Program Description
This program is designed to provide the student who has a background in electrical engineering with the knowledge of optics and laser technology necessary for work in the field of electro-optics. The program is under the joint supervision of the Departments of Engineering Physics and Electrical and Computer Engineering.
Curriculum
Students normally enter as a class in September and are scheduled to graduate in March after 18 months. The program is normally six quarters in length for a full-time Air Force student. Five quarters are devoted to course work and one quarter to thesis research. The research is conducted either at AFIT or under a cooperative research program at one of the Air Force laboratories. The course work in this program is in the areas of electrical engineering, optical and laser physics, photonics and electro-optical devices. It emphasizes the application of fundamental knowledge in the design, development, test and evaluation of Air Force systems.
Each student must complete an independent study/thesis in an area related to electro‑optics selected from topics proposed by the faculty and solicited from Air Force research and development organizations. This independent study may be done under the direction of either the Department of Engineering Physics or the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Flexibility in the program is maintained in order to take full advantage of the varied backgrounds and abilities of individual students.
The electro-optic program is ABET accredited and satisfies the Air Force education code 4IJY. To meet the ABET criteria, students must satisfy specific ABET requirements at the advanced level. This is usually possible only for a graduate of an ABET accredited (undergraduate) engineering program. Students satisfying the ABET criteria are awarded the degree of Master of Science in Electrical Engineering, those not satisfying these criteria are awarded the degree of Master of Science.
Program Requirements
The electro-optics program consists of two distinct, but integrated, sets of courses: one in optical engineering and one in electrical engineering. In general a student in the Electro-Optics program is required to submit at least 48 graduate credit hours for the degree. This 48 credit hours must include the following:
12 cr hrs Independent Study
4 cr hrs Mathematics at the 500 or higher level
16 cr hrs Optical Engineering
16 cr hrs Electrical Engineering sequence