Electrical and Computer Engineering (ELCE) is a profession that is constantly changing to meet societal needs. The ELCE discipline has created significant impact on human life in the past 50 years or so, and some of the key impacts of the field in our day to day living include: electrification, telephony, television, computers, internet, imaging, media devices, home appliances, and medical technologies. The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering offers highly structured programs that emphasize not only the theoretical fundamentals but also the practical aspects of the engineering profession.

Rewarding career opportunities in the field of Electrical Engineering will give graduates of this program a chance to work in research and development, design production engineering or quality control, health care systems or the electronic service industry. As an electrical engineer, you focus on the transfer of both electrical energy and information.

The first-year courses of the Electrical Engineering program will provide the students with grounding in engineering science fundamentals such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, computer science and the theory of electric circuits. The second year of the program introduces discrete mathematics, data structures and engineering algorithms, and electrical engineering core subjects such as analog and digital electronic circuits and systems. In the third year of the Electrical Engineering program, the emphasis will shift to advanced subjects such as communication systems, electromagnetics, microcomputer systems, electrical devices and systems, and control theory. The fourth year curriculum provides a wide range of technical elective courses. Students can further specialize in Digital Hardware Design, Communication Systems, Control Systems and Power Systems by selecting appropriate courses in the fourth year of the program. During this final year of the program, all students complete a mandatory group design project.

To educate, train, and prepare the next generation engineers to address the technical issues and challenges raised by the emerging technologies, the undergraduate curriculum offered should be adaptable, dynamic, relevant, and efficient. With this emerging trend in mind, and considering the faculty expertise and the laboratory facilities in place, the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Ryerson proposes to offer modern, relevant, and efficient curriculum with four new program options in the BEng Electrical Engineering program. They are:

Energy Systems Option – One of the most important areas of engineering where topics such as alternative fuels, energy conversion, efficiency and green power take centre stage.

Microsystems Option – This important option focuses on electronics and integrated circuit design in the nanoscale era which enables the creation of System-on-Chip where hundreds of millions of transistors can be integrated on a single chip. Theory will be supported by laboratory work using industry-class software and equipments.

Multimedia Systems Option – This option will deal with issues such as digital images, video, audio and multimedia, and will focus on theory, implementation, impact and convergence which is evident in current cutting edge digital technologies and consumer products.

Robotics and Control Systems Option – Control systems are found in a broad range of applications, from aircrafts to spacecrafts to automobiles to robots. This option will focus on the design and implementation of control systems and its application to robotics.

These program options are in addition to the regular BEng in Electrical Engineering accredited by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB), and became effective for students entering their sixth semester from Winter 2009 onwards.

It should be noted that the first five semesters of the program are common. It is only in the sixth semester that a student will decide on an option, if he or she wishes to pursue one. In the sixth semester, students decide on two of the three courses for an option. This flexibility also ensures that even at the end of the sixth semester if a student is planning to switch an option, he or she can do so without taking any additional courses or spending an additional semester. Another notable thing with the structure of the sixth semester is that the students are exposed to some key subject areas, and the exposure to these materials will help the students to be better prepared to participate in the optional Industrial Internship Program offered by the department, in which the student will spend 12 to 16 months in industry designing and working with electrical, electronics, telecommunications, and computer products. The restructuring of the courses in the sixth semester also makes the students well positioned for the many summer research work employment opportunities available to them. The options will also lead to a better informed Capstone design project by the students in their 4th year of study.

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering also offers graduate degree programs in Electrical and Computer Engineering. These graduate degree programs allow students to pursue advanced studies and independent research in the areas of computer networks, computer systems and applications and power electronics.

For further information about the program please refer to the Department's home page at www.ee.ryerson.ca.

TRANSITION PROGRAMS

First Year: The objective of the first year transition program is to provide students, who may need more time to adapt to the demanding university curriculum, with an immediate opportunity to upgrade their Academic Standing. In the second semester, Phase I of the transition program offers all first semester core courses: CHY 102, MTH 140, MTH 141, and PCS 211 in parallel to the second semester regular program courses. Students who have failed or are missing any one of these courses at the end of the first semester are required to upgrade their Academic Standing through enrolling in the transition program. During the condensed Spring term (May-July) Phase II of the transition program offers all second semester core courses: BME 100, CHE 200, CHY 211, CPS 125, EES 512, ELE 202, MEC 222, MTH 240, MTL 200, and PCS 125. These courses represent a repeat of the second semester regular program courses that were not taken by students enrolled in Phase I of the transition program.

Attention: Students are also given the opportunity to complete the following courses through The Chang School of Continuing Education during both the Spring and Summer terms: CECN 801, CCMN 432, and appropriate lower- and upper-level liberal studies courses. Only these Chang School courses will be counted towards the student's full-time Engineering degree program.

At the completion of the transition program, successful transition program students will be promoted to the second year of the Electrical Engineering program, without losing an academic year.

Second Year: The second year transition program is intended to help students who have failed or dropped the second year Fall courses MTH 312 and/or ELE 302 to stay in-phase with their classmates and still have a chance to be promoted to third year in the following academic year. This is accomplished by allowing such students to enroll in MTH 312 and/or ELE 302 in the Winter semester. The course MTH 312 will replace ELE 401 in the student's Winter timetable and ELE 302 will replace ELE 404. The student will then be able to take ELE 401 and/or ELE 404 in a condensed Spring/Summer semester (May-July).

Third Year: Similar to the second year transition program, the third year transition program is intended to help students who have failed or dropped the third year Fall courses MTH 514 and/or ELE 532 to still have a chance to be promoted to fourth year by allowing them to enroll in those courses in the Winter semester. The course MTH 514 will replace ELE 635 in the student's Winter timetable and ELE 532 will replace ELE 639. The student will then be able to take ELE 639 and/or ELE 635 in a condensed Spring/Summer semester (May-July).

Early Intervention Program

Highly innovative and proactive retention strategies play an important role in helping students build the skills for success in a demanding engineering curriculum. Through the First-Year and Common Engineering Office, the Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Science has incorporated the Early Intervention Program into the first-year engineering experience. At the semester's mid-point, students who are failing courses in their core curriculum are identified and encouraged to attend an interview with a member of our academic support team (First-Year and Common Engineering Program Director/Academic Advisor and/or the Student Counsellor). Together, they discuss options to help reduce the chances of academic failure.

Communications Proficiency Resource Path

All students admitted into first year engineering are required to write a mandatory Writing Skills Test (WST) or the diagnostic Ryerson Test of English Proficiency (RTEP). The WST is conducted annually during Orientation Week before the beginning of the first semester. Students who pass the WST, by achieving a grade of 'B' or higher, may enroll in their chosen Liberal Studies courses. Those students who do not pass the WST and those students who achieve a 'C-' level remedial pass on the RTEP, will be required to enroll in LNG 100, LNG 101, LNG 200 or LNG 300 courses as lower level liberal studies, depending on the outcome of the WST assessment. Students who do not pass the first WST or who achieve a 'C-' level remedial pass on the RTEP, will have three additional chances to pass the WST. The second test will be available in May following the completion of the First-Year Engineering curriculum. The third and fourth WST will be conducted during the following Orientation Week, and in May of the following year, for the next cohort of engineering students.

Students who fail the second WST may benefit from a four to six-week intensive ESL/writing program, which will be available during the Spring term. Students may not proceed into the third year of their engineering program without passing the WST. Engineering students who need to further develop their language and writing skills, will have access to additional writing-intensive Liberal Studies courses. Students who are required to take the LNG 100, LNG 200, LNG 300 or LNG 101 are strongly encouraged and expected to take these writing-intensive humanities and social science courses. Detailed information is available from the First-Year and Common Engineering Office.

For additional information, please refer to the specific engineering program within this calendar or contact the First-Year and Common Engineering Office, Room ENG 377 Telephone: 416-979-5000 ext. 4261.

OPTIONAL INDUSTRIAL INTERNSHIP PROGRAM (IIP): Third year students with CLEAR Academic Standing may opt to enroll in the IIP. If hired by one of the corporations who intend to provide such internship placements, IIP students will spend a period of 16 consecutive months, from May to September of the following year, as engineering interns at the corresponding corporations. After the completion of the industrial internship, students return to the academic program to complete their final year of studies. Enrollment in the IIP extends the program length to five years.

The IIP students enroll in the course WKT 99A/B: Industrial Internship Program for Electrical and Computer Engineering Students during the academic year in which they work as interns. This course is graded on a pass/fail basis. Completion of the Industrial Internship program (IIP) will be identified on the student's transcript as WKT 99A/B: Industrial Internship Program, with the appropriate grade achieved.

Optional Specialization in Management Sciences (OSMS)

Students who opt for this specialization will gain a solid foundation in management science courses, specifically tailored to better prepare them for a career in engineering or applied science management or for graduate studies in management related specializations (e.g. MBA). Students must complete all first year courses and obtain a CLEAR Standing to be eligible to enroll in this specialization.

Furthermore, in order to continue taking courses within the specialization, students must maintain their CLEAR Standing. Students' CGPAs will continue to be calculated based only on their required program courses and separate CGPAs will be computed for courses in the specialization. In order to have the specialization designation reflected on their degrees, students must successfully complete all six courses in the specialization and achieve a CGPA of 2.00 or more before graduation.

Courses within the optional specialization cover four major areas in management science: Strategic Engineering Management, Operations Management/Operations Research, Financial Sciences, and Organizational Sciences. Required courses include: Managerial Accounting, Entrepreneurship & Innovation Management, Operations Management, and Organization Design & Dynamics. Elective courses span the following: Investment Analysis, Management Information Systems, Operations Research, and Project Management.

Required courses: EMS 201, EMS 202, EMS 204, EMS 303, ECN 801.

Elective courses (select one): EMS 203, EMS 301, EMS 302, EMS 304.

Courses are offered in the Spring/Summer term. All required courses are prerequisite to the corresponding elective courses. For example, EMS 201 is a prerequisite to EMS 301. Additional prerequisites may be required. See the course description pages for details.

Students approved prior to Fall 2008 will follow the previous requirements.