1st Semester Enrollment
General advice for first semester graduate students
- ECE 600 is required – enroll in on-campus section during your first Fall semester
- Graduate School Academic Calendar
- Registration & Records Academic Calendar
- Take at least one course that is familiar vs. 3 courses in all new areas, as there are many things to adjust to in your first semester
Fall 2026
- Aug 17, 2026 – First day of classes
- Aug 24, 2026- Waitlist disappears, need instructor permission to enroll
- Aug 28, 2026 – Census Day – last day to ADD a course or drop without a W on transcript
- Oct. 22, 2026 – Drop date – last day to DROP a course
Helpful links in choosing courses
- Course Catalog
- ECE Specialty Areas
- Guidelines for Degree Audit
- Special Topics Courses (ECE 592/792/591)
Director of Graduate Programs / Advisor: Ginger Yu, dgyu@ncsu.edu
Office hours: https://sites.google.com/ncsu.edu/dgyu/home
(need to login with ncsu account to view)
Computer Engineering Majors
- Strong C or C++ programming skills needed for ECE 563 projects
Here are some common pathways for our CPE courses that start in the fall:
- Computer Architecture: 563/506 (offered every semester) → 786/721
- ASIC: 564 (fall semester) → 745 (spring semester) → 748 (fall semester)
- Embedded Systems: 560 (fall semester only) → 561/785 (spring semester only)
Electrical Engineering Majors
Here are some common pathways for our EE courses that start in the fall:
- Circuits:
- ECE 511(Fall) → 712(Spring)→ 714(Fall); ECE 549(Fall) → 719(Spring);
- ECE 546 (Spring) → 733 (Fall)
- Controls:
- ECE 556 (Fall) → 756 (Spring); ECE 516 (Spring) → ECE 726 (Fall)
- Nanotechnology:
- ECE 538(Fall)→ 739 (or 792-Spring)
- Power Electronics/Systems: ECE 534, 550
- Machine Learning: ECE 514; ECE 558→ 763; ECE 542
- Some courses are project courses – this should be taken into consideration when balancing course load
Final thoughts
- Please email me or meet with me if you have any difficulties in your first semester, as there may be options such as RCL (Reduced Course Load)
- If you would like to change your major, you will have to wait until you have completed one semester in good academic standing (GPA>3.0) before you can make the request. Go ahead and enroll in a couple of courses that are in the major you intend to change to, so your grades can be evaluated with the request.
- You can enroll in any ECE course.
- Your major is either EE or CPE, not your specialty area.
Advisor: Mesut Baran, baran@ncsu.edu
Electrical Power Systems Engineering
Here are some common pathways for our MSE courses that start in the Fall:
- ECE 550: Power Systems Operation and Control
- ECE 587: Power System Transients
- ECE 534: Power Electronics and Utility Applications
- ECE 586: Communications and SCADA Systems for Smart Grid
- ECE 585: The Business of the Electric Utility
Here are some common pathways for our MSE courses that start in the Spring:
- ECE 552: Electric Power Generation Renewables and Conventional
- ECE 551: Smart Distribution Systems
- ECE 583: Power Engineering Practicum I