Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Distance Education

Off-Campus Students

This department 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 nondegree (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 the student wishes to write a thesis, the student and the major professor should reach an early agreement on the details of how the research and thesis writing are to be supervised.

Distance Education Registration

There is a delivery fee charged in addition to the per credit hour charge. For delivery methods and course registration information, please see the Engineering Distance Education website.

Graduate Program Requirements

Students may take up to nine credits of graduate level coursework before it is required that they 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 to 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 will also 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, email 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. Students may come to campus to take the examination. Schedule and location information is listed in the guidelines.

  • Rockwell Collins employees may contact Damita Wash at Rockwell Collins Training and Development to make arrangements to take the examination there.
  • Special arrangements can be made 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 that it is required that you be registered for at least two credits the semester that you have 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 Thesis Office.

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

Applications

If you are ready to apply for admission, see this Graduate College site 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 mailed to Graduate Student Services, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Iowa State University,1401 Coover Hall, Ames, IA 50011.

We also will require a statement of purpose or a Background Information Form (Word) describing your proposed area of study.

Before you can be admitted, a professor in your area of interest will need to agree to serve as your major professor. By taking a course or two in your research area, you will become familiar with the graduate faculty (pdf)

It is your responsibility to contact them and ask if they would be willing to serve as your major professor. In your discussion, mention that you plan to do your degree program off-campus and that because of this, you will not need financial support.