Undergraduate Major Electrical and Computer Engineering

Find Your Spark with an Electrical and Computer Engineering Major

A Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering from SNHU will prepare you for a successful career in a wide variety of fields. Through this program, you'll develop an understanding of the design of small components, and earn experience integrating those components into the vision systems, sensors, controls, and software that bind them to larger systems. You will also learn about both audio and visual signal processing concepts.

SNHU has modelled its engineering programs in accordance with the international CDIO initiative, "an innovative educational framework for producing the next generation of engineers that stresses engineering fundamentals set in the context of Conceiving, Designing, Implementing, and Operating real-world systems and products." CDIO is a prominent engineering educational philosophy and is intended to achieve a fine balance between project-based, hands-on learning and traditional, theory-based engineering education. No matter your interest, the program will help you develop the necessary skills to begin your chosen career.

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See Yourself Succeed in Electrical and Computer Engineering

No matter your specialization or career goals, the Electrical and Computer Engineering program at Southern New Hampshire University will set you up for future success in the industry. Your education will take place both inside and outside the classroom, and our faculty and staff will ensure that you have opportunities for experiential learning to put theory into practice.

As a private, nonprofit university, SNHU has one mission - to help you see yourself succeed. The benefits of majoring in Electrical and Computer Engineering at SNHU include:

Supportive community. Join the SNHU campus community of students who are closely connected with faculty and staff dedicated to your success.
Affordability. SNHU is one of the most affordable private, nonprofit universities in New Hampshire, and students who qualify could receive up to $20,000 in grants and scholarships. (This scholarship amount is only for students who do not need a visa to study in the U.S.)
Innovative programs. Study abroad at little or no extra cost.
Accessible faculty. Learn from highly credentialed faculty members who are experts in their fields and interact with you in the classroom, dining hall, fitness center, and anywhere else you need them.
Opportunity. Tap into our nationwide network of alumni and strong connections with employers for internship and career opportunities.
Campus experience. Enjoy more than 50 student clubs, Division II athletics, and fun events on our 300-acre campus in Manchester, NH, named a "Best Place to Live" by Money magazine.

Internships & Outcomes

An Electrical and Computer Engineering degree from Southern New Hampshire University will put you in an excellent position to succeed in a variety of different industries. Whether you’re interested in telecommunications and networking, computer hardware, aerospace, automotive, medical instrumentation, or other industries, you will possess the skills and knowledge needed to impress prospective employers.

The engineering industry often requires understanding of multiple disciplines, and the collaborative, multidisciplinary approach to teaching at SNHU will allow you to explore additional skill sets that may be helpful to you in the future. Whether it comes in the form of collaborating with aeronautical or mechanical engineering students or seeking out job and internship opportunities, the faculty and staff at SNHU will help you build the skills that you need to succeed in your future career.

Curriculum

Upon completion of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Program at SNHU, graduates should possess:

the ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering;
the ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data;
the ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability;
the ability to function on multidisciplinary teams;
the ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems;
a thorough understanding of professional and ethical responsibility;
the ability to communicate effectively;
the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context;
a recognition of the need for and an ability to engage in life-long learning;
an understanding of contemporary issues;
the ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice;
knowledge of discrete mathematics;
knowledge of mathematics through differential and integral calculus, basic sciences, computer science, and engineering sciences necessary to analyze and design complex software and systems containing hardware and software components.

Required Core Courses
General Education Program
Free elective Credits: 18

Degree Courses
EG 207 Instrumentation & Measurements This course is an introduction to the fundamental concepts, principles, procedures, and computations regarding modern instrumentation and measurement systems. Students will gain a sound understanding of a language (LabVIEW ) used to describe modern instrumentation, measurement, and control systems and an appreciation of the various types of systems in common use in industry. Students will use this software to create virtual instruments. Particular emphasis will be given to electrical, mechanical, flow, and thermal measurement systems. The course will also cover statistical analysis to evaluate the quality of measurements, standard methods of characterizing measurement results, and methods for characterizing measurement system response. The students work in teams to conceive-design-implement-operate a project incorporating multiple sensors and data acquisition and analysis.
EG 316 Electrical Engineering This course provides an introduction to the essentials of electrical engineering. Topics to be covered include resistive circuits, nodal and mesh analysis using Kirchhoff's laws, superposition, Norton & Th venin equivalences, capacitance & inductance, 1st order transient analysis, RC, RL & RLC circuits, Laplace transform, and frequency response. A simulation software package is employed throughout this course to analyze various electric circuits. An introduction to the selection and performance of electric motors is provided.
EG 333 Control Systems Analysis This course provides students an opportunity to model, analyze, and design control systems. It includes mathematical modeling of linear systems for time and frequency domain analysis, transfer function and state variable representations for analyzing control system's performance and stability; and closed-loop control design techniques by frequency response, and root-locus methods. It also involves computer programming and simulation exercises. This course gives a basic understanding and analysis tools of various control systems used in the aeronautical, mechanical, and electric and electronics industries.
MAT 350 Applied Linear Algebra This is a first course in linear algebra and matrices. Topics include systems of linear equations, linear independence, matrices of linear transformations, matrix algebra, determinants, vector spaces, eigenvalues and eigenvectors. After mastering the basic concepts and skills, students will use their knowledge of linear algebra to model a selection of applied mathematics problems in business, science, computer science and economics.
PHY 216 Physics II This is the continuation of PHY-215 with similar characteristics; i.e., it is a calculus based physics course and stresses problem-solving. Topics covered include temperature, thermal equilibrium, thermal expansion, calorimetry, periodic waves, mathematical descriptions of a wave, speed of transverse waves, sound waves in gases, electric charges, atomic structure, Coulomb's Law, Kirchhoff's rules, magnetic fields and flux, motion of charged particles in a magnetic field, reflection and refraction, total internal refraction, Fermat's Principles of Least Time, geometrical optics, refraction of spherical surfaces, lenses, and an introductory topic of modern physics. The required lab component of this course covers introductory methods and techniques of laboratory experimentation in topics covered in this course. Students learn about procedures for measuring physical quantities and methods for collecting and analyzing experimental data. Students are required to complete 12 experiments in areas such as Thermophysics, Sound and Waves, Electricity, Magnetism, Optics, or Atomic and Nuclear Physics.
PHY 216L Physics II Lab This is the continuation of PHY-215 with similar characteristics; i.e., it is a calculus based physics course and stresses problem-solving. Topics covered include temperature, thermal equilibrium, thermal expansion, calorimetry, periodic waves, mathematical descriptions of a wave, speed of transverse waves, sound waves in gases, electric charges, atomic structure, Coulomb's Law, Kirchhoff's rules, magnetic fields and flux, motion of charged particles in a magnetic field, reflection and refraction, total internal refraction, Fermat's Principles of Least Time, geometrical optics, refraction of spherical surfaces, lenses, and an introductory topic of modern physics. The required lab component of this course covers introductory methods and techniques of laboratory experimentation in topics covered in this course. Students learn about procedures for measuring physical quantities and methods for collecting and analyzing experimental data. Students are required to complete 12 experiments in areas such as Thermophysics, Sound and Waves, Electricity, Magnetism, Optics, or Atomic and Nuclear Physics.
CS 111 Discrete Mathematics I In this course propositional and predicate calculi are developed formally and then extended to develop a theory of sets. Relation theory, along with the formal specification language Z, is introduced with relations between two distinct sets. Partial functions are defined as constrained relations and total, one-to-one, and onto functions are defined as further constrained partial functions.
CS 113 Introduction to Programming A modern programming language is used to introduce conditional and iterative control structures, subprograms and parameter passing, arrays and records, dynamic memory allocation and linked lists, and recursion. In the required laboratory, students will write programs which exercise these language features.
CS 113L Intro to Programming Lab A modern programming language is used to introduce conditional and iterative control structures, subprograms and parameter passing, arrays and records, dynamic memory allocation and linked lists, and recursion. In the required laboratory, students will write programs which exercise these language features.
CS 114 Intro to Software Engineering The software life cycle is introduced, shifting emphasis away from programming as the primary activity of the software engineer and towards requirements analysis, specification, documentation, testing, verification, and validation. In the required laboratory, students will develop a software simulation of a game using graphics which is required to run successfully.
CS 114L Introduction to Software Engineering Lab The software life cycle is introduced, shifting emphasis away from programming as the primary activity of the software engineer and towards requirements analysis, specification, documentation, testing, verification, and validation. In the required laboratory, students will develop a software simulation of a game using graphics which is required to run successfully.
CS 219 Computer Architecture I Computer architecture and organization are covered including instruction set design, floating point and integer arithmetic operations, number representations, datapath design, pipelining, control flow, memory hierarchy, caches, virtual memory and input/output. Students are introduced to a variety of commercial architectures such as x86 and ARM.
CS 317 Computer Networks This course provides an in-depth overview of the field of data communications and its impact on information systems. Various types of equipment will be examined along with protocols and architectures offered by major vendors. Distributed system issues as well as local area network solutions are discussed.
CS 328 Embedded Systems This course examines key aspects of embedded system design including microcontroller selection, assembly-language programming, the use of higher-level languages for system development, interfacing, transducers, and key supporting analog circuits.
EE 201 Signals and Systems This course is a basic introduction to analysis techniques and tools for signal processing systems. Topics to be covered include analysis techniques, signal representation (including Fourier and Laplace transforms); system definitions and properties (such as linearity, causality, time invariance, and stability); use of convolution, transfer functions and frequency response to determine system response; applications to wireless communications. Prerequisite: MAT-211
EE 210 Continuous and Discrete System This course is a basic introduction to systems, stability, and sampling and will cover the following topics: continuous and discrete-time system theory; block diagrams, feedback, and stability theory; system analysis with Bode diagrams; discrete time stability, difference equations, Z-transforms, transfer functions, Fourier transforms, and frequency response; sampling of continuous systems and an introduction to digital filtering.
EE 210L Continuous & Discrete Systems Lab This course is a basic introduction to systems, stability, and sampling and will cover the following topics: continuous and discrete-time system theory; block diagrams; feedback, and stability theory; system analysis with Bode diagrams; discrete-time stability, difference equations, Z-transforms, transfer functions, Fourier transforms, and frequency response; sampling of continuous systems and an introduction to digital filtering.
EE 220 Electromagnetics This course covers both static and dynamic electric and magnetic fields, electromagnetic wave propagation, steady-state and transient analysis of transmission lines, and design applications. Antenna fundamentals and antenna types are also covered. Numerical methods and software are used to analyze problems.
EE 301 Digital Circuits After a review of digital principles and logic, modern digital integrated circuit and hybrid circuit families are studied. This includes: gates, multi-vibrators, counters, comparators, Digital-to-Analog and Analog-to-Digital converters, and digital computer interface circuits. Emphasis is placed on integrating software design and interface design to achieve interactive system design with an external environment.
EE 301L Digital Circuits Lab After a review of digital principles and logic, modern digital integrated circuit and hybrid circuit families are studied. This includes: gates, multi-vibrators, counters, comparators, Digital-to-Analog and Analog-to-Digital converters, and digital computer interface circuits. Emphasis is placed on integrating software design and interface design to achieve interactive system design with an external environment.
EE 320 Digital Signal Processing This course covers the theory and application of digital signal processing. Topics to be covered include discrete-time sequences and sampling; the discrete-time Fourier transform and the discrete Fourier transform; windowing, the short-time Fourier transform and spectrograms; convolution, digital down-conversion, quadrature signals and sample-rate conversion; the design of FIR filters and Hilbert transformers; matched-filtering, block processing, frequency estimation, and multi-channel digital signal processing; applications to spectrum analysis, voice recognition, radar, geolocation, digital communications, direction finding and beam forming.
EE 325 Probabilistic Methods in Electrical and Computer Engineering This course provides an introduction to probability theory and applications. Topics to be covered include distribution and density functions, moments and random variables, applications of normal and exponential distributions, estimation of means and variances, and correlation and spectral density functions. Random processes and response of linear systems to random inputs are also covered along with an introduction to information theory.
EE 330 Analog Electronics This laboratory centered course examines the design, fabrication, and operation of key analog circuit elements including diodes, bipolar-junction transistors, and metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors. Key analog building blocks, such as operational amplifiers, voltage regulators, and oscillators are presented. Students are required to employ analytic methods, simulation tools, and laboratory analysis to model and understand these circuit elements.
EE 330L Analog Electronics This laboratory centered course examines the design, fabrication, and operation of key analog circuit elements including diodes, bipolar-junction transistors, and metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors. Key analog building blocks, such as operational amplifiers, voltage regulators, and oscillators are presented. Students are required to employ analytic methods, simulation tools, and laboratory analysis to model and understand these circuit elements.
NOTE: All Engineering Major courses require a minimum grade of C-.

Campus Undergraduate Costs

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An education from Southern New Hampshire University is a smart investment for your future. It's an affordable investment, too. We believe that college should change your life, not break the bank. That's why more than 90 percent of our students receive some form of financial aid, and students who qualify could receive up to $20,000 in grants and scholarships. (This scholarship amount is only for students who do not need a visa to study in the U.S.)

University Accreditation

Southern New Hampshire University is a private, nonprofit institution accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges as well as several other accrediting bodies. More...