The departments of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering jointly offer a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Computer Engineering. The program is administered by the Computer Engineering Committee, which consists of faculty members from both departments. Student advising is currently being handled through the Department of Computer Science.

Degree. B.S. in computer engineering.

The field of computer engineering combines computer science and electrical engineering as they relate to the design, implementation, and operation of digital computers. The primary emphasis is on the engineering design of computers and computer-controlled electronic hardware. The discipline draws on the aspects of electrical engineering relating to electronic (analog and digital) circuits and systems, elements of computer science that relate to software engineering (algorithms, data structures, and operating systems), as well as computer architecture. Along with an in-depth study of computer design issues, the undergraduate curriculum encompasses a general education in mathematics, science, and the humanities.

The Computer Engineering Program was accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) in 1998. In addition, both of the participating departments have been accredited by their respective accreditation bodies.

Computer Engineering Degree. Students must meet special admissions standards, maintain specified performance levels, and complete course requirements as outlined below. This program may be completed in four years if the student is able to take CP SC 2010 (Introduction to Computer Science I), MATH 1210 (Calculus I), and PHYCS 2210 (Physics for Scientists and Engineers) during the Fall Semester of the freshman year. (Only strong training in high school will allow a student to begin at this level.) Students not able to begin at this level may require more than four years to earn the degree.

Admission. Students, including transfer students, who do not meet program admission requirements are placed in a premajor category by the registrar. Such students are urged to visit the undergraduate counselor for additional information.

In order to register for upper-division courses (3000-level or higher) in computer engineering, a student must first be admitted to full major status. Applications for admission are reviewed in July each year. The committee determines how many new majors are admitted annually based on laboratory facilities, computer resources, and available faculty.

To be considered for admission to full major status, a student must complete the following courses with a grade of C- or better: MATH 1210, 1220; PHYCS 2210, 2220; CP SC 2010, 2020; EL EN 1000, 1010; University writing requirement. In addition, the student must have received a grade of CR in CP SC 1010 and have a cumulative GPA of 2.3 or higher. Note: Additional requirements for admission to the Computer Engineering program are being considered. Please see the academic counselor for details.

Applicants are ranked according to their composite GPA in the required courses listed above. In recent years, only the top 40 students have been admitted to full major status. The GPA of the last student admitted was approximately 3.1 in 1998.

All courses used in the calculation must be taken for letter grades. CR/NC grades are not acceptable except in CP SC 1010. Courses may be repeated only once. If a course is repeated, only the second grade received is used in the calculation. If the student receives a grade of W (withdrawal), I (incomplete), or V (audit), the course is considered taken. In addition, only four courses (three if any of them are semester classes) may be repeated without penalty; for any subsequent classes that a student repeats, only 80 percent of the grade points received on the first repeat are used in the evaluation.
If credit is granted for any of the above courses based on advanced-placement test scores, grades may be assigned for use in the calculation. Check with the counselor for details.

Transfer Students. Students planning to transfer to the University of Utah from another Utah college or university can get information on course equivalences from either their current school or from the academic counselor.

Students transferring from out-of-state schools must fill out course-equivalence forms and have them signed by appropriate University of Utah faculty.

Transition Students. Students who were admitted to full major status during or before the summer quarter of 1997 may choose to graduate under either the old quarter-based requirements or the new semester-based requirements. Contact the academic counselor for details.
Students who were admitted to full major status during or after the summer quarter of 1998 must complete the semester-based major requirements.

Because some or all of these students' premajor classes may have been completed under quarters, special requirements may apply. Contact the academic counselor for details.

Requirements. Students must complete a minimum of 122 semester hours of course work, including the requirements listed below.

General Education. Although this requirement is described in the Undergraduate Studies section of this catalog, computer engineering majors must satisfy more stringent requirements. The six classes taken to satisfy the intellectual explorations requirement must include an ethics course, one class numbered 3000 or higher, two classes that form an approved concentration, and either another class numbered 3000 or higher or another two-class concentration. A list of class pairs that form approved concentrations and a list of ethics classes are available from the department.

Math Requirement (11 hours)
MATH 1210 Calculus I (4)
MATH 1220 Calculus II (4)
MATH 2250 Linear Alg/ODE (3)
Basic Physics Requirement: (8 hours)
PHYCS 2210 Physics I (4)
PHYCS 2220 Physics II (4)
Math-Science Restricted Electives:
Three classes must be selected. At least one must be in mathematics and at least one must be in science.
PHYCS 3740 Modern Physics (3)
CHEM 1210 General Chemistry (4)
BIOL 1000 General Biology (4)
MATH 2210 Calculus III (3) or MATH 1260
MATH 3150 Partial Differential Equations (2)
MATH 5010 Intro to Probability (3)
MATH 5600 Numerical Analysis (4)
Writing Requirement: (6 hours)
WRTG 2010 (3)
WRTG 3400 Professional Writing (3)
Basic CP SC/EL EN Requirements: (13 hours)
CP SC 1010 Unix (0.5)
CP SC 2010 Computer Science I (4)
CP SC 2020 Computer Science II (4)
EL EN 1000 Electrical Engineering I (4)
EL EN 1010 Intro to Lab Instr. and Methods (0.5)
Computer Engineering Requirement: (30 hours)
EL EN 2000 Circuits (4)
EL EN 2100 Electronics (4)
CP SC 3500 Software Practice (4)
EL EN/CP SC 3700 Digital Design (4)
EL EN/CP SC 3710 Computer Design Lab (3)
EL EN/CP SC 3720 Microprocessor Interfacing (4)
EL EN/CP SC 3810 Computer Architecture (4)
EL EN/CP SC 4710 Senior Project Course (3)
Computer Engineering Restricted Electives:
Any two of the following:
EL EN 3300 Electromagnetics (4)
EL EN 3500 Fundamentals of Signals and Systems (4)
CP SC 3510 Algorithms and Data Structures (3)
CP SC 5460 Operating Systems (3)

Computer Engineering Technical Electives:
Five additional computer science or electrical engineering classes must be taken at the 3000 level or higher. Three of the classes must be in one of the following depth tracks:
I. Communications/Controls/Digital Signal Professing
EL EN 3510 Introduction to Feedback Systems
Two 5000-level or higher courses numbered EL EN x5xx or EL EN x6xx
ii. Computer Architecture/Software Systems
CP SC/EL EN 5810 Advanced Computer Organization
Two 5000-level or higher courses number CP SC x4xx or CP SC/EL EN x8xx
iii. Integrated Circuit Design
CP SC/EL EN 5710 Integrated Circuit Design I
Two 5000-level or higher courses number CP SC/EL EN x7xx
iv. Microwaves/Optics
EL EN 3310 Engineering Microwaves and Optics
Two 5000-level or higher courses number EL EN x3xx or EL EN x4xx
v. Robotics/Intelligent Systems
CP SC 5310 Robotics
Two 5000-level or higher courses numbered CP SC x3xx
vi. Semiconductor Devices (both classes and labs must be taken)
EL EN 3110 Electronics II
Two 5000-level or higher courses numbered EL EN x1xx or x2xx

Model Program of Study (for students working 20 hours or less/week)

First Year
Fall Semester
MATH 1210 Calculus I (4)
CP SC 1010 Unix (0.5)
CP SC 2010 Computer Science I (4)
PHYCS 2210 Physics I (4)
WRTG 2010 College Writing and Rhetoric (3)
Total Hours: 15.5
Spring Semester
MATH 1220 Calculus II (4)
EL EN 1000 Intro to Electrical Engineering (4)
EL EN 1001 Intro to Instrumentation (0.5)
CP SC 2020 Computer Science II (4)
PHYCS 2220 Physics II (4)
Total Hours: 16.5

Second Year
Fall Semester
MATH 2250 Linear Algebra/ODES (3)
EL EN/CP SC 3810 Computer Architecture (4)
EL EN 2000 Circuits (4)
CP SC 3500 Software Practice (4)
Total Hours: 15
Spring Semester
Mathematics/Science Elective (3)
EL EN/CP SC 3700 Digital Design (4)
EL EN 2100 Electronics (4)
CP EN Restricted Elective (3)
Total Hours: 14

Third Year
Fall Semester
Mathematics/Science Elective (3)
CP EN Restricted elective (3)
EL EN/CP SC 3710 Computer Lab (3)
General Education (3)
General Education (3)
Total Hours: 15
Spring Semester
Mathematics/Science Elective (3)
WRTG 3400 Professional Writing (3)
EL EN/CP SC 3720 Microprocessors (4)
Technical Elective (3)
General Education (3)
Total Hours: 16

Fourth Year
Fall Semester
Technical Elective (3)
Technical Elective (3)
General Education (3)
General Education (3)
EL EN/CP SC 4710 Senior Lab (3)
Total Hours: 15
Spring Semester
Technical Elective (3)
Technical Elective (3)
General Education (3)
General Education (3)
Free Elective (3)
Total Hours: 15
Grand Total Hours: 122

Continuing Performance. In order to remain in good standing and graduate, students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.3 or higher and a GPA of 2.3 or higher in computer engineering courses. Each course taken to satisfy program requirements listed above must be passed with a grade of C- or better. A student may repeat upper division courses (3000-level or above) only once. All computer engineering classes taken to satisfy degree requirements must be taken for a letter grade; they may not be taken for CR/NC.

Students are expected to complete all degree requirements within four years of acceptance to full major status. Students not making satisfactory progress may be dropped from the program and declared inactive. Unsatisfactory progress is determined in one of two ways: (1) the student does not complete a computer engineering course for one year, or (2) there is no reasonable way the student can complete all degree requirements within the required time.

If personal circumstances prevent adequate progress, the student may request an extension of a specific duration and submit a revised schedule of completion. To be reinstated from inactive status, students must petition the Computer Engineering Undergraduate Committee. Reinstated students proceed under the latest graduation requirements.

Probation. Students whose cumulative GPA falls below 2.3, or whose average grade in University of Utah computer engineering classes falls below 2.3, are placed on academic probation and given conditions for a return to good standing. Normally, these conditions must be met during the next two semesters, excluding summer. Students who fail to meet probationary conditions are dropped from program rolls.

All students admitted as full majors are automatically given probationary status. If a student's GPA in either of the above categories is below 2.3 at the end of the first academic year during which upper-level CE classes are taken, the student is dropped from the program rolls.

Reinstatement requires a petition to the Computer Engineering Committee. Reinstated students proceed under the latest graduation requirements.