Master of Engineering in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE)

The competitive landscape to build ever- faster, efficient, and secure computers, along with the recent enaction of the U.S. Chips and Science Act, has ushered in a new era of innovation. At the same time, industry challenges, including supply chain ones, have created a need for new and creative solutions to meet market demands. Are you ready for these opportunities?

The MEng in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) program at WPI lets you focus on one of several specialty areas or obtain a more broad-based graduate education, combined with courses from the Business School.

As one of WPI’s flagship departments, ECE offers a collaborative, innovative, and boundary-pushing environment for graduate study and research. Here, you’ll find internationally renowned faculty, groundbreaking research, and state-of-the-art equipment and facilities.

Available on campus or online, you may tailor our rigorous, yet flexible, Master of Engineering in ECE around your professional obligations. And no matter how you study, you’ll have full access to our world-renowned faculty and facilities.

Curriculum

An ECE MEng delivers the same technical course work as the master of science degree, but with the option to focus some courses on business topics.

With a majority of courses in Electrical & Computer Engineering, combined with courses across areas of business, computer science, engineering, and mathematics, you’ll be well prepared to make an impact in your field of expertise. A thesis option isn’t available for this program, but you’re encouraged to develop an independent research project as part of your electrical and computer engineering MEng program.

Students who do not include courses from the Business School in their degree program should consider instead completing the Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering master’s program.

Research

ECE faculty members are involved in diverse research that includes:

New medical devices in areas that span wearable sensors to magnetic resonance imaging to prosthesis control systems to low-frequency electromagnetic modeling of the human body
Advanced cryptographic algorithms and secure communication for low-power and hand-held devices
Autonomous vehicle navigation (stoplight and lane detection using machine learning) and communication (vehicle-to-vehicle, vehicle-to-infrastructure), cognitive and wireless radio systems, embedded systems, robotic control, solar/wind/renewable energy, power systems.

WPI’s ECE grad program prepares you for whatever career path you choose. Whether your plans include industry, academia, a start-up, or a leadership track, you’ll have the theoretical expertise and the hands-on proficiency to succeed.

Research possibilities here range from working on prosthetic devices that make life easier to cloud security and autonomous vehicles.

Society is undergoing dramatic changes—the real-world work you do in ECE will have an immediate impact.

No matter what your current schedule looks like, you can complete an ECE grad degree at WPI. Courses are online or on campus and your schedule can be on a full-time or part-time basis—we will help you make it work.

Our labs mimic real-life situations. Clinical partnerships with the nearby University of Massachusetts Medical School offer students additional exceptional healthcare delivery resources and a dozen specialized labs at WPI cater to varied interests.

Specialized research areas focus on some of the most pressing global issues, including healthcare delivery/quality of life, smart and connected world, and security and privacy.

Research into Smart and Connected World aspects of ECE including
- CyberPhysical Systems: cognitive and software-defined radio, embedded systems, real-time digital signal processing, wireless communications and networking, high-performance computing, logic synthesis, applied and numerical electromagnetics, RF/microwave circuits, mixed-signal/VLSI circuits, localization, estimation, and detection
- Robotics: localization for cooperative robotics, robotic controls, machine vision/recognition, automata theory, optimization
- Energy & Sustainability: power electronics, energy conversion, high-voltage technology, smart cities, sustainability engineering, solar/wind/renewable energy, power systems and quality
Faculty studying Healthcare/Quality of Life will investigate biomedical signal processing/modeling/instrumentation, wearable sensors, MRI/medical/electromagnetic imaging methods, body area networking, on-body antenna prototyping.
Security and Privacy research includes secure control of cyberphysical systems, cryptographic algorithm implementation, network security, embedded security, physical security, side-channel cryptanalysis.

WPI has more than a dozen specialized labs within Atwater Kent Laboratories, the first building in the nation built for electrical engineering education, including an antenna lab; signal processing and information networking laboratory (Spinlab); precision personnel locator project; and the Center for Wireless Information Network Studies. You’ll have access to the latest in equipment and instruments to advance your research.

WEBINARS

Graduate Studies Series

Team members from Graduate & Professional Studies host quick and convenient webinars designed to highlight popular topics when starting grad school. Take a deep dive into specific areas of interest such as how to secure funding, how to ace your application, an overview of student services, and more!

VIEW PAST WEBINARS ON DEMAND

Faculty Profiles

Ted Clancy

Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Smart Prosthetics, Biomedical Signal Processing/Modeling, Assistive Technology, Wearable Sensors, Biomedical Instrumentation, Medical IoT.

Ulkuhan Guler

Associate Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering

My research interests lie in the broad area of circuits and systems, and my primary area of interest is analog/mixed signal integrated circuits. More specifically, I am interested in the circuit design of sensing interfaces and energy harvesting and wireless power transmission systems for applications in the IoT.

Berk Sunar

Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering

I received my PhD in ECE from Oregon State University in December 1998 and worked briefly as a member of the research faculty at OSU's Information Security Laboratory. In 2000 I joined WPI as an assistant professor. My research interests include applied cryptography and cybersecurity;

For personal website please visit https://sunar.org

Alexander Wyglinski

Associate Dean of Graduate Studies, Electrical & Computer Engineering

Dr. Alexander M. Wyglinski is the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies at WPI since 2021. In this role, Dr.

Prefer to Earn a Master of Science Instead?

Maybe you’re interested in earning a master of science rather than a MEng in electrical and computer engineering? Our master’s in ECE focuses more heavily on the allied areas of computer science, robotics, and systems engineering rather than the professional business and management aspects of our MEng. Maybe you prefer to study online rather than traveling to campus to take your courses? Our master’s in electrical and computer engineering online is designed for busy working professionals who want the same rigorous curriculum they would receive on-campus, but rather online at their convenience.

Explore Our On-Campus & Online ECE Graduate Certificates

Have a BS and interested in advancing your expertise in the electrical and computer engineering field? Offered on-campus or online, our graduate certificate will help provide the necessary training as you gear up to earn an MS or MEng in electrical and computer engineering. If you already have a master of science in ECE or a related field, an advanced certificate in ECE may be a good path for you. The advanced certificate is well suited for students interested in earning a doctoral degree and works to sharpen expertise in a focus area. If you need the flexibility to balance your other responsibilities with advancing your education, our online certificate in electrical and computer engineering helps you get ahead during the time you have.

Are you ready to get started on an ECE degree?

If you’re thinking of a career where you can use your skills to branch into many areas, our BS in electrical and computer engineering will give you the foundation you need to have a successful career. WPI’s ECE students investigate wireless sensors for self-driving cars, solar power uses, high throughput computations, and even digital music synthesis. Maybe you want to explore areas of ECE, but you’re on track to earn a degree in a different discipline. A minor in electrical and computer engineering gives you experience with ECE theories so you can apply them to other areas.