Electrical Engineering

Electrical engineering drives how modern systems sense, compute, communicate and operate. From power and electronics to communications and embedded systems, the field underpins nearly every engineered technology. As systems grow more complex and performance expectations rise, organizations need experts who can move beyond standard designs, develop new methods and generate results that stand up to technical scrutiny.

A PhD in Electrical Engineering from Colorado School of Mines prepares you to lead at that level. This doctorate degree is designed for engineers who want to create new knowledge and influence how electrical systems are designed and deployed. Mines is known for applied engineering, and that perspective shapes the doctoral experience. Your research remains grounded in physical reality, measurable performance, and real constraints, while pushing the boundaries of current practice.

If you are motivated by deep technical challenges and want your work to matter beyond the laboratory, this program provides the rigor, independence, and credibility needed to do that work well.

Program Overview

The Electrical Engineering PhD is an on‑campus doctoral program housed in the Department of Electrical Engineering. It is designed for engineers who want to conduct original, research‑driven work that advances electrical engineering theory and practice.

This program builds on your bachelor’s degree or master’s degree by shifting your role from applying existing techniques to developing new ones. You deepen your understanding of electrical systems while gaining the independence needed to define and execute a substantial research project. Coursework is flexible and selected to support your dissertation research.

What you’ll study and do:

You will complete advanced coursework in electrical engineering fundamentals along with specialized electives aligned to your research focus. Areas of study may include power systems, power electronics, control systems, signal processing, communications, microelectronics, or embedded systems. Courses emphasize analytical rigor and design reasoning so you can justify engineering decisions clearly.

The core of the Electrical Engineering PhD program is independent research. You identify a research problem, develop new models, devices, or methods, and evaluate them through analysis, simulation, and experimentation. You work closely with a faculty advisor and committee while progressing through proposal, candidacy, and dissertation defense milestones.

What it takes to complete the PhD at Mines

Completion of the PhD requires advanced coursework, successful completion of qualifying and candidacy requirements and a defended dissertation that makes an original contribution to electrical engineering. As an on-campus program, the experience emphasizes active participation in research groups, seminars and collaboration across disciplines.

You and Mines PhD: A Right Fit?

You may be a strong fit for this program if you:

• Enjoy deep technical analysis and system-level thinking
• Like designing, building or modeling electrical systems
• Have strong preparation in electrical engineering or a closely related field