Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Distance Education Rules and Requirements

Off-Campus Students

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering has no restrictions on the amount of off-campus instruction allowed in a program. (Individual committees may, of course, institute special requirements.)  

Off-campus students are often admitted as non-degree (with an undeclared major) students. Such students should seek regular admission at an early date if they wish to become degree candidates since a total of only nine credits earned in non-degree status can be used subsequently to meet the credit-hour requirements of a degree program.

An off-campus student should secure a major professor in the first semester following regular admission and secure a committee and file a Program of Study during the second semester following regular admission. If you want to write a thesis, the you and your major professor should reach an early agreement on the details of how the research and thesis writing will be supervised.

Distance Education Registration

There is a delivery fee charged in addition to the per credit hour charge. For details on how distance education works and course registration information, please see the Engineering Distance Education Web site.

Graduate Program Requirements

You may take up to 9 credits of graduate-level coursework before you are required to apply for admission to a degree program.

Only 9 credits will transfer to a degree program, so it is best to apply before completing the 9 credits.

We recommend that students take one or two classes before making the decision to apply for our degree program.

Once admitted into our degree program, you also need to be aware of Graduate College and departmental requirements. Examinations/Required Forms is a Graduate College site that lists these requirements. You also will want to become familiar with our departmental Supplementary Rules.

The Graduate Student Services Office will assist you in obtaining required signatures on your paperwork. After discussion and approval with your major professor, e-mail your completed forms to the graduate secretary or fax to 515-294-2678.

All non-native English speaking graduate students must fulfill an English requirement before completing 12 hours of graduate work at Iowa State University. You may come to campus to take the examination. Schedule and location information is listed in the Iowa State University Department of English's Web site.

  • Rockwell Collins employees may contact Damita Wash at Rockwell Collins Training and Development to make arrangements to take the examination there.
  • You can make special arrangements directly with ENGLESL@iastate.edu to arrange a proctor for meeting this requirement.

Thesis/Creative Component

At the end of your program, you will need to register for thesis research credits or creative component credits. Contact Engineering Distance Education to register for the correct EE or CprE 599 or 699 credits. Note: You are required to be registered for at least two credits the semester that you take your final oral examination.

During your final semester, there are strict deadlines for the completion of forms and the submission of thesis (if applicable) to the Graduate College's Thesis Office.

Failure to meet any of these deadlines could jeopardize your graduation plans. See the Graduate College's Thesis/Graduation deadlines for the dates that apply to your term of graduation.

Applications

If you are ready to apply for admission, see the Web page for Applying to Iowa State. The process can take a month or more and the department does not get your material until all transcripts from all prior institutions attended have been sent to the Office of Admissions.

Letters of recommendation are required and should be sent via the online application form.

Our department also requires a statement of purpose describing your proposed area of study.