The PhD in Electrical Engineering program offers students an opportunity for study in a broad range of areas in electrical engineering.
In The News
Northeastern’s PhD program in Electrical Engineering offers the opportunity to pursue cutting-edge research in a broad range of electrical engineering areas such as: Signal and image processing; biomedical signal processing and brain-computer interface; pattern recognition; adaptive signal processing; wireless and underwater communications; information theory and coding; robust and distributed control; optics, photonics, acoustics, and magnetics sensors; radio frequency chip design; digital and mixed-signal integrated circuits; low-power very-large-scale integration; modeling and analysis of large scale power grids during normal operation and under faults; dc-dc converters, inverters, rectifiers, and ac-ac converters; as well as modulation techniques used in power electronics.
The PhD program is completely research-based with minimal and flexible course requirements which can be pursued as full-time or part-time. The exact nature of the program of study will vary among candidates depending on the dissertation subject area and the candidate’s preparation.
Applicants can enter the PhD program with either a BS or an MS degree in electrical engineering or a closely related field. Students entering the program with a BS degree need to also complete MS requirements, which includes selecting a concentration for the master’s component.
- A variety of graduate courses gives students the flexibility in planning their course requirements according to their research requirements and personal interests.
- Many graduate courses are offered in two sections, in-class and streaming video. Part-time students who have schedule conflicts can register in the streaming video sections.
- The department is the host or major partner in 10 state-of-the-art research centers.
- Financial support available.
- Internationally-recognized internships and co-op opportunities.
- Professional Development Workshop series to complement the research and classroom experiences.
- The department is a research powerhouse in the Boston area and beyond.
- An ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems.
- An ability to produce solutions that meet specified end-user needs.
- Ability to explain and apply engineering design principles, as appropriate to the program’s educational objectives.
- An ability to apply analytical, numerical, and/or experimental methods to analyze and design complex engineering systems, and to identify, formulate, and solve new challenging electrical engineering problems.
- An ability to direct independent scientific research in electrical engineering and related fields.
- An ability to formulate new research plans and communicate the research outcomes through oral and written communication.
With the large number of high-tech firms in and around Boston, both start-ups and large multinational corporations, many PhD students do an internship during their program while remaining right here in Boston. Often their advisor is instrumental in identifying the internship position, with a funding sponsor or research collaborator, be they in Boston or elsewhere in the United States. Internships can be informally arranged for several months at any time during the calendar year, and PhD students can also take advantage of the more formally arranged co-op program which entails 6 months of work experience preceded by several professional development courses to prepare students.
Our graduates pursue careers within academia and beyond.
- Middle East Technical University
- University of Vermont
- Nexant Corporation
- Harvard Medical School – Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital
- Qatar University
- Honeywell
- Universidad Tecnologica de Bolivar
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory
- Metamagnetics Incorporated
- LoopPay Incorporated
- Merson Shanghai Co. Ltd.
- AMD
- Qualcomm Technologies Incorporated
- Geophysical Survey Systems Incorporated
- Mathworks
- Baylor College of Medicine
- Setem Technologies, LLC
- MIT Lincoln Laboratory
- University of California, Los Angeles
- Argonne National Laboratory
- University of California, Berkeley
- Boston Children’s Hosptial
- Japanese Ministry of Defense, Tokyo
- Siemens Healthineers
- Intel
- Sanofi
Application Materials
- Completed online application form
- $100 application fee
- Two letters of recommendation
- Transcripts from all institutions attended
- Statement of Purpose
- Resume
- TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo for international applicants
For the latest application requirements, visit: https://coe.northeastern.edu/academics-experiential-learning/graduate-school-of-engineering/graduate-admissions/