Electrical and Computer EngineeringGraduate Programs
Join Us
The Charles L. Brown Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering provides thought leadership via award-winning research, out-of-the-box solutions and turning-point ideas.
From the optical fibers that connect the world to deep space exploration, many of humanity’s greatest achievements would have been unthinkable without electrical and computer engineers. Our department has played an important role in many of these advancements. You can add to our legacy in world-class photonics, high-frequency diodes, and materials science research, and extend our long-standing tradition in computer engineering, devices and circuits, signal and image processing, and communications.
Our co-location with the University of Virginia's School of Medicine enables ECE faculty and students to conduct research in medical imaging, microfluidics, electrophoresis, bio-molecular engineering, and biomedical and cyber-physical data mining. Machine learning and artificial intelligence now influence everything we do, including the design and operation of engineered systems; you can leverage our investments in machine learning research to ride the AI wave.
We aspire to be an inclusive and welcoming place for all, and a hub of innovation where research and teaching go hand-in-hand. Our mission is to prepare the next generation of electrical and computer engineering leaders to solve society’s grand technological challenges and improve quality of life.
Interested?
The Graduate Admissions Office provides a one-stop shop and information portal to answer your questions about your degree path and the online application process, along with helpful tips and contacts for more information. Our admissions process is designed to welcome a diverse, talented, ambitious and well-rounded pool of prospective graduate students. Our admissions committee reviews every applicant's entire package, looking for academic capabilities, research experiences, leadership and passion for electrical and computer engineering.
We offer Ph.D., Master of Science – with Thesis (MS), and Master of Engineering – without Thesis (ME) degrees in Electrical Engineering. Our ME degree can be earned in person or online through Virginia Engineering Online.
We offer a research-oriented Doctor of Philosophy degree and an industry-oriented Master of Engineering Degree. Both are interdisciplinary, allowing you to work with researchers in a wide variety of areas across the Engineering School.
This graduate certificate recognizes the acquisition of cyber-physical systems knowledge and skills through the completion of targeted courses. It is available to graduate students in UVA's School of Engineering and Applied Science and awarded at the time of degree conferral.
Explore Art Licthenberger's playground at UVA: Get a sneak peek into the newly renovated Innovations in Fabrication (IFAB) facility and hear about research opportunities in superconducting and millimeter and submillimeter materials, devices and circuits. Watch the video.
Support adoption of clean, renewable energy: Mona Zebarjadi demonstrates her group's research at the intersection of materials and devices. They manipulate materials' thermal and electrical properties to find new ways of converting waste heat into electricity.Watch the video.
Help society make the most of 5G and prepare for what's next: Cong Shen introduces you to his research group and their Lab for Intelligent Communication and Networking. See how ECE excels in machine learning methods for communication and networking. Watch the video.
Our Faculty
UVA ECE has 40 faculty members. Over 80% of the faculty are tenured or tenure track, including 13 assistant professors. Collectively, our faculty have earned many awards and honors. Fourteen have earned NSF CAREER Awards; five others have earned young investigator, inventor or faculty awards. Thirteen are Fellows of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Over the past three years, on average, the department has obtained $13.3 million in external funding. ECE faculty frequently serve as editors and program or conference chairs, and regularly publish at top conferences and journals. Computer engineering faculty hold primary or joint appointments within several departments within the School of Engineering.
Network with Distinguished and Energetic Alumni
As a member of ECE's extended community, you can network with energetic and distinguished alumni. Our department benefits from alumni representation on the board of trustees, a strong record of stewardship and financial support, and thought leadership within our discipline.
Eric Starkloff Welcomes Graduates to the World of Practicing Engineers
Eric Starkloff (ECE '97), president and CEO of NI, asks graduates to engineer ambitously.
Community Connections
UVA ECE's culture is outward looking and entrepreneurial. We actively engage in cross-disciplinary research and provide many opportunities to find mentors and make connections beyond our Department. We know that work-life balance is important to you, and encourage you to take advantage of all that Charlottesville has to offer.
Incubating Ideas and Innovations: Charlottesville is a vibrant community of high-tech entrepreneurs, most of them associated with UVA, with the supporting ecosystem, talent and culture conducive to further growth. Seven ECE faculty members have founded or co-founded successful startups such as Virginia Diodes and Everactive, Inc..
Crossing Borders: ECE aspires to be an inclusive and welcoming place for all, and a hub of innovation where research and teaching go hand-in-hand. We support and promote a culture of excellence through diversity in everything we do.
Congratulations to Jing Ma and her co-authors who earned the best research paper award at KDD ’22, a premier scientific conference in knowledge discovery and data mining.
Ph.D. Students Follow the Late Professor’s Example in Scholarship, Leadership and Service
The electrical and computer engineering community at UVA commemorates the legacy of Professor Malathi Veeraraghavan through a graduate fellowship in her name.
Ph.D. students Chengshuai Shi and Beichen Wang earned a McVey Fellowship. This department award honors Professor Eugene S. McVey’s seminal contributions to the field of electrical engineering and his dedication to teaching and mentoring UVA students and junior faculty.
Md Golam Morshed, a Ph.D. student of electrical engineering, has joined the search for high-speed, high-density, low energy consumption memory technology.
