ENEE499H: Departmental Honors Thesis in Electrical and Computer Engineering
Credits: 3 Semesters Offered Spring, Summer, Fall Testudo
Additional Course Information
GPA Requirements A cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher is recommended but not required, however students who intend to complete the ECE Honors Program must have at least a GPA of 3.5 upon review for graduation. Highly motivated students who wish to participate in directed study or undergraduate research but do not meet the minimum recommended GPA should contact the faculty member they are interested in working with about the possibility of pursuing directed study or undergraduate research under their guidance.
Prerequisite(s)
Students must have successfully completed (i.e. earned a ‘C-’ or higher) all lower-level engineering, science, and mathematics courses required for the major. Certain projects may also require successful completion of specific upper-level ENEE courses, as determined by the project supervisor.
Credits and Time Requirements
Students will enroll in ENEE499H for 3 credits depending on the scope of the project and the time commitment.
● Path 1- Additional Undergraduate Research
○ First semester of research- students will register for 3 credits of ENEE499/L
○ Second semester of research- students will register for 3 credits of ENEE499H
○ Ideally this will be for two consecutive semesters with unique proposals and applications per semester
● Path 2 - Service Learning
○ Students will register for 3 credits of ENEE499H For 3 credits, students should expect to work 8-9 hours a week (or a total of 135 hours over the course of a semester). The project proposal should contain an explanation of the proposed time commitment to justify the number of credits being requested
Limitations/Restrictions
Students cannot earn credit for a project that is part of a paid internship or job. Students are restricted to no more than 6 total credits between ENEE499, ENEE499L, ENEE488, and/or ENEE499H if they are following Path 1 of the ECE Honors Program.
This course is restricted to students in the Electrical and Computer Engineering majors.
Credits Applicability
ENEE499H will default to Category A for EE majors and Category C for CE majors. However, ENEE499H can fulfill the Category B (EE) or Category D (CE) Advanced Lab requirement in the event 2/3 of the course is experimental in nature. Students using ENEE499H for the Advanced Lab requirement would indicate this on their application form and have it reflected in their proposal.
Project Supervisors
Students may earn ENEE499H research credit for projects performed with ECE faculty and instructors or supervisors outside of the UMCP ECE department. To qualify, projects must have a significant academic component and be electrical or computer engineering in nature. If you are working with a supervisor outside of the ECE department, please include their CV/Resume with your application and proposal.
Student and Supervisor Responsibilities
Project supervisors are responsible for making themselves available to meet regularly with their student(s) throughout the semester, for submitting a completed project assessment form to the ECE Undergraduate Office by the last day of finals, and for entering the student's final grade into UMEG. Students working with non-ECE supervisors will register under the ECE Honors Chair, who will submit the student's final grade upon receipt of the completed project assessment form from the project supervisor. Students are responsible for obtaining approval of their project proposal, scheduling appointments and regularly meeting with their faculty sponsor, and completing all work and required reports in a timely fashion. Students working in groups must make sure that all materials submitted to the Department, such as program proposals, midterm reports, and final reports are unique and clearly delineate each student's individual tasks and contributions to the project.
Project Proposal
Students may receive ENEE499H credit for participation for an on-going research project (including ENEE499) or they may propose their own research project with a project supervisor. The project can be experimental, computational, or theoretical in nature. If the project is at least 2/3 experimental in nature, senior laboratory credit may be obtained by completing the relevant section on the application form and reflecting this in their proposal. A completed application form and detailed research proposal must be submitted for review by the ECE Honors Chair, who will then determine if the project meets the necessary requirements for an undergraduate research project.
Specific guidelines for using ENEE499H as an advanced lab requirement: The project must be equivalent to one of the advanced lab courses through the nature of the work. The project can involve (1) building hardware or using hardware instrumentation, (2) significant data acquisition (not just using datasets posted on-line), and/or (3) significant amounts of data analysis. The expectation is that an ENEE499H lab proposal strongly implements two of the three characteristics.
The supervisor of the research project should work closely with the student in preparing a proposal which, at a minimum, should include the following:
1. Project title
2. Research objective(s)
- Explain the primary and any secondary objectives of the research project, i.e. What do you expect to have accomplished by the end of the project?
3. Overview
- Provide background information to place your project in the context of previous studies related to the proposed work and explain your project's significance.
4. Student involvement
- List all who will be involved in the project. If more than just the student and the supervisor will participate, clearly indicate the role of the other personnel and detail the tasks to be performed by the student.
- If a project will be a group project, all student proposals must be submitted at the same time for review. The project proposals must be unique and clearly delineate each student's individual tasks and contributions to the project.
5. Methodology
- Explain what tools, techniques, and approaches you will use to complete the research project.
6. Project learning schedule
- The schedule for the planned project should list at least 5-6 major milestones for the project (with target dates). Two of the milestones should be the mid-semester report and the final report. The proposal must include a detailed weekly schedule of activities planned for the project (for 3 credits, ideally 3-5 activities per week).
7. Student learning outcomes
- List the knowledge, techniques, skills, and any other competencies that the student will acquire as a result of successfully completing the project.
8. Advanced laboratory requirement
- Indicate if the project is expected to satisfy the Advanced Laboratory Requirement.
NOTE: The project supervisor MUST also initial the appropriate box on the application form to indicate whether the project will or will not satisfy this requirement.
9. References
- Include an appropriately formatted list of references.
Thesis Guidelines
The Thesis should be similar in content to a regular Thesis paper. Please review this sample outline for Thesis Guidelines. If you have questions about writing a thesis, please contact Dr. Lawson at lawson@umd.edu. In order to receive credit for the course, an electronic copy of the Thesis must be submitted to both the supervisor and eceadvise@umd.edu no later than the last day of classes in the semester in which the project is to be completed.
Oral Presentation
The oral presentation will be scheduled by the ECE Honors Chair, Dr. Lawson during the Final Exam period. Please correspond with Dr. Lawson (lawson@umd.edu) directly to schedule your Oral Presentation.
Proposal Deadlines
Students interested in pursuing a ENEE499H Undergraduate Research must submit a ENEE499H application form and a written proposal (outline above). The form and written proposal must be submitted by the following deadlines:
Fall or Spring Semester
- Graduating Seniors Deadline: First day of classes (Fall 2023: August 28th)
- Regular Deadline: Fifth Day of Classes (Fall 2023: September 1st)
Summer Sessions
One week prior to the first day of summer classes.
- Summer I: May 23rd, 2023
- Summer II: June 30th, 2023
Winter Session
Third day of fall semester finals.
- Winter: December 16th, 2023
ENEE499H Proposals must be submitted electronically at eceadvise@umd.edu and your supervisor must be CCed. Please note that we will not accept proposals after the deadlines listed above.
Project Deadlines
Students enrolled in ENEE499H must submit the application form and proposal, mid-semester progress report, and Thesis Paper; supervisors must submit the project assessment form. All applications, proposals, reports, and assessment forms should be submitted electronically to the ECE Undergraduate Office via eceadvise@umd.edu.
- Application: Must be completed and submitted with the written proposal.
- Mid-semester progress report: Must be at least one page (excluding figures and tables). Due by the end of the eighth week of classes.
- Thesis Paper: In order to receive credit for the course, an electronic copies of the thesis paper must be submitted to both the supervisor and eceadvise@umd.edu no later than the last day of classes in the semester in which the project is to be completed.
- Oral Presentation: The oral presentation will be scheduled by the ECE Honors Chair, Dr. Lawson during the Final Exam period. Please correspond with Dr. Lawson (lawson@umd.edu) directly to schedule your Oral Presentation.
- Project assessment: Due the last day of finals in the semester in which the project is to be completed.
Forms
ENEE499H Application/Approval Form (Must be hand-signed and completed)
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