electronic and photonic devices. Students following this track will have skills in the design and fabrication of modern microelectronic devices, optoelectronic devices for telecommunications, ultrafast devices for micro-and millimeter-wave devices, microelectromechanical systems, and novel device physics involving fields such as bioelectronic systems and quantum computing.
• Computer Engineering Track: design of digital and analog circuits, computer systems & architecture, sensor networks, very large-scale integrated (VLSI) circuit design, implementation, and testing and reliability. Students following this track will have skills in computer-aided design of state-of-the-art integrated circuits, embedded microprocessors, and in computer communications.

• Signal Processing, Control, and Communications Track: automatic control systems, representation of information in signals, transmission and storage of information, and processing information by computers. Students following this track will have skills in digital signal processing, image processing, neural networks, robotics, sensors, and telecommunication systems.

Electrical Engineering students may also pursue an interdepartmental major with Computer Science.

Senior Requirement: 

All programs require a research/design Senior Project. The student must take EENG 471a or EENG 481a, present a written report, and make an oral presentation during the fall term.

Students must: 

1) choose their topic the semester before the term in which they will work on their project,

2) fill out a registration form, and

3) have the form signed by the intended faculty adviser and the DUS.

The written report is due by the last day of the Reading Period.