Technical electives are courses that cover technical content in a wide range of STEM areas. The goal of these courses is to allow students to expand their field of knowledge in a way that complements their degree.

Courses that qualify as Technical Electives

Courses listed below are approved as technical electives for EE and ECE majors. Where course options are listed as "3000+", all courses within that prefix including 3000 and higher are approved as technical electives. While some 2000-level courses have been approved to satisfy as Technical Electives, at least 3 of an EE or ECE student's Technical Elective courses must be completed at the 3000-level or higher. Please note that courses numbered 5000 or higher are considered graduate-level courses, but can also apply.

Exclusions (these courses are restricted from counting as Technical Elective credits)
  • Courses that have an Engineering & Applied Science General Education: Humanities & Social Science designation, with the exception of classes that appear in the list of approved classes below.
  • Courses completed through other departments that have been used as substitutes for core classes. For example, a student would not be permitted to count CSCI 3753 Operating Systemsas both a substitute for ECEN 3753 and a technical elective.
  • A class can be applied only once in the student’s major. For example, if a class is approved as both an ACE course and a technical elective, it can count toward only one requirement, not both.

Approved courses for Technical Electives

  • Applied Math: APPM 3000+ excluding the following:
    • APPM 3570 Applied Probability
  • Architectural Engineering: AREN 3000+ excluding the following:
    • AREN 3040 Circuits for Architectural Engineers 
  • Aerospace Engineering: ASEN 3000+ excluding the following:
    • ASEN 3036 Introduction to Human Spaceflight
    • ASEN 3046 Introduction to Humans in Aviation
    • ASEN 3503 Aerospace Electronics 
  • ATLAS: ATLS 3000+
  • Biomedical Engineering: BMEN 3000+
  • Chemical Engineering: CHEN 3000+
  • Computer Science
    • CSCI 2270* Data Structures (not for ECE students, since this is a specific course requirement of the ECE major)
    • CSCI 2824* Discrete Structures (not for ECE students, since this is a specific course requirement of the ECE major)
    • CSCI 3000+ excluding the following:
      • CSCI 4250/5250 Computer Science: The Canon
  • Civil Engineering: CVEN 3000+
  • Electrical Engineering
    • ECEN 2703* Discrete Mathematics for Computer Engineers (not for ECE students, since this is a specific course requirement of the ECE major)
    • ECEN 3000+ excluding the following:
      • ECEN 3010 Circuits and Electronics for Mechanical Engineers
      • ECEN 3030 Electrical/Electronic Circuits for Non-Majors
      • ECEN 3070 Edges of Science
      • ECEN 3301 Biomedical Signals & Systems
      • ECEN courses required in degree
  • Energy Engineering: ENEN 3000+
  • Environmental Engineering: EVEN 3000+
  • Engineering Plus: GEEN 3000+ excluding the following:
    • GEEN 3010 Circuits for Engineers
  • Mechanical Engineering: MCEN 3000+ excluding the following: ​
    • ​MCEN 3017 Circuits and Electronics for Mechanical Engineers 

*At least 3 of an EE or ECE student's Technical Elective courses must be completed at the 3000-level or higher. 

For classes outside of Engineering, a course should have the Arts & Sciences General Education: Distribution-Natural Sciences designation in order to count as a Technical Elective or be listed on this website.

  • Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences: ASTR 3000+
  • Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences: ATOC 3000+
  • Chemistry: CHEM 3000+
  • Ecology and Evolutionary Biology: EBIO 3000+ excluding the following:
    • EBIO 3010 Teaching Biology
  • Environmental Design: ENVD 3000+ 
  • Geography
    • GEOG 3023 Statistics and Geographic Data
    • GEOG 3053 Geographic Information Science: Mapping
    • GEOG 3251 Mountain Geography
    • GEOG 3301 Analysis of Climate and Weather Observations
    • GEOG 3351 Biogeography
    • GEOG 3402 Natural Hazards
    • GEOG 3511 Introduction to Hydrology
    • GEOG 3601 Principles of Climate
    • GEOG 4023 Advanced Quantitative Methods for Spatial Data
    • GEOG 4043 Advanced Geovisualization and Web Mapping
    • GEOG 4093 Remote Sensing of the Environment
    • GEOG 4103 Geographic Information Science: Spatial Analytics
    • GEOG 4201 Biometeorology
    • GEOG 4203 Geographic Information Science: Spatial Modeling
    • GEOG 4241 Principles of Geomorphology
    • GEOG 4251 Fluvial Geomorphology
    • GEOG 4261 Glaciers and Permafrost
    • GEOG 4271 The Arctic Climate System
    • GEOG 4303 Geographic Information Science: Spatial Programming
    • GEOG 4311 Watershed Biogeochemistry
    • GEOG 4321 Snow Hydrology
    • GEOG 4403 Geographic Information Science: Space Time Analytics
    • GEOG 4463 Earth Analytics Data Science Bootcamp
    • GEOG 4603 GIS in the Social and Natural Sciences
    • GEOG 4732 Population Geography
  • Geological Sciences: GEOL 3000+
  • Information Science
    • INFO 3401 Information Exploration 
    • INFO 3402 Information Exposition
    • INFO 3507 Data and the Humanities
    • INFO 4602 Information Visualization
    • INFO 4603 Survey Research Design
    • INFO 4604 Applied Machine Learning
    • INFO 4607 Software Engineering for Data-Centered Systems
  • Integrative Physiology: IPHY 3000+
  • Mathematics: MATH 3000+ excluding the following:
    • MATH 3430 Ordinary Differential Equations
    • MATH 4510 Introduction to Probability Theory
  • Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology: MCDB 3000+
  • Neuroscience
    • NRSC 4015 Affective Neuroscience
    • NRSC 4032 Neurobiology of Learning and Memory
    • NRSC 4042 Systems Neuroscience
    • NRSC 4082 Neural Circuits of Learning and Decision Making
    • NRSC 4092 Behavioral Neuroendocrinology
    • NRSC 4132 Neuropharmacology
    • NRSC 4155 Cognitive Neuroscience/Neuropsychology
    • NRSC 4542 Neurobiology of Mental Illness
    • NRSC 4545 Neurobiology of Addiction
  • Physics
    • PHYS 2130* Introduction to Quantum Mechanics and Its Applications
    • PHYS 2150* Experimental Physics 2
    • PHYS 2170* Foundations of Modern Physics
    • PHYS 3000+ excluding the following:
      • PHYS 3000 Science and Public Policy
      • PHYS 3050 Writing in Physics
      • PHYS 3221 Tutorial Practicum for Quantum Mechanics 1
      • PHYS 3330 Electronics for the Physical Sciences 
  • Psychology
    • PSYC 3005 Cognitive Science
    • PSYC 3102 Behavioral Genetics
    • PSYC 3111 Psychological Science 2: Research Methods in Psychology
    • PSYC 3112 Behavioral Genetics 2
    • PSYC 3131 Human Emotion
    • PSYC 3303 Abnormal Psychology
    • PSYC 3456 Psychology of Personality
    • PSYC 3684 Developmental Psychology
    • PSYC 4052 Behavioral Neuroscience
    • PSYC 4114 Adolescent Development and Learning for Teachers
    • PSYC 4136 Judging and Decision Making
    • PSYC 4142 Brain Injury, Plasticity and Recovery: From Neuron to Behavior
    • PSYC 4145 Advanced Cognitive Psychology
    • PSYC 4155 Cognitive Neuroscience/Neuropsychology
    • PSYC 4165 Psychology of Perception
    • PSYC 4175 Computational Cognitive Neuroscience
    • PSYC 4220 Language and Mind
    • PSYC 4263 Psychological Treatment: An Evidence-Based Approach
    • PSYC 4443 Research Methods in Clinical Psychology
    • PSYC 4526 Social Neuroscience
    • PSYC 4543 Clinical Neuropsychological Disorders
    • PSYC 4713 Survey of Clinical Psychology
    • PSYC 4733 Psychological Testing and Assessment
    • PSYC 4744 Methods in Developmental Psychology
  • Statistics: STAT 3000+ excluding the following:
    • STAT 3100 - Applied Probability 
    • STAT 4540 - Introduction to Time Series
    • STAT 4680 - Statistical Collaboration
    • STAT 4690 - Advanced Statistical Collaboration

*At least 3 of an EE or ECE student's Technical Elective courses must be completed at the 3000-level or higher. ​

Up to twelve credits of technical electives can be satisfied using these additional course options:

    • Up to six credits of the following:
      • Business Minor BUSM 3000+
      • Economics ECON 3000+
      • Engineering Management EMEN 3000+
      • ROTC Courses: AIRR, MILR, NAVR 3000+
      • Technology, Cybersecurity & Policy CYBR 4000+
    • Up to six credits of ECEN Independent Study or Internship for Credit:
      • ECEN 3840 Junior-level Independent Study
      • ECEN 4840 Senior-level Independent Study 
      • COEN 3930 Engineering Internship/Co-Op