Electrical and Software Engineering

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Thesis-based program

Program overview

​For students seeking to gain cutting-edge expertise in a particular area, the Electrical and Computer Engineering doctoral program will place you in a vibrant community of researchers who are focused on finding practical solutions to real-world problems. The PhD is a research-based degree that usually takes three to four years of full-time study following a master's degree, or five to six years following a bachelor's degree. Successful students go on to work in high-tech companies in positions such as senior research and development engineer, senior system/network architect, senior system designer, senior system engineer, senior application engineer, senior application developer and senior software architect. They can also work in academia as an assistant professor or instructor.

Completing this program

  • Courses: Topics may include virtual environments, data mining, intelligent control, VLSI and SOC, multidimensional signal processing and more.
  • Professional Development Courses: Students take two professional development courses on communication styles, presentation skills and more.
  • Thesis: Students will be required to submit and defend an original research thesis.
  • Software Engineering Specialization: Topics may include modelling and measurement of software performance, advanced software testing and more.
  • Candidacy: Students will complete both oral and written candidacy exams.

Specializations

Outcomes

Electrical energy, electronics, control, and instrumentation, telecommunications, information and communications technology, computer, software, oil and gas, medical, biomedical, automotive.

A PhD in electrical and computer engineering is usually considered a final degree.

Thesis-based program

Students are required to prepare a thesis and successfully defend in an open oral defense.

Classroom delivery

Time commitment

Expected completion time is 4 years; six years maximum; part-time available

Supervisor

A supervisor is required, but is not required prior to the start of the program

Fees and funding

See the Graduate Calendar for information on fees and fee regulations, and for information on awards and financial assistance.

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Supervisors

Learn about faculty available to supervise this degree.
Please note: additional supervisors may be available. Contact the program for more information.


  1. Headshot

    Hatem Abou-Zeid

    Seeking Students
    6G Networking & Communications, Safe and Robust Machine Learning, Immersive Multi-Sensory Communications, Sustainability using AI and Optimization, Industrial Internet-of-Things
  2. Dr. Ann Barcomb

    Ann Barcomb

    Accepting Inquiries
    Software engineering, open source software, human and social aspects of software engineering, human factors, research methods, collaboration, community management
  3. Leo Belostotski

    Leo Belostotski

    Accepting Inquiries
    RF and Mixed-Signal Integrated Circuits and Systems
  4. Colin Dalton

    Colin Dalton

    Unavailable
    Electrokinetic Microsystems, Microneedles, Brain-machine interfaces
  5. Picture of Lorenzo De Carli

    Lorenzo De Carli

    Accepting Inquiries
    Network Security, Software Security, Usable Security
  6. profile

    Ronnie de Souza Santos

    Accepting Inquiries
    Human Aspects of Software Engineering, Software Fairness, Software Testing, Software Engineering Education
  7. Gouri Ginde Deshpande

    Gouri Ginde Deshpande

    Accepting Inquiries
    Software Engineering, Requirements Engineering, Machine Learning, NLP, Data Analytics
  8. Steve Drew Portrait

    Steve Drew

    Accepting Inquiries
    Distributed Learning Systems, Edge Computing, Container orchestration systems and AIOps, Blockchain Services
  9. Abraham O Fapojuwo

    Abraham O. Fapojuwo

    Accepting Inquiries
    5G and Beyond Wireless Networks, IoT Networking, Wi-Fi Networking, Vehicular Networking, Simultaneous Wireless Information and Power Transfer
  10. Behrouz Far

    Behrouz Far

    Accepting Inquiries
    Distributed software systems, Intelligent analytics

Admission Requirements


GPA

A minimum of 3.5 GPA on a 4.0 point system.

Minimum education

MSc degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or software engineering.

Work samples

None

Documents

None

Reference letters

Two

Test scores

None


English language proficiency (ELP)

An applicant whose primary language is not English may fulfill the English language proficiency requirement in one of the following ways:

Deadlines

For admission on September 1:

  • Canadians and permanent residents: Jan. 31 application deadline
  • International students: Jan. 31 application deadline

For admission on January 1:

  • Canadians and permanent residents: Apr. 30 application deadline
  • International students: Apr. 30 application deadline

If you're not a Canadian or permanent resident, or if you have international credentials, make sure to learn about international requirements

Learn more about this program

Department of Electrical and Software Engineering

ICT (Information and Communications Technology) 402
2500 University Drive NW
Calgary, AB T2N 1N4
403.220.7596

Contact the Graduate Program Administrator

Visit the departmental website

Schulich School of Engineering

University of Calgary
2500 University Drive NW
Calgary, AB T2N 1N4

Visit their website

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