Welcome to the ECE Undergraduate Program

GOAL OF THE BACCALAUREATE PROGRAMS

The principal goal of the baccalaureate programs in the ECE Department is to provide students with the fundamentals of electrical or computer engineering so that they have an excellent base for a successful engineering career. This includes building a sufficient reading knowledge and analytical capability so that the graduate can continue to expand their knowledge as their field of interest and scope of electrical and computer engineering fields change.

DESIGN IS THE HEART OF ENGINEERING

Because design is the heart of engineering, design is integrated throughout the programs, starting with ECE 101, Introduction to ECE, and moving on to circuits and laboratory courses, ECE 203, ECE 213, and ECE 206L. Design continues in computer-related courses, ECE 238L and ECE 344L, in electronics, and in other courses throughout the program. The design process culminates with a capstone Senior Design sequence that includes ECE 419 and ECE 420. The goals of this design experience are to provide a team-based project experience that enables students to apply the fundamentals of electrical and computer engineering to identifying, formulating and solving engineering problems related to a significant and realistic project.

PROGRAM DETAILS REQUIREMENTS

See the UNM Course Catalog for a full list of requirements, university policies, etc. Below you will find a generic four-year plan for each program. Note that each individual student’s actual path may look completely different from this based on transfer credits, starting math level, switching majors, choice of classes, part/full-time status, etc. For full details on all courses, programs, policies, and more, please refer to the Catalog.

ECE CURRICULUMS AND COURSE LIST

MATH PRE-REQUISITES

As stated previously, the generic four-year plans may not reflect how students will actually progress through the curriculum, nor the timeline. This is particularly true if students need to work their way through the math sequence in order to build a successful foundation in preparation for all Calculus, Physics, and engineering courses.

The UNM course pre-requisite sequence to reach Calculus I starting with the first level of math offered is as follows:

  • FYEX 1010 Foundational Math
  • MATH 1215 Intermediate Algebra
  • MATH 1220 College Algebra
  • MATH 1230 Trigonometry and MATH 1240 Pre-calculus (or 1250 Trig/Pre-calc combined)
  • MATH 1512 Calculus I

Placement into a math course is based on transfer of equivalent math credits, AP/IB/CLEP, SAT/ACT scores or other types of placement scores (for more information, contact an academic advisor).

Without any placement information, students would start at Foundational Math. If it’s been over five years since credits or placement for math was earned, it will be strongly recommended that students complete a new placement in order to better determine an appropriate starting math level at the current point in time. If it’s been fewer than 5 years but there’s still some gap in time before a student’s last math class, they should consider how confident they feel moving forward where they left off and being successful, as an attrition in math skills is likely to occur over time.

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING/PHYSICS DUAL DEGREE PROGRAMS

The ECE and Physics & Astronomy Departments have partnered to offer two dual degree programs for students interested in Electrical Engineering and Physics. As opposed to a double major which amounts to a single degree, a dual degree will lead to two separate degree earned. Students in this program have the unique chance of being able to share the majority of the BSEE alongside some supplementary Physics courses to fulfill each of the degree requirements.

For further details, click here. Students wanting to pursue either of these paths will need to meet and coordinate with advisors for both programs as early as possible to develop planning of courses and switching programs to fulfill residency requirements for both colleges, among other details.

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS BASED ON UNM CATALOG YEAR

Undergraduate students’ curriculum requirements are based on the UNM Catalog issue in effect at the time of their admission to UNM. Students are able to switch to a newer Catalog year by requesting it from their academic advisor, which is sometimes beneficial. Students may not switch to a Catalog year that occurred prior to their admission semester.

Notwithstanding the above, the University of New Mexico reserves the right to make changes in the curricula and degree requirements as deemed necessary, with the changes being applicable to currently enrolled students.

The last major overhaul to the ECE curriculums occurred as of Fall 2019. If you are an ECE undergraduate on a Catalog prior to Fall 2019, your curriculum will look very different from what’s currently in place. Please refer to your Catalog year for details and you can see a general overview of those curriculums below.

BS in Electrical Engineering Spring 2015 - Summer 2019

BS in Computer Engineering Spring 2015-Summer 2019

 

Revised February 2023