The senior design project course by itself provides an integrated assessment of the progress of the students toward the desired electrical engineering competency. It is therefore important to design fair and broad guidelines for better assessment of this course.

A senior design project in the Department of Electrical Engineering (EE) is a two-semester course (ELEC 498 and ELEC 499) in which students form teams usually of 2 members, select a design project and are supervised by a faculty member. The first semester, of the two-semester sequence, can start in the fall or spring of an academic year. The students are expected to discuss their progress with their supervisors in regular weekly meetings. The students submit a written report, present and defend their work at the end of the project.

The main purpose of the project is to improve the students’ technical skills, communication skills by integrating writing, presentation and teamwork opportunities. The design project is comprehensive and focuses on professional practice and includes a variety of non-technical issues such as economic factors, safety, reliability, environment and social impacts. The topics are normally chosen by the department faculty members. During the summer training course, the student(s) can also choose the topic of the design project; the selected topic should meet the requirements for EE Senior Project. The students are required to demonstrate their ability to: conduct a literature survey; perform the relevant calculations, propose a solution to the problem, and implement their design.

Externally sponsored projects are welcome and benefit the industry and guarantee a strong educational experience for our students. Sponsored projects can be tailored to meet the requirements for EE Senior Project students.