Advising & Academic Support

The Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Undergraduate Studies Office offers academic advising to all undergraduate students studying electrical or computer engineering.

Please note: Advising services for the Fall 2022 semester will continue to be conducted via Zoom. In-person appointments can be requested for unique circumstances only.

Meeting with an Academic Advisor

All ECE students, except for first-semester freshmen*, will have an assigned academic advisor.  Each semester, ECE advisors will e-mail their students to inform them of the advising assignments and when students can set up appointments for their mandatory advising meeting.  Students can schedule these advising meetings through TerpEngage Advising; please make sure you schedule your meetings with your assigned advisor.

*First-semester freshmen students will receive advising via our group advising session in the fall semester, during their second (spring) semester, they will be assigned a permanent advisor.

Reasons to meet with an ECE Undergraduate Advisor

It's important to make sure you're on track for graduation and fulfilling the program requirements (get a degree check-up!).

  • Get help choosing classes for future semesters
  • Make a graduation plan
  • Discuss academics or difficulties with campus life (Tutoring Resources)
  • Learn about any new program policies or requirements
  • Discuss any issues with instructors/TAs

How often should I meet with an ECE Undergraduate Advisor?

Prior to registration, you are required to meet with your assigned advisor at least once a semester to make sure that you are on track for graduation.  We also like to touch base with you to discuss your academic progress and to assess your satisfaction with your experiences in ECE thus far.

Scheduling Advising Appointments

Given the undergraduate enrollment, we ask students to follow these guidelines when scheduling advising appointments:

  • Schedule your appointment with your assigned advisor; our office will cancel your appointment if you schedule with the wrong advisor.
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  • Advising appointments may be scheduled through TerpEngage. Please do not send advising appointment requests by e-mail.
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  • When you are logged into the Terp Engage Portal, you should see the black "Schedule Appointment" button which walks you through the scheduling process with your ECE Advisor. Please select “virtual appointment” to schedule a zoom meeting. 
     
  • If you are not able to make it to your appointment, we ask that you cancel your appointment at least 24 hours prior to your scheduled time; this will allow other students to schedule for that time.
  • Students who are no-shows to their advising appointment or cancel their appointment at the last minute, will not be seen until the end of the advising period. 

Non-ECE Majors

  • Current Clark School of Engineering students: Any current Engineering majors interested in ECE, please contact the ECE Undergraduate Studies Office to meet with an advisor in our department.
     
  • Current non-Engineering students at UMD: Due to the limited enrollment nature of all the Engineering majors, we cannot advise any non-Engineering student at the University.  Non-Engineering majors are welcome to contact the Clark School's Office of Undergraduate Advising and Academic Support at transfer_engr@umd.edu. 

The following policies apply to all undergraduate students in the Electrical & Computer Engineering majors.

Academic Policies

Any course that applies to the Electrical or Computer Engineering major must be completed with a minimum grade of a "C-". 

  • Students are limited to no more than four (4) technical courses per semester.
  • Students with a cumulative UMD GPA of a 3.5 or higher may receive an exception to this policy.
  • Students with exceptional circumstance may petition an exception to this policy to the Associate Chair of Undergradaute Education by using an online exception form.
  • All 200-level ENEE courses must be completed before enrolling in 300-level ENEE courses (except ENEE200).
  • Students may take up to 18 credits each semester.
  • All ENEE courses require department permission (except ENEE200).
  • Students must meet all course pre-requisites and co-requisites when registering for classes; please check our course pre-requisite website for details.
  • Any student who wishes to take a second advanced lab or capstone course, must submit a request to the department; students will be given permission for their 2nd lab or capstone no later than the first day of classes.

Advising Policies

  • All ECE students have mandatory advising every semester; and must meet with their assigned advisor.
  • Students who do not show up to their advising appointments, may not be seen before their registration date.
  • Any student who is more than 10 minutes late to their advising appointment will be considered a no show and will need to reschedule their appointment.
  • If you cannot make it to your appointment, please let us know no later than 24 hours prior to your scheduled appointment.
  • Advising requirement must be satisfied in order to get advising block lifted.

Waitlist Policies/Guidelines

  • Waitlisting into a class/section does not guarantee enrollment into that specific class/section.
  • All waitlist inquiries must be directed to your academic advisor.
  • Oversubscriptions to a closed sections will only be allowed in exceptional circumstances as determined by the ECE Undergraduate Office.

Programming Sequence

Electrical Engineering majors are required to complete ENEE150, Intermediate Programming Concepts for Engineers (3 credits). This course is generally taken during the second semester of the freshman year. However, this course has a prerequisite of prior programming experience which customarily would be satisfied by completion of ENEE140, Introduction to Programming Concepts for Engineers. There are, however, alternate ways to satisfy the prerequisite for ENEE150 which are explained below:
 
The pre-requisites for ENEE150 can be satisfied in one of four ways:
  1. Earn a grade of 'C-' or higher in ENEE140: "Introduction to Programming Concepts for Engineers" (2 credits). ENEE140 does not itself satisfy any requirements for the EE major.
  2. Earn a grade of 'C' or higher in CMSC131*.
  3. Advanced Placement (AP) Computer Science Exam: A score of '5' on the A or a score of '4' or '5' on the AB.
  4. OR Earn a passing score on the ENEE150 placement exam.

*Students must have taken CMSC131 at UMD or taken an equivalent course at another institution. Exemption via the CMSC Department Exemption Exam does not fulfill this requirement.

Placement Exam Information

Eligible students may register to take the placement exam by emailing eceadvise@umd.edu.  The exam will only be offered during the dates listed below, which fall in the period between academic semesters, and you must register at least 24 business hours in advance. 
 
Fall 2022 Exam Date: 8/23/22 from 10-11:15am
Spring 2023 Exam Date: 1/17/23 from 10-11:15am
 
Since the exam is designed to test programming knowledge that the student already has, our office does not provide any study guides. However, students are welcome to review the topics in ENEE140 Introduction to Programming Concepts for Engineers.
 
PLEASE NOTE: Students who have attempted and earned a non-passing grade or a "W" in ENEE140, are not eligible to take the placement exam. 
 
The exam will be proctored remotely via Zoom. All students must have a functioning webcam. Students are given one hour to complete the exam. Be prepared to show your University ID and have a pencil and white paper. Calculators, cell phones, and notes will not be allowed in the exam.  You will be asked to scan and send your exam to eceadvise@umd.edu upon completion of the exam. Please make sure you have a reliable scanner or phone scanning application available.
 
 

This contains information for graduating seniors in the ECE Department. Please be sure to review the entire content for senior audit requests and other important graduation information. 

Fall 2022 Graduating Seniors

All graduating seniors must have a senior audit completed and apply for graduation on Testudo by the end of the drop/add period. 

Please be sure to follow these steps:

Senior Audit Request

Before submitting your graduation paperwork, please submit a Senior Audit Request to the ECE Undergraduate Advising Office. 

Once your audit is completed, you will receive a final copy of your academic plan by e-mail. You must submit your final academic plan with the graduation paperwork listed below.

The ECE Undergraduate Office is accepting requests for Senior Audits until September 12th, 2022.  Please plan ahead and allow at least 48 business hours for your advisor to process your senior audit request. 

Apply for Graduation on Testudo

Please apply for graduation on Testudo by no later than February 4th, 2022.


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