Course details

Summary

Electrical and electronic engineering deals with the application of electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It involves the generation, storage and use of electricity, as well as the design of integrated circuits, sensors and actuators to smart systems such as robots. This discipline involves the transmission and transformation of information using computers and communication networks, and the design of new electronic and computer products.

Electrical and electronic engineers have played a major role in the development of many technological advances, from personal computing and smart phones to autonomous vehicles and renewable electrical power. Digital television, unmanned aerial vehicles, robotics, medical imaging, and space exploration have all been the outcome of electrical engineering innovation.

The UC Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is a research-only degree carried out under expert supervision and using world-class facilities.

A PhD involves extensive, sustained and original research and study in your chosen subject, with the results being presented in a thesis that will contribute to intellectual knowledge of the field. It is a mark of intellectual ability, self-discipline and commitment. A PhD prepares you for a number of careers, including as an academic.

The minimum period of enrolment for a full-time candidate is two years and the maximum period four years; most PhD students take between three and three-and-a-half years.

Career opportunities

UC Electrical and Electronic Engineering graduates are well prepared to join the technological revolution, with a wide range of career options. Some examples of these are as a consulting engineer, electronic design engineer, biomedical engineer, an entrepreneur or as a teacher/educator in industry, school or university.

Now and in the future, electrical and electronic engineers have the opportunity to develop innovative systems such as:

• new ways of generating power from renewable energy sources eg, wind, hydro and solar
• faster, cheaper and more reliable ways of sending information through mobile phone networks, the internet and new communications technologies yet to be developed
• more precise non-invasive medical instruments and scanners
• new nano-scale devices and materials that enable whole new ranges of products
• more efficient ways of using electric power, such as low-power lighting systems
• intelligent systems, such as autonomous cars or search-and-rescue robots, to improve people's lives while protecting the environment
• better ways of gathering information through sensor networks to help people like farmers and manufacturers make accurate decisions
• new ways of controlling the administration of medicines or the motion of rockets.

Entry criteria

Enrolment in a PhD requires completion of a research-focused honours or master's degree at first-class or second-class division 1 level (or equivalent qualifications). Applicants with qualifications from outside New Zealand must have been granted admission to the University.

Other English language requirements: TOEFL PBT with a minimum score of 575 and TWE with a minimum score of 4.5; CCEL EAP Level 2 with a minimum B+ grade; CAE or CPE score of 176 with a minimum of 169 in reading, writing, listening and speaking; Pearson Test of English (Academic) - PTE with an overall score of 64 and no PTE communicative skills score below 58.