Electrical and Computer Engineering


Why study Electrical and Computer Engineering at Western?

Electrical and Computer Engineering graduate students have access to outstanding research experiences and facilities across campus, including: Robarts Research Institute, the Canadian Surgical Technologies and Advanced Robotics (CSTAR) research centre, the Lawson Health Research Institute, the Department of Medical Biophysics, the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Nanofabrication Facility, and Western Institute for Nanomaterials Science.

Graduate students also have access to Power Systems Real Time Digital Simulator, a Real Time Nuclear Power Plant Simulator, and several state-of-the-art industrial grade distributed control systems made possible through special industrial and government support.

Degree Options

Learn more about the degree options available to you.

Master of Engineering (MEng)

  • Admission average: Minimum 70%
  • Course based: 10 graduate courses
  • Project based: Eight graduate courses and a research project
  • Time to complete: One year (three terms)
  • 4-term (16-months) combined MEng and Graduate Diploma option

Master of Engineering Science (MESc)

  • Admission average: Minimum 78%
  • Funded program (supervisor required)
  • Four graduate courses and a thesis
  • Time to complete: Two years (six terms)

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

  • Admission average: Minimum 78%
  • Funded program (supervisor required)
  • Eight graduate courses and a thesis
  • Time to complete: Four years (12 terms)

Areas of Specialization

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering has the following areas of research and graduate education. 

Biomedical Systems

Research focus areas include: 

  • Computer vision
  • Acoustic/ultra-sound, CT, MRI and other medical imaging and analysis
  • Surgical simulation, virtual and augmented reality
  • Haptics and teleoperation
  • Computer-assisted surgery, minimally-invasive surgery

Faculty members specializing in Biomedical Systems:

James Lacefield, Hanif Ladak, Vijay Parsa, Rajni Patel, Abbas Samani, Ana Luisa Trejos

Communication Systems and Data Networking

Research focus areas include:

  • Circuit simulation, high-speed communication
  • Efficient, secure, reliable wireless and satellite communication
  • Networking protocols and architecture
  • Network flow control, simulation and fault tolerance
  • Intelligent networks, software defined networks

Faculty members specializing in Communication Systems and Data Networking:

Anestis Dounavis, Serguei Primak, Quazi Rahman, Raveendra Rao, Abdallah Shami, Xianbin Wang

Microsystems and Digital Signal Processing

Research focus areas include:

  • Industrial control systems
  • Cryptographic and arithmetic hardware acceleration
  • Audio processing, speech synthesis and recognition
  • Fault-tolerant computing
  • Nanoscale sensing

Faculty members specializing in Microsystems and Digital Signal Processing:

Jing Jiang, Vijay Parsa, Arash Reyhani, Jayshri Sabarinathan

Power Systems Engineering

Research focus areas include: 

  • Renewable energy, smart grids
  • Power grid protection and stability
  • Nuclear power control systems and simulation
  • Power switching, transmission and conversion
  • Wind energy

Faculty members specializing in Power Systems Engineering:

Firouz Badrkhani, Jing Jiang, Gerry Moschopoulos, Rajiv Varma 

Robotics and Control

Research focus areas include: 

  • Industrial robotics
  • Robotics theory (locomotion, coordination)
  • Autonomous systems for planetary exploration
  • Wearable and medical mechatronics
  • Robotically assisted surgery

Faculty members specializing in Robotics and Control:

Lyndon Brown, Mehrdad Kermani, Ken McIsaac, Rajni Patel, Ilia Polushin, Jayshri Sabarinathan, Ana Luisa Trejos

Software Engineering

Research focus areas include: 

  • Software estimation, testing and lifecycle management
  • Web services, cloud computing, IoT, distributed systems
  • Artificial intelligence, machine learning, data analytics, big data
  • Resource estimation and surveillance, health informatics
  • Human-computer interaction
  • Cybersecurity, cryptography, privacy, identity and trust

Faculty members specializing in Software Engineering:

Luiz Capretz, Miriam Capretz, Roy Eagleson, Aleks Essex, Hamada Ghenniwa, Katarina Grolinger, Abdelkader Ouda, Quazi Rahman, Abdallah Shami

Research Facilities

Institute for Earth & Space Exploration (CPSX)

  • Leading organization for Earth and space exploration research and training in Canada
  • Seeks to understand Earth’s formation, explore planets and apply technologies to mining, robotics, healthcare
  • Learn more 

To learn more about the key research areas in Western Engineering, visit Western Engineering's Research webpage.

Next steps...

question-symbol.pngHave questions? To learn more about the research and degree specializations offered in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, visit the department's website, or contact the department’s Graduate Office at ecedept@uwo.ca for more information and application deadlines.  

money-symbol.pngCurious about funding opportunities? Learn more about financial planning for graduate school and discover scholarships available to you. 

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