Ph.D. Coursework
In This Page
For a comprehensive explanation of policy, please refer to The Graduate Handbook.
Overview
Below is a general overview of the course requirements. All courses, with the exception of 299/297, must be taken for a letter grade. To be considered a full-time student, which is a requirement for funding, you must be enrolled in at least 12 units per semester.
For a full description of the coursework requirements, please see The Graduate Handbook.
- 12+ units
- 200-level courses
- At least a 3.5 GPA in all courses
- 6+ units
- At least one 200-level class
- At least 3.0 GPA in all courses
- Each course must be at least 3 units
- Can be 100 level or above
- At least 3.0 GPA in all courses
- Outside electives cannot be cross-listed in EECS and cannot be a shared area with your major.
- Can be taken for 1-12 units.
- Can be taken for a S/U grade.
- Can be used to fill in unit gaps to ensure you are always enrolled in 12 units.
- For example, you only have to take one course that is 4 units, you would fill in the remaining 8 units with a 299 under your advisor.
- You can also take 12 units of 299 and no other courses if you are done with requirements and just doing research.
Breadth Courses
EE Breadth Courses
This requirement is satisfied when you have completed, with a grade of A- or better, a graduate or advanced undergraduate course of at least 3 units in two different areas in the EECS Department outside of the area of the oral exam.
Any EE290 or CS294 courses must be petitioned for use in fulfillment of the EE breadth requirement.
Depending upon your Preliminary Exam area, EE students MAY NOT use the following classes in fulfillment of the requirement (effective Spring 2018):
NOTE: EE247 was removed from the IC prohibited list as of May 2019
Prohibited Courses for EE Breadth Requirement
| Area | Courses you may NOT use |
|---|---|
| Architecture (AR) | 251A/LA/LB, CS250, CS252, CS254, CS257, CS258 |
| Artificial Intelligence (AI) | CS280, CS281AB, CS285, CS287, CS288, CS289A |
| Communications (COM) (replaced by IDNCS in Fall 2019) | 120, 121, 123, 126, 224, 225ABD, 226AB, 228AB, 229, 290Q, 290S, and 290T |
| Control, Intelligent Systems and Robotics (CIR) (beginning Spring 2021) | EE C106A, EE C106B, EE C206A, EE C206B / EECS 127/227, 128, 221A, 222, 223, 290N and 290O |
| Cyber-Physical Systems and Design Automation (CPSDA) – was CAD | 219ABCD, 244, 251A/LA/LB, CS170, CS172, CS250 |
| Electromagnetics (EM) | 105, 117, 118, 119 210, 216, 217, 290F |
| Graphics (GR) | CS280, CS284, CS285, CS294-3 |
| Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) | CS160, CS260, CS294 (CSCW, Human-Centered Computing, or Assistive Technology) |
| Information, Data, Network, and Communication Sciences (IDNCS) | EE 120, 121, 123, 126, 127, 224, 225ABD, 226AB, 227AB, 229, 290Q, 290S, and 290T |
| Integrated Circuits (INC) | 105, 120, 140, 141, 142, 143, 145L (formerly 145A), 215B, 240 (series), 241AB, 242, 244, 251A/B/LA/LB, 290C |
| Linear Systems (LIN) (last offering in Fall 2020) | 128, 221A, 222, 223, 290N, and 290O |
| Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) | 143, 147, 245(ME218), 246(ME219), 247, ME119, BioE121 |
| Networking (NET) | 122, 228AB, CS268, 226AB |
| Operating Systems (OS) | CS261, CS262AB, CS266, and CS269 |
| Optoelectronics & Photonics (OPTO) | 117, 118, 119, 232, 233, 236AB |
| Power and Energy (ENE) | EE 137A, 137B, 213A |
| Semiconductor Devices (SCD) | 130, 131, 140, 141, 142, 143, 230 (series), 231, 240 (series), 241AB, 242, 243, 251A/LA/LB |
| Semiconductor Process Technology (SCP) (discontinued Fall 2019) | 130, 143, 230A, 231, 243, 290H |
| Signal Processing (SP) | 120, 123, 126, 225AB, 226, 290T, 290S, CS280 |
CS Breadth Courses
CS Ph.D. students are required to take:
Each course needs to be taken with a grade of B+ or better:
- Theory: 270, 271, 273, 274, 276, 278, EE 227BT, EE 227C (EE courses added August 2023)
- AI: 280, 281A, 281B, 285, 287, 288, 289A (CS285 was added in August 2022)
- Graphics/HCI: 260A/B, 283
- Programming: 263, 264, 265, 267; EE219C
- Systems: 261, 261N, 262A, 262B, 268, 286B
- Architecture/VLSI: 250, 252, 258; EECS 251A/LA/LB students must complete the requirement by the end of their 6th semester.
CS breadth courses can count towards a major or minor, but classes in different areas cannot be used together for the major or in the same minor.
Possibly Breadth Petitions:
- If an EE course is petitioned to satisfy a CS breadth, it must fall within one of the areas listed above or below the line.
- 294 courses may be petitioned for breadth courses but must include the syllabus and strong reasoning as to their relevance to the breadth course.
Class Information and Scheduling
- Please see the Current Term 299 Folder.
- Within each spreadsheet, there is an EE and CS tab.
- If you do not see your advisor’s section, please use the form on the first tab to request a section.
- If you have further questions, please email your staff advisor at grads-ee@berkeley.edu (EE) or grads-cs@berkeley.edu (CS)
- If you need a section created, please email grads-cs@berkeley.edu for both EE and CS
Note: these should only be used by international students planning to work off-campus during the summer semester.
Outside Minors
In general, the outside minor is fulfilled when students meet the following criteria:
- a minimum of 6 semester units
- The courses must be taken for a letter grade
- The cumulative grade point average in the outside minor must be at least 3.0
- At least one course must be a graduate-level course
- Only upper-division undergraduate courses (100-196) and graduate-level courses (200 – 296) are eligible
- Only one course can be cross-listed with the EECS department
- The outside minor program must have an orientation different from the major program and inside minor
There are additional special criteria for students interested in pursuing an outside minor in Statistics or Teaching.
More details of the outside minor can be found in the Graduate Handbook.
(updated October 2017)
Please be advised that a minor consisting solely of Stat 201A (formerly Stat 200A) and Stat 243 is not considered acceptable. Students in areas of EECS with a strong background in probability, such as CS theory or EE systems, are recommended to take 2 graduate courses other than Stat 201A and 243, as they may find these courses insufficiently advanced for their purposes.
Restricted courses for Statistics minor:
- Stat201A (formerly Stat200A)
- Stat243
- EE226A is not officially cross-listed, but, due to course content, may be considered as cross-listed with Statistics.
The Teaching Minor is intended for those with a strong interest in education, teaching pedagogy, or future faculty positions. The following are the requirements:
- A 3-unit course surveying research in issues relating to computer science education. Examples include the following:
- Education 170, 203, 224A, 224C, 225C, and 295B
- Information 216 and 247
- Experimental courses such as those offered as Education 290 or Information 290 may also be appropriate for this requirement. Contact the Faculty Advisor for GSIs for further information.
- CS 302, “Designing CS Education” (3 units). In a semester-long project, participants invent and refine a number of homework and exam activities, review relevant educational research, and evaluate alternatives for texts, administrative policies, and uses of technology.
- A total of 40 hours of GSI appointments. (20 hours of work per week is equivalent to a 50% GSI appointment for a semester.) At least a 20-hr/wk appointment or two 10-hr/wk appointments in lower-division courses and at least a 20-hr/wk appointment or two 10-hr/wk appointments in upper-division or graduate courses that include discussion sections. The lower-division GSI appointment must include at least a 10-hr/wk appointment in one of the large lecture sections.
- Students must enroll in the CS399 section corresponding with their GSI appointments for a total of at least 4 units. This represents 40 hours of GSI appointments required for the Teaching Minor. A 10-hr/wk appointment requires 1 unit of CS399. A 20-hr/wk appointment requires 2 units of CS399.
Students interested in the teaching minor may also be eligible for additional certificate programs, including:
- Digital Pedagogy Fellow certificate, from the Center for Teaching and Learning
- Certifies that the earner has received and put into practice basic pedagogy around planning and organizing a course with a strong online component, such as designing the “W” version of a campus course or designing a MOOC or online/self-paced module.
- Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education from the GSI Teaching & Resource Center.