Electrical Engineering

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Electrical engineering (E.E.) is the largest engineering discipline in the world serving nearly every modern industry and the demand for electrical engineers continues to grow. They are the principal technologists in solving problems related to electrical systems including automation and controls, communication systems, computer design, electronics, and electric energy. Some of the problems electrical engineers solve include: designing the “brains” for automated robotic systems; designing signal-processing algorithms used in sonar, radar, and cell-phone systems; designing high-voltage transmission systems and the automation used to operate the electric power grid; and conceiving the micro-electronic circuitry used in almost all modern equipment.

Montana Tech offers Bachelor of Science, Master of Engineering, and Master of Science degrees in Electrical Engineering. The mission of the Electrical Engineering program at Montana Tech is to provide a quality education that stresses the fundamentals of engineering, mathematics, and science in order to prepare graduates to enter and continue the practice of electrical engineering at the professional level. The Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, http://www.abet.org.

Program Objectives

The objectives of the Electrical Engineering program are to produce graduates who achieve some of the following:

  1. Successfully practice the Electrical Engineering profession as demonstrated by continued professional employment, job promotion, and expanding career responsibility.

  2. Successfully complete an advanced EE degree.

  3. Engage in continued professional development such as:

    a. Achieving the status of a registered professional engineer; and

    b. Membership and participation in a professional society.

Student Outcomes

Students graduating from the Electrical Engineering program at Montana Tech should attain:

1. an ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics.
2. an ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors.
3. an ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences.
4. an ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts.
5. an ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives.
6. an ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions.
7. an ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.

Curriculum

To successfully achieve the program objectives, the BS in E.E. curriculum is arranged so students move gradually towards higher levels of calculation and design concepts that integrate a progressively broader spectrum of basic knowledge in engineering, mathematics, science, and related subjects. Students in the program begin by primarily taking basic calculus, chemistry, physics, and computer programming courses. These courses lay the foundation for engineering topics and design. At the same time, they are taking courses to develop writing skills and complete general education requirements. Students then take lower-level fundamental engineering courses in the areas of mechanics, electric circuits, electronics, digital circuits, embedded systems, electricity and magnetism, electric machines, and signals and systems. At this point, students also take advanced mathematical courses as well as supporting subjects such as engineering economics and technical communications. The curriculum is concluded with upper-division courses such as control theory, communication systems, professional electives, and a capstone design course. Engineering design involving the formulation and solution to open-ended problems is integrated throughout the curriculum beginning the freshman year.

With professional electives, students further develop advanced electrical engineering design knowledge. Several advanced course offerings are available in areas of electric energy and power, instrumentation and control systems, embedded systems, and signal processing.

Facilities

In addition to overall college facilities, Montana Tech offers excellent facilities for the E.E. program. The department maintains three instructional laboratories. The Electrical Engineering lab is equipped for circuit, electronic, and microprocessor applications. The Electric Machines and Power lab is used to conduct electric machinery and high-power experiments. The third is the Instrumentation and Controls lab which is used for I&C related experiments. In addition, the department offers a student study area and a large computer lab for E.E. students.

Faculty

All faculty in the E.E. department have significant industrial experience. All of these faculty teach in the program, advise students, and are involved in program development. The faculty’s expertise covers the fundamental areas of electrical engineering as well as advanced knowledge in automation and controls, electric machines, energy and power, instrumentation, electronic design, and communication systems and signal processing. Undergraduate research and design opportunities exist in all of these areas.

Programs

• Electrical Engineering, B.S.

Return to: School of Mines and Engineering