Graduate Programs

Degrees Offered

The Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE) offers the following three post-graduate degrees in Electrical Engineering:    

Master of Engineering (M. Eng.) Degree: this degree program is project based and requires the students to complete 7 courses (21 credits) and the seminar course ECED 6900. A final project is also required and a M.Eng. student needs to make an oral defending presentation for his/her project report at the end of the program. The normal time a student should take to complete this degree is between 12 and 18 months.

Master of Applied Science (M. A. Sc.) Degree: this degree program is research or thesis based and requires the students to complete 4 courses (12 credits), a seminar course and a research thesis. Many of the M.A.Sc. students are expected to publish their papers in the peer-reviewed conferences. The normal time to complete this program is between 18 and 24 months. The Master of Applied Science degree is normally one of the requirements for admission to the Doctor of Philosophy degree program.

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) Degree (the highest degree in post-graduate studies): this degree program requires the candidates to complete 4 courses (12 credits), a seminar course and a research dissertation if a candidate already has a research Master's degree; otherwise the candidates have to complete 12 courses, a seminar course and a research dissertation. The dissertation is expected to contain original research and many of the candidates are expected to publish their research work in peer-reviewed journals. It usually takes from three to four years to finish.

All the students or candidates are expected to study and work under supervision and guidance of at least a faculty member in a certain area of research.  Information about all the faculty members can be found under “People” and “Research”.  An applicant is strongly encouraged to indicate their specific area of interest in his/her application.

Admission Requirements and Process

In order to be admitted to an academic program, an applicant must meet the admission requirements set up by the Dalhousie Faculty of Graduate Studies and the Faculty of Engineering. In addition to these, the ECE department has more specific requirements as described below.

For admission to the Master’s Degree Program

In order to be admitted to an academic program, an applicant must meet the admission requirements set up by the Dalhousie Faculty of Graduate Studies and the Faculty of Engineering. In addition to these, the ECE department has more specific requirements as described below.

• Possession of a baccalaureate degree or its academic equivalent from an academic institution recognized by Dalhousie, in which the language of instruction is English, and in a country where English is the principal language, or
• Four years of full-time post-secondary instruction at a university where English is the primary language of instruction and in a country where English is the principal language, or
• Possession of a baccalaureate degree or its academic equivalent from an academic institution recognized by Dalhousie with a satisfactory score on an approved English language examination such as TOEFL (Test of English as Foreign Language). The Departmental requirement for TOEFL is 580 (Paper) or 237 (Computer). Other language test requirements can be found at http://www.dal.ca/faculty/gradstudies.html.

For admission to the Doctoral Degree Program

• Possession of a research Master’s degree or its academic equivalent from an academic institution recognized by Dalhousie, in which the language of instruction is English, and in a country where English is the principal language, or
• Possession of a first-class non-thesis Master’s Degree, in a country where English is the principal language, may be considered for admission to the PhD program where evidence of independent research can be clearly demonstrated, such as a major research paper, presentation at scholarly conferences, publications in journals, etc. Such candidates may also be admitted into a Master’s program with the possibility of transferring to the doctoral program, or
• Possession of a research Master’s degree or its academic equivalent from an academic institution recognized by Dalhousie with a satisfactory score on an approved English language examination such as TOEFL. The Departmental requirement for TOEFL is 580 (Paper) or 237 (Computer).

Foreign students may be required to enter the M.A.Sc. program as a qualifying period prior to consideration for the Ph.D. program.
In order to be admitted to an academic graduate program, an applicant must be accepted by a professor into his/her research program, in addition to meeting all the above requirements for admission. For information regarding research areas of ECE faculty members, please visit the sections of People and Research at this web site.

Limited financial aid in the form of scholarships, research and teaching assistantships may be available, depending on (1) an applicant’s request in his/her application, (2) excellence of the applicant and (3) availability of funds. Applicants are encouraged to explore the possibility of obtaining financial support or scholarships from other sources such as NSERC scholarships (www.nserc.ca) and Killam scholarships (http://www.dalgrad.dal.ca/killam/), or personal funds.

Application Deadlines

Application material can be downloaded directly from www.dalgrad.dal.ca.

To start an application process including paying the application fee, follow the steps outlined at www.dalgrad.dal.ca and . Please note that in the "Statement of Purpose" with your completed application, you need to indicate three research areas in electrical and computer engineering that interest you the most for your proposed graduate studies.