COMPUTER ENGINEERING

Semester Hours Required for Degree: 126

Faculty: M. A. Uman (UF Chairperson), M. H. Rashid (Director), S. T. Abusalah, G. K. Heitman, D. M. Jordan, R. Manseur, C. P. Mathews

The mission of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) is to offer baccalaureate degree programs in electrical and computer engineering which serve the needs of the West Florida region, the state, and the nation.
The goal of the baccalaureate degree program is to prepare students to embark upon a professional career in computer engineering, or to begin graduate study.

The UWF/UF Joint Program in Electrical and Computer Engineering is a cooperative arrangement between the two universities whereby the University of Florida (UF) provides upper-level course offerings at The University of West Florida (UWF) campus, and UWF provides the instructional faculty and physical facilities. This degree awarded by UF is identical to the one offered students on the Gainesville campus and is accredited by ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology).

The program objectives are identical to those for UF's computer engineering. The objective of the program leading to the degree of Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering is to provide students with a strong theoretical and practical background in computer hardware and software, along with the engineering analysis, design, and implementation skills necessary to work between the two. A computer engineer is someone with the ability to design a complete computer system --from its circuits to its operating system to the algorithms that run on it. Although it is valid to look at software and hardware separately, a computer engineer must take a more holistic approach. If an electronic device is to be called a computer, it must produce mathematically meaningful results. Similarly, any useful theory of computing must be physically realizable. The synthesis of theory and algorithms, which must take place before any useful computing can be achieved, is the job of the computer engineer. To produce such engineers is the mission of this program.

Computer engineering deals with the body of knowledge that forms the theoretical and practical basis for the storage, retrieval, processing, analysis, recognition, and display of information. This area also includes the design and implementation of computer systems and peripheral devices for information handling and engineering applications. The computer engineering curriculum provides a balance of hardware, software, and computer theory and applications with a basic background in electrical engineering. Nineteen hours of electives are included to permit a student to delve deeply into selected subject matter.

Computer engineers find career opportunities in a wide variety of companies or organizations involving the design, development, building, testing, and operation of computer systems. Computer engineers deal with both hardware and software (programming) problems. In designing a computer system, computer engineers must decide how much of the computer logic to put into hardware and how much to put into software. The work of the computer engineers and computer scientists is closely related. The computer engineers tend to be more involved with the computer hardware, whereas the computer scientists tend to be more involved with the computer software and less emphasis on hardware.

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
The number of applicants who can be accepted is limited by the available classroom and laboratory space, laboratory facilities, and faculty. It is the department's policy to admit the best qualified applicants as demonstrated by high academic achievement within the enrollment limitations discussed above.

Admission is directly tied to student's performance in physics and calculus courses, because subsequent work is intimately related to these disciplines. The currently accepted minimum is a 2.5 GPA in the eight advanced mathematics and science lecture courses of the common prerequisites. If a course is repeated, both grades count in this GPA calculation. During the semester prior to the graduation term, the student's record is officially transferred to Gainesville where it is reviewed to certify that the particular course selections do satisfy all graduation requirements.

The Electrical and Computer Engineering Department publishes a counseling guide which provides detailed information beyond that stated in this Catalog.

In addition to general University requirements and General Studies requirements, students seeking the B.S. in Computer Engineering must meet the requirements listed below. A minimum course grade of "C" or better is required in all electrical engineering (EE) courses and labs (EEL prefix), and in all computer science (CS) courses and labs (COT, CEN, CIS, CDA or COP prefix) which serve as prerequisites to other EEL and CS courses and labs, plus EEL 4914C.

Students should consult with their academic advisor for courses which may satisfy both the General Studies requirements and common prerequisites.

A dual degree is offered in Computer and Electrical Engineering. If planned correctly, the dual degree program requires 138 semester hours of course work. Please see an advisor in the department for further details.

Course descriptions are listed alphabetically by prefix at Course Listings/Descriptions.

General Studies (33 sh)
Assumes Advanced Placement Credits in ENC 1101 and ENC 1102 by UF.

Common Prerequisites (30 sh)
State mandated common prerequisites must be completed prior to admission to the program. Courses in brackets indicate substitutes from Florida Public Community/Junior colleges and Universities.

+ Indicates common prerequisites which can be used to satisfy General Studies requirements.

Lower Division Electives (5 sh)

Major (60 sh)

(Maximum of 3 sh in EEL 4949 and maximum of 4 sh in 4905, and maximum of 7 sh in EEL 4905/4949 combination).

Consult the Department for the current list of approved EEL Elective courses.

Major-Related (16 sh)

Upper Division Electives (0 sh)

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