Ph.D. Breadth Requirement
CS and EE PhD students must complete all prelim requirements by the end of the 4th semester. Prelim requirements must be completed before students can take the Qual Exam.
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 at least one course in each of three separate areas (listed below), each 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
Additionally, courses must include at least one from the group of three above the line and one from the group of three below the line. CS260B, CS263, and EE219C cannot be used for this constraint, though they can be used as providing 1 of the 3 areas. (For students who took the old CS260 course, that is equivalent to the current CS260B.)
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.
Although CS PhD students are expected to take at least one course from each grouped areas (Group 1 : THY, AI, GR; Group 2:Programming, Systems, and Architecture), students can petition to have an EE class satisfy one of their CS breadth requirements.
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.