The Preliminary Examination is a written "entrance" examination intended to test the student's promise for successfully pursuing the Ph.D. program. It examines the student’s technical background, knowledge and skills considered necessary for the course work and research required for the program.  Sample exams are available for the following subjects:

Computer Engineering:

     1. Computer Networking
      2. Software System Architecture
      3. Hardware System Architecture
      4. Parallel Processing
      5. VLSI Design

Electrical Engineering:

      1. Communication, Radar
       2. Control Systems
       3. Signal Processing
       4. Electromagnetics, antennas
       5. Electronics
       6. Optics

Notice:  The ECE Department expects that all students taking the preliminary examination have mastered the standard undergraduate mathematics curriculum.  Therefore, a student taking the preliminary examination should be prepared to solve problems involving:
      Ordinary Differential Equations
      Linear Algebra
      Multivariable Methods
      Phasor Methods
      Fourier and Orthogonal Function Methods
      Laplace and Fourier Transforms

The foregoing represent a minimum.  Specific disciplines will of course have their own mathematical requirements beyond those listed above.  The student should therefore be certain that he/she understands the additional mathematical methods necessary for each examination he/she plans to take.
 

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