Graduate Degree

The graduate degree offers in-depth skill building in many different areas. The program is highly customizable to allow students to pursue what interests them. Individual courses are grouped into specializations stack toward 30 credit hours. Students may earn and apply graduate certificates toward the full online MS-ECE degree. 

To earn a graduate degree, complete one "pathway" specialization to earn admission, then combine those credits with more coursework to earn the full 30 credits required to graduate. An official University of Colorado Boulder graduate degree will be awarded automatically upon successful completion of all requirements and will appear on your detailed course transcript.

A diagram illustrating how a pathway specialization and additional coursework combine to fulfill the 30 hours required for a graduate degree.

Complete one pathway specialization

View the details of each pathway specialization on curriculum page.

  • Embedding Sensors and Motors Specialization
  • FPGA Design for Embedded Systems Specialization
  • Optical Engineering Specialization
  • Power Electronics Specialization
  • Semiconductor Devices Specialization

Graduation

  1. Log in to Buff Portal and confirm your status in the Your Programs & Enrollment card. If you’d like to make changes to your status, proceed to Steps 2 & 3.
  2. In the More Items section of this card, click the CU Boulder on Coursera Program Action Form.
  3. Select Declare or Permanently Discontinue a Program at the top of the form, check the box(es) for the program(s) you wish to declare, and submit the form.

Note: You can declare your intention to seek the degree before, during, or after any work in a pathway specialization

  1. Complete at least one Pathway Specialization for-credit with a cumulative grade-point average (GPA) of at least 3.00 to get admitted;
  2. Complete a minimum of 30 for-credit hours which includes a pathway specialization with cumulative GPA of at least 3.00 for all for-credit courses taken to date.
  1. At the start of your final, 8-week session, send an email to msece-support@colorado.edu for details about participation in the next graduation ceremony.
  2. Attend the graduation ceremony (optional).

You will receive a congratulatory email about three weeks after your final 8-week session concludes.

You will receive your diploma around two months after you complete your course work.

You should verify both your name that will appear on your diploma, as well as the address your diploma will be mailed to in your Buff Portal. You will need to Update Your Contact Information if your name and/or home address are not listed correctly before the session deadline.

You also have access to a Certified Electronic Diploma & Certificate (CeDiplomas/CeCertificates). Go to the electronic diplomas & certificates card in Buff Portal and click the "Access your CeDiploma/CeCertificate" link to access CeCredential Trust, an approved third-party vendor of CU Boulder. Please see CeDiplomas/CeCertificates for additional information regarding electronic diplomas.