How to get into a PhD program for Electrical Engineering?

[wearymachine]

My question is exactly what the topic title says...how to get into a PhD program for EE...

I just started my MS in EE in Fall 2011...I work fulltime and take 6 credits at a time (fulltime students take 9..also, I got in fulltime, but did not receive funding via TA or RA-ship...which is why I still work fulltime)...I got an A and a B my first semester...not bad for working fulltime and living 50 miles away I don't think...also, the B I got was in supposedly one of the hardest EE grad classes offered at my school

to make up for lost time due to working fulltime, i plan to also take 6 credits in the summer...I am obviously planning on doing a thesis...starting that next summer...if things go as planned, I will finish my MS in May 2013 (classes and thesis...everything)

as far as the thesis goes...one of my classes next semester will be a topics class...trying to decide between Computational Electromagnetics, and Noise in Mixed Signals (trying to decide which suits my abilities better and which has better research potential right now)...I plan on starting my thesis the following summer in whichever topics class I take next semester...

I guess my questions are as follows...

1. How many publications can you get through a normal MS thesis in electrical engineering?

2. Would a normal MS thesis be good enough, as far as research goes, to look good as a PhD applicant?

3. What type of GPA (within the MS program only) do students looking for PhD program admission, have?

4. When do you apply for PhD program (like how long before finishing the MS)?

5. When do people take the qualification exams? (From my research, some people say you need the qualification exams to get in...others say you take it a year or so into the PhD program...this has me quite confused lol)

6. Do they look at your undergrad GPA at all?

7. What about GREs? (I am wondering about these last two questions because they were used to get into the MS program in the first place...so why would they even matter for PhD admission??...it feels as pointless as asking for your HS transcript and SAT scores for admission to the MS program)

some things you should know

Undergrad school: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Undergrad GPA: 3.2

GRE Scores: 800 Q, 490 V, 3.5 W

Current Grad School for MS: Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Current MS GPA: 3.5 (got an A and a B this term and that's all I've done so far)

thanks for your help!

Edited December 21, 2011 by wearymachine

[wearymachine]

anybody?? i see 57 views, but a response would be nice -___-

[queller]

The only answers I can give you are based on what I have read elsewhere and logical common sense. Though I personally will be watching this topic as I am curious as to what is the normal amount of publications is.

4. When do you apply for PhD program (like how long before finishing the MS)?

Usually the fall/winter prior to wanting to start the PhD program. As PhD programs typically have the same application timelines that MS programs have. (See the schools site for exact PhD admission deadlines.)

5. When do people take the qualification exams? (From my research, some people say you need the qualification exams to get in...others say you take it a year or so into the PhD program...this has me quite confused lol)

From my understanding one takes the qualification exam a the school they are doing a PhD at - so you can't take them prior to starting at the school your going to earn your PhD. From people who are in PhD programs they have described it to me as one takes it when one knows what the exact line of research is going to be (as some schools have the research proposal due right after it). Meaning that unless you are doing your masters at the same school as your PhD you would take the qualification exam probably a yr or so into the program since you already have a masters. The timeline is different for people who do not have masters already, or are earning both a masters and phd from the same school.

6. Do they look at your undergrad GPA at all?

Yes. They also are comparing many applicants that do not have masters so in direct comparisons an undergrad GPA is needed.

7. What about GREs? (I am wondering about these last two questions because they were used to get into the MS program in the first place...so why would they even matter for PhD admission??...it feels as pointless as asking for your HS transcript and SAT scores for admission to the MS program)

Yes. They also are comparing many applicants that do not have masters so in direct comparison of GRE is needed.

[eesj]

My question is exactly what the topic title says...how to get into a PhD program for EE...

I just started my MS in EE in Fall 2011...I work fulltime and take 6 credits at a time (fulltime students take 9..also, I got in fulltime, but did not receive funding via TA or RA-ship...which is why I still work fulltime)...I got an A and a B my first semester...not bad for working fulltime and living 50 miles away I don't think...also, the B I got was in supposedly one of the hardest EE grad classes offered at my school

to make up for lost time due to working fulltime, i plan to also take 6 credits in the summer...I am obviously planning on doing a thesis...starting that next summer...if things go as planned, I will finish my MS in May 2013 (classes and thesis...everything)

as far as the thesis goes...one of my classes next semester will be a topics class...trying to decide between Computational Electromagnetics, and Noise in Mixed Signals (trying to decide which suits my abilities better and which has better research potential right now)...I plan on starting my thesis the following summer in whichever topics class I take next semester...

I guess my questions are as follows...

1. How many publications can you get through a normal MS thesis in electrical engineering?

2. Would a normal MS thesis be good enough, as far as research goes, to look good as a PhD applicant?

3. What type of GPA (within the MS program only) do students looking for PhD program admission, have?

4. When do you apply for PhD program (like how long before finishing the MS)?

5. When do people take the qualification exams? (From my research, some people say you need the qualification exams to get in...others say you take it a year or so into the PhD program...this has me quite confused lol)

6. Do they look at your undergrad GPA at all?

7. What about GREs? (I am wondering about these last two questions because they were used to get into the MS program in the first place...so why would they even matter for PhD admission??...it feels as pointless as asking for your HS transcript and SAT scores for admission to the MS program)

some things you should know

Undergrad school: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Undergrad GPA: 3.2

GRE Scores: 800 Q, 490 V, 3.5 W

Current Grad School for MS: Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Current MS GPA: 3.5 (got an A and a B this term and that's all I've done so far)

thanks for your help!

I took a similar route during my MSEE and was recently accepted into Stanford for the Ph.D. Unfortunately, I did not receive a fellowship from the university and I am going to keep working so I can have my company reimburse the tuition. I plan on doing this for the first year and then work part time (20HRs) once I get a fellowship...

To answer your questions:

1. How many publications can you get through a normal MS thesis in electrical engineering? I did not publish, but you can probably get 1 pub. I did not publish my work, but instead filed U.S. Patent applications on my research. Patents are expensive but I would rather receive royalties versus publishing work.

2. Would a normal MS thesis be good enough, as far as research goes, to look good as a PhD applicant? Make sure your thesis research is on an interesting topic relevant to what you want to do in the Ph.D. Try to fabricate a device if possible.

3. What type of GPA (within the MS program only) do students looking for PhD program admission, have? I only had a UG 3.16/4.0 (3.32/4.0 major), MS 3.43/4.0. But I research in a known companies R&D group. You can have a 4.0 GPA but ZERO practical knowledge and professors realize this. They are more appreciative of those who know real world problems that need to be solved.

4. When do you apply for PhD program (like how long before finishing the MS)? I applied a year after my MS. Graduated in Dec 2010...applied/accepted in 2011.

5. When do people take the qualification exams? (From my research, some people say you need the qualification exams to get in...others say you take it a year or so into the PhD program...this has me quite confused lol) I am trying to take it a year after I start. The quals is a weeder process where you are essentially competing against your peers to get accepted into an advisors research group. The most important part of the quals (pass or fail) is to get an advisor. Even if you pass the quals it does not mean you will get an advisor. No advisor = no research = no dissertation.

6. Do they look at your undergrad GPA at all? Yes. This sort of shows your understanding of the fundamentals of EE.

7. What about GREs? (I am wondering about these last two questions because they were used to get into the MS program in the first place...so why would they even matter for PhD admission??...it feels as pointless as asking for your HS transcript and SAT scores for admission to the MS program) I honestly dont think they care. Just as long as you get over a 700Q. My scores were Q710/V410/4AW...so this almost says that I cant speak english.

hope this helps.

Edited December 25, 2011 by eesj

[HassE]

My question is exactly what the topic title says...how to get into a PhD program for EE...

I just started my MS in EE in Fall 2011...I work fulltime and take 6 credits at a time (fulltime students take 9..also, I got in fulltime, but did not receive funding via TA or RA-ship...which is why I still work fulltime)...I got an A and a B my first semester...not bad for working fulltime and living 50 miles away I don't think...also, the B I got was in supposedly one of the hardest EE grad classes offered at my school

to make up for lost time due to working fulltime, i plan to also take 6 credits in the summer...I am obviously planning on doing a thesis...starting that next summer...if things go as planned, I will finish my MS in May 2013 (classes and thesis...everything)

as far as the thesis goes...one of my classes next semester will be a topics class...trying to decide between Computational Electromagnetics, and Noise in Mixed Signals (trying to decide which suits my abilities better and which has better research potential right now)...I plan on starting my thesis the following summer in whichever topics class I take next semester...

I guess my questions are as follows...

1. How many publications can you get through a normal MS thesis in electrical engineering?

2. Would a normal MS thesis be good enough, as far as research goes, to look good as a PhD applicant?

3. What type of GPA (within the MS program only) do students looking for PhD program admission, have?

4. When do you apply for PhD program (like how long before finishing the MS)?

5. When do people take the qualification exams? (From my research, some people say you need the qualification exams to get in...others say you take it a year or so into the PhD program...this has me quite confused lol)

6. Do they look at your undergrad GPA at all?

7. What about GREs? (I am wondering about these last two questions because they were used to get into the MS program in the first place...so why would they even matter for PhD admission??...it feels as pointless as asking for your HS transcript and SAT scores for admission to the MS program)

some things you should know

Undergrad school: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Undergrad GPA: 3.2

GRE Scores: 800 Q, 490 V, 3.5 W

Current Grad School for MS: Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Current MS GPA: 3.5 (got an A and a B this term and that's all I've done so far)

thanks for your help!

First off, been on this site for years now and was asking similiar questions a few years ago.

For starters, welcome my Boston-Brother. I did my undergrad in Boston at Wentworth Institute of Technology from the Lowell, MA area and worked with a few students from WPI. Other than MIT/Harvard/BU, it's a top school in MA, don't think any others are ranked higher, so RPI and WPI on your transcript sure look pretty decent.

In terms of "will you get accepted into a PhD program" all depends on a few factors.

As much as I hate to say this, are you a US Citizen or not? US schools are trying to have as many US citizens in their own American schools as possible. If you are a US Citizen and you do a thesis and publich a paper or two, you have a HUGE chance of getting accepted into at least a few top-25 schools for a fully funded PhD program. If your not a US citizen, it's definitely still possible, but international candidiates all have fantastic transcripts and resumes, so your possibilities of getting accepted start to get more refined.

I got accepted into the University of Iowa's PhD EE program (Ranked top-60 in the country) and my GRE scorces were embarrassing, my school had little reputation, and my undergrad GPA was only a 3.50/4.00. Nothing special by any means. I did have over a year of work experience, which was substantial. So I think you were experience combined with your research will really make you a valuable candidiate. My letter's of recommendation were pretty solid though.

My only advice is keep doing what your doing, try to bump up your MS GPA up to a little over a 3.50 and you'll be fine in terms of everything you can do.

This will seperate you out from the pack if you can publish at LEAST one paper if not two. Also, get really good and friendly with your research advisor. Recommendations are really what's going to seperate you from the others. Also, it wouldn't hurt if one of your recommendations came from a high-level manager/CTO/research/PhD holder/etc. This proves to your future research advisor - who is ultimately going to decide whether you get accepted or not, aka funded - whether you can do research and then apply those theories of research into something actual to prove it works.

If you have anymore questions feel free to PM me...will be more than happy to help