PhD Electrical & Computer Engineering at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Programme overview

The Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering offers both a traditional doctoral program (for students with a previous master's degree) and a direct doctoral program (for students with only a bachelor's degree). Applicants with master's degrees are admitted only if a faculty member is willing to serve as the PhD thesis advisor.

Faculty: The Grainger College of Engineering | Study mode: full-time | Location: Champaign, IL, United States

What you will study

Required courses listed include ECE 599 Thesis Research (min-max applied toward degree); ECE 500 ECE Colloquium (registration for 0 hours every term while in residence).

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical & Computer Engineering Admission Requirements Admission for the spring semester is possible, in addition to the usual fall semester admissions. Applicants must have completed an electrical engineering curriculum or a computer engineering curriculum substantially equivalent to those of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Graduates of curricula in the physical sciences, mathematics, and computer science may be admitted if they are judged to have the necessary background to profit from graduate work in electrical and computer engineering. A minimum grade point average of 3.00 (A = 4.00) for the last two years of undergraduate study is required. However, because of space limitations, applicants with GPAs below 3.50 are rarely admitted. The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is optional.

Domestic applicants: USD 21,272 a year (2026-27). Illinois resident rate. Tuition only for new and continuing graduate students, Fall 2026-Spring 2027 at full-time (12 credit hours per term). Non-Illinois U.S. resident tuition for this programme: $40,444. Excludes campus and mandatory fees, health insura Source

International applicants: USD 40,444 a year (2026-27). International rate. Tuition only for new and continuing graduate students, Fall 2026-Spring 2027 at full-time (12 credit hours per term). Excludes campus and mandatory fees, health insurance, housing and other expenses as the source states them separately Source

Not all graduate programmes offer admission in all terms; term availability is set by each programme of study.

Graduate applicants apply online through the Graduate College application; deadlines and term availability are set by each programme. Medicine, law and veterinary medicine applicants apply directly to their colleges.

Apply through the official page: https://ece.illinois.edu/admissions/graduate/admissions-requirements-and-process

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