DSc in Electrical Engineering

The DSc degree in Electrical Engineering is an academic doctorate designed for full and part-time students interested in an academic and/or industrial career.

The DSc offers students a more flexible schedule than the PhD program. Students also do not have to fulfill the teaching requirement. Often, students work in industry while pursuing their degree. Doctoral research is performed under the direction of a faculty member within the department. 

Degree Requirements

• Students pursuing the DSc in Electrical Engineering must complete a minimum of 72 credit hours of post-baccalaureate study consistent with the residency and other applicable requirements of Washington University in St. Louis and the McKelvey School of Engineering. These 72 units must consist of at least 36 units of coursework and at least 24 units of research. They may include work done to satisfy the requirements of a master’s degree in a related discipline and up to 24 units may be transferred to WashU from another institution.
  
  
• Students must successfully pass the qualifying examination to be taken before the second academic year of the program and a preliminary research examination, to be completed within two years of passing the qualifying examination, and at least one year prior to completion of the dissertation.
  
  
• Students must write a doctoral dissertation that describes the results of original and creative research in a specialization within Electrical Engineering and pass a final oral examination in defense of the dissertation research.
  
  
• All courses used to satisfy the 36-hour coursework requirement must be technical courses at the senior level or above, and must be deemed relevant to the field of electrical engineering. These may include courses from the departments of ESE; Mathematics; Physics; Biology; Computer Science & Engineering; Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering; Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science; Biomedical Engineering; or other departments as appropriate. Courses are chosen jointly by the student and his or her academic advisor to meet individual educational objectives. The courses ESE 501 and ESE 502 do not count toward the course requirement for this degree.
  
  
• The degree program must be consistent with the residency and other applicable requirements of Washington University and the McKelvey School of Engineering.
  
  
• ESE 590: Electrical & Systems Engineering Graduate Seminar must be taken each semester of full-time status, including their year of residency. A passing grade is required and received by attending regularly scheduled ESE seminars. DSc students must attend at least 5 seminars per semester.