Why Study ECE at UMass Lowell?
The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at UMass Lowell prepares its students for careers in Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Electrical and Electronic Systems, Communication Systems/Networks, Computer Systems/Networks and Power and Energy Systems - all of which are indispensable in our daily life. Our graduates are in high demand in the job market and are hired by more than 100 leading companies.
- Reputation: No. 1 public University in Massachusetts by Wall Street Journal (2024). Affordable tuition and fees, high employment rate, and high-quality graduates
- Location: Located in the heart of the Massachusetts technology belt. Numerous companies within 45 minutes offering co-op, full-time, and part-time jobs for electrical and computer engineers
- Competitive entry-level salary: the median entry-level salary for electrical engineers in the Boston area is around $90,000
Additional benefits:
- Strong faculty with diverse expertise
- Advanced lab facilities for building hands-on skills
- ECE Makerspace for creation, innovation and networking
- Access to Lawrence Lin MakerSpace
- Co-op program to boost employment opportunities
- Capstone projects to gain major design experience
- IEEE student chapter, clubs, and fun activities
- Partial list of companies hiring our graduates
Strong faculty with diverse expertise
The ECE department has a faculty of diverse expertise to conduct research and teach courses in the following areas of specialization:
- AI and Robotics: manufacturing, drones, robot vacuums, lawn mowers, internet...
- Communication systems: cell phones, GPS, navigation systems, teleconferencing…
- Computer systems and networks: microprocessors, embedded systems, digital networks, internet, cloud storage, game consoles...
- Control systems: found in all automated systems, vehicles (cars, drones, spacecraft), defense systems, robots, manufacturing, satellites, household appliances...
- Power and energy: consumer grids, smart grids, solar panels, wind turbines, generators, power supplies for all electronic devices...
- RF/Microwave: wireless communications, GPS, MRI scanners, cancer treatment, physical therapy, RF skin tightening, microwave ovens...
- Signal and image processing: music players and instruments, medical imaging (CT), machine/robot vision, facial recognition, object detection, security systems...
Both undergraduate and graduate students have many opportunities to participate in faculty-led research projects. Our graduates are well prepared for various roles in the industry, to design, test, analyze, optimize and manufacture products, and to develop software for countless applications. Some of our graduates become college faculty themselves.
Advanced lab facilities for building hands-on skills
The ECE department has well-equipped teaching labs for four core laboratory courses: Circuits I, Circuits II, Electronics I, and Electronics II. During a lab section, each student uses a complete set of testing equipment (including an oscilloscope, a signal generator, a power supply and a computer), to conduct experiments independently. All students are also given a full parts kit for learning and experimentation in and out of the classroom. These kits are for students to keep, including a wide assortment of electrical components, wire, a handheld multimeter, and a breadboard.
Many other courses also have lab/programming/software components, such as Intro to ECE, Logic Design, ECE Application Programming, Microprocessors I, Microprocessors II, Advanced Digital System Design, and Computer Vision. The students use computers and microprocessors to conduct experiments, do projects in classrooms, the ECE makerspace, or off campus.
The Electrical and Computer Engineering department maintains an organized and diverse stockroom in proximity to its electronics labs. This 759 ft.² space contains passive components, wire, benchtop testing equipment, soldering equipment, and more. It serves as a central hub for students, fostering efficient time management on project completion for academic needs, including the senior Capstone Project.
Parts are organized systematically in the Stockroom App, which allows registered students to remotely browse through available options. Students can also order additional components through the app.
Capstone projects to gain major design experience
Students gain major design experience from a two-semester capstone sequence in the senior year: Capstone Proposal and Capstone Project. The major objective of the Capstone Proposal is for each student to define the project, including a complete set of requirements, test plan, preliminary hardware and software designs, and preliminary cost estimates. The second semester course, Capstone Project, is concerned with verification of the first semester design, subsequent redesign, final fabrication, testing, and delivery of the system to the client. Students meet with their mentors each week for project management guidance, technical support, and evaluation. The majority of course activities are project specific and are led by mentors with general guidance provided by the course instructor. There are two capstone tracks:
EECE.3991 Capstone Proposal and EECE.4991 Capstone Project: In this course sequence, students work in teams to design, build, and deliver projects in one of several areas. First are assistive technology solutions for individuals with disabilities. Second are industry sponsored projects with companies such as Raytheon and Brooks Automation. Third are faculty sponsored projects. Fourth are projects for contests such as the Collegiate Wind Competition sponsored by the Department of Energy or the Formula SAE team.
ENGN.4017 Entrepreneurship Engineering Capstone Proposal and EECE.4991 Capstone Project: The Entrepreneurial track, in collaboration with the Manning School of Business, involves the development of a prototype of a product along with the utilization of entrepreneurial analysis techniques to explore the viability of a new product idea. The first semester is taught alongside ENTR.4960 Entrepreneurship Strategy Implementation; groups will contain a mix of engineering and business students where the new product idea will be evaluated, and preliminary design work will be started. In the second semester, engineering students take the ECE department capstone where they will implement their design.
IEEE student chapter, clubs, and fun activities
Clubs/organizations include:
- IEEE student chapter
- eMake makerspace
- Drone club
- Robotics Club
- River Hawk Racing
- Society of Women Engineers (SWE)
- National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE)
- Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE)
- Tau Beta Pi
The ECE department participates in college-wide events and hosts a variety of departmental activities every semester. During the recent “Fox Hunt” activity, students had fun while practicing engineering technology: using a microwave analyzer, teams competed to locate red objects (“foxes”) hidden at various locations on campus (under a rock, in a flowerbed or tree branch, under a chair...)
Partial list of companies hiring our ECE graduates
| ABB Ltd | Flex | QA Technology |
| Acacia Communication | Fractal Antenna Systems | QinetiQ |
| Advantage Components Inc. | Game Creek Video | Qlibrium (formerly Cam-MED) |
| Aerodyne Research, Inc. | GE Aerospace | RadioWaves, Inc. |
| Affirmed Networks | GE Appliances | Raytheon BBN |
| Agero | General Dynamics | Raytheon Technologies (RTX) |
| Allegro Microsystems Inc. | Geophysical Survey Systems, Inc. | RDK Engineers |
| AMD | Goodrich Inc. | Red Hat |
| Analog Devices | Haemonetics Corporation | RF Integration |
| Anaren Ceramics | Hanscom Air Force Base | Riverside Research |
| Apple, Inc. | HCLTech | Resonetics |
| ASM | Hittite Microwave Corp | Rockwell Automation |
| Athenahealth Inc. | IBM | Signify |
| BAE Systems | INTEL Corporation | Skyworks |
| Bitwave Semiconductor | IPG Photonics Corporation | SI2 Technologies |
| BLW Engineers | iRobot | SimpliSafe |
| Boeing Co. | J&M Brown Company | Sonos |
| Bose | Juniper Networks | SpaceX |
| Brooks Automation | Kadient, Inc. | Spica Technologies |
| Burns & McDonnell Engineering Co, Inc. | Kronos Inc. | Suntron Corporation |
| Canobie Lake Park | Levant Power Corporation | Synclear Technology Group Inc. |
| Cargill | Lifeline | SynQor |
| Carrier | Lowell Digisonde International (LDI) | Synopsys Software Integrity |
| CDM Smith | MACOM | Teradyne |
| Charles River Investment Management Solution | MagneMotion, A Rockwell Automation Company | Textron Systems Corporation |
| Cisco | Masy BioServices | The MITRE Corporation |
| Communication & Power Industries | Mercury Systems | Thermo Fisher Scientific - US |
| Covaris | Mia Solutions | Third Pole Therapeutics |
| Crane Co. | Microport | TE Connectivity |
| Crossbeam Systems | Microsemi | UKG |
| DAPR Engineering | MIT Lincoln Laboratory | Ultimate Solutions, Inc. |
| Degree Controls Inc. | MKS Technology | United States Air Force |
| Dell EMC | National Grid | United Technology |
| Dell USA | Nederman | Volpe National Transportation Systems Center |
| Diversified Technologies, Inc. | NES Technologies, Inc. | Valeo Raytheon Systems, Inc. |
| Draper Laboratory | New Energy Options, Inc. | Varian Semiconductor |
| Edwards Vacuum | NxStage® System One™ | Vector Controls Inc. |
| E Ink | Parker Hannifin | Veroxity Technology Partners |
| Elm Electrical Inc. | Pfizer | Vicor Power |
| Endeavor Robotics | Philips | Wayfair LLC |
| Entegris | PolyJoule | Westford Public Schools |
| Eversource Energy | Proveris Scientific Corporation | Wyeth BioTech |
| Extreme Engineering X-ES | PSNH | ZOLL Medical |
| Fairfield Service Co of Indiana, LLC | Putnam Investments |