Electrical Engineers can do anything.
The opportunities are endless!

An experience that gives you the tools to change the world.

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What is Electrical Engineering?

Imagine a world where humans have established a base station on the moon and launched a mission to Mars. Think of a place where renewable energy sources supply most of our electric power needs and electric vehicles roam the roads. Picture a future where 6G communication make digital transmission of data faster, where new electrical materials increase the resolution of smartphone cameras, and wearable electronics monitor our health condition in real-time. As an electrical engineer, you will be empowered to make these visions reality.

15:1

Student to Faculty Ratio


$77K

Average starting salary for our undergraduates in a full time engineering position


> 90%

Graduate School & Employment Placement Rate

5

Leading Research Centers


$450K

Annual Research Funding per Faculty



303,800

Number of Jobs in 2021

Degrees Offered

Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering

4+1: Combined BS/MS in Electrical Engineering

Master of Science in Electrical Engineering

Master of Science in Electrical Engineering Online

PhD in Electrical Engineering

What areas can I study?

Electrical engineering is a diverse field that embraces many specialty areas.
Experience hands-on, active learning in the following areas.

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EXPLORE EACH AREA USING THE DROPDOWN
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Overview

Below is an overview of each of the specialty areas of study.
Click on the individual area tabs to explore each area in depth.

Designing biomedical instruments, such as MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) machines; collecting, processing and analyzing biomedical signals; develop biomedical devices, such as pace makers.

Biomedical

Biomedical

Designing telecommunication systems such as next generation cell phone systems; developing wireless networks for various applications, such wireless sensor networks, vehicular networks, and unmanned aerial vehicle networks.

Communications

Communications

Designing integrated circuits (ICs) for computers and other digital systems, such as cell phones, space shuttle controllers, industrial automation systems, etc.

Computers & Digital Circuit Design

Computers & Digital Circuit Design

A system of devices that manages, commands, directs, or regulates the behavior of other devices to achieve desired results. It can be used to control the operations of a wide range of systems in various scales, such as power grids, industrial automation system, autonomous driving, guided missiles, etc.

Control Systems

Control Systems

Analyzing, modifying, and synthesizing signals such as sound, images by using statistical methods or artificial intelligence. It has wide range of applications such as image processing, cancer detection, power grid cybersecurity, audio signal synthesis, etc.  

Digital Signal Processing/Artificial Intelligence

Digital Signal Processing/Artificial Intelligence

The design and production of enclosures for electronic devices ranging from individual semiconductor devices up to complete systems such as a mainframe computer.

Electronic Packaging

Electronic Packaging

Designing and fabricating microscopic electronic and photonic devices on the scale of micrometer or nanometers. It is one of the most in-demand field of electronics because of the ever-increasing demand for inexpensive and lightweight equipment.

Micro-Electronics/Photonics

Micro-Electronics/Photonics

Developing devices and systems for radio frequency (RF), microwave, and Terahertz applications, such as antennas, biomedical imaging, radars, space and environment sensing, telecommunications, etc.

RF, Microwaves, and Terahertz

RF, Microwaves, and Terahertz

An integrated circuit (IC) is a small chip consisting of a large number of microscopic semiconductor devices. It is used in almost all modern electronic systems, such as computers, cell phones, appliances, instruments, land/air/space vehicles, etc.

Semiconductor Devices & Integrated Circuits

Semiconductor Devices & Integrated Circuits

Biomedical

This includes MRI machines, CAT scanners, new types of imaging for breast cancer detection.
Medical Imaging

Medical Imaging

Artificial retinas for the blind, Cochlear implants for the deaf, and prosthetic limbs controlled directly by the mind are examples of neural interfaces.
Neural and Brain Interfaces

Neural and Brain Interfaces

Micro-fluidic MEMs systems may soon lead to a revolution in the design of new drugs for treating diseases. Micro-fluidic systems may be able to generate and test thousands of new compounds per hour in the search for new drugs.
Micro-electromechanical (MEMs) Systems

Micro-electromechanical (MEMs) Systems

Communications

This includes cell phones, smartphones, and wireless internet.
Wireless Communications

Wireless Communications

Optical fibers, thinner than a human hair, form the backbone of the internet.
Optical Communications

Optical Communications

Routers are the hardware and software that direct internet signals to the correct destinations.
Design of Internet Routers

Design of Internet Routers

Protocols are the automated procedures and algorithms, implemented in computers, that make the internet possible.
Design of Internet Protocols

Design of Internet Protocols

Waves in the air, produced by antennas, received by antennas, and then interpreted by electronics to produce everyday entertainment.
Radio and Television

Radio and Television

Computer & Digital Circuit Design

Workstations, P.C.s and Apple Computers, tablet and pocket P.C.s, supercomputers, and server farms - such as those maintained by Google.
Stand Alone Computers

Stand Alone Computers

Small computers embedded in other equipment. Examples include TV's, video games, DVR's, medical equipment such as MRI's and CAT scanners, car engines and airplane navigation, GPS devices, factory equipment and cell phones.
Embedded Computers

Embedded Computers

Most of the circuitry in televisions, factory equipment, and cell phones are digital, although crucial parts of cell phones are analog. Almost everything relating to the internet is a combination of special purpose digital circuitry and computers. Nearly everything electronic has a digital component.
Most Other Electronic Devices

Most Other Electronic Devices

Control Systems

Controls the plane's control surfaces to keep the plane flying steadily. Control systems may one day automatically land airplanes. Unmanned drones are controlled mainly by automatic control systems.
Airplane Autopilots

Airplane Autopilots

Controls the brakes on all four wheels of a car in such a way that the car is prevented from spinning out of control on sharp curves and turns. It uses single wheel braking to help the car go where the driver wants it to go without spinning out of control.
Stability Control in Automobiles

Stability Control in Automobiles

Image stabilization in a video camera controls the motion of a tiny mirror in the camera so that it compensates for jitter in the hands holding the camera. Image stabilization in a camera looking down on a football game from a blimp compensates for the motion of the blimp in the wind.
Image Stabilization

Image Stabilization

The autofocus circuitry in a camera controls the motion of the lense to bring the image into sharp focus.
Autofocusing of Cameras

Autofocusing of Cameras

The positions of tools and grippers in industrial equipment must often be precisely controlled.
Position Control in Robotics and other Industrial Equipment

Position Control in Robotics and other Industrial Equipment

Automatic control systems control such variables as temperature and flow rate in chemical plants to achieve optimum performance.
Chemical Plants

Chemical Plants

Digital Signal Processing/Artificial Intelligence

For sorting mail, reading amounts on checks, reading and processing documents, or interpreting for the blind.
Reading Print and Handwriting

Reading Print and Handwriting

For vocal control of computers and text entry in computers, especially small portable computers with limited keyboards.
Speech Recognition

Speech Recognition

Finding genes and control patterns in DNA, finding similarities in genes and in proteins, and finding genetic patterns of cancers.
Biotechnology

Biotechnology

Efficient effective control of robot arms, vision for robots, autonomous or semi-autonomous robots that need little supervision or bipedal humanoid robots that can walk and run safely and efficiently.
Robotics

Robotics

For carrying supplies in military convoys, for space exploration, or for safer highways.
Autonomous Vehicles

Autonomous Vehicles

Automatic takeoff and landing, even semi-autonomous pilot-less drones.
Airplane Autopilots

Airplane Autopilots

Machines that can operate with less human supervision, machines with vision and some intelligence that can deal with variability better than current machinery, and real-time machine inspection for product flaws.
Better Factory Automation

Better Factory Automation

Recognizing terrorists, recognizing bombs, and any other weapons.
Anti-Terrorism

Anti-Terrorism

Search engine companies are trying to create search engines that understand to some extent the documents they are cataloging, and respond to natural language queries instead of just looking for keywords.
Internet Search Engines

Internet Search Engines

Internet routers use artificial intelligence for routing messages.
Internet Routers

Internet Routers

Studying ways to produce machine intelligence often sheds light on how the human brain works. Many advances in psychology, neurobiology, and artificial intelligence have resulted from applying knowledge from one of these fields to another.
Understanding How the Human Brain Works

Understanding How the Human Brain Works

Electronic Packaging

Thin Film Laboratory

 

Portable electronic devices like cell phones and iPods need to be as small as possible for convenience. In order to obtain high performance, a large amount of complex circuitry must be put into a very small package. Most of the circuitry in such devices consist of integrated circuit chips connected together by nearly microscopic metal film wires. Electronic packaging is the art of packing as many integrated circuit chips as possible into a very small package and wiring them together. In addition to saving space, packing chips close together inside a single package can improve performance by increasing speed and decreasing interference. The High-Density Electronics Center (HiDEC) at the University of Arkansas is devoted to research in electronic packaging. 

Micro-Electronics / Photonics

Micro-electronics

 

Micro-Electronics/Photonics (MicroEP) is a joint program between Electrical Engineering and the Physics Department. As the name suggests, this program emphasizes microelectronics and optical electronics. It also has a fairly strong emphasis on engineering management. MicroEP offers an undergraduate minor, and at the graduate level it offers M.S. and Ph.D. degrees.

Power Systems

Electrical engineers in the power area design the power distribution system that connects homes and factories to power plants. Much work is being done currently on decreasing the frequency of blackouts.
Design of Power Distribution Networks

Design of Power Distribution Networks

Power engineers design the circuitry that controls high power semiconductor devices of all kinds. The electronic circuitry in windmills and solar farms used for renewable energy has a large impact on performance, as does the circuitry in electric cars.
Design of Power Electronic Interfaces

Design of Power Electronic Interfaces

Power engineers design the motors and generators used in homes and in industry. The motors and generators in an electric or hybrid car are a key part of the vehicle.
Design of Motors and Generators

Design of Motors and Generators

RF, Microwaves, & Terahertz

Radar is used for tracking aircraft and missiles. Airborne radar is used for mapping the earth and locating natural resources. Whether radar tracks storms and provides storm warnings.
Radar

Radar

Cell phones and wireless internet operate using microwaves. The designers of this equipment must design circuitry that produces, detects, and manipulates microwaves.
Cell Phones and Wireless Internet

Cell Phones and Wireless Internet

Specialists in electromagnetic fields and waves are the people who design antennas.
Antennas

Antennas

Work is being done on using microwaves to detect breast cancer.
Medical Imaging

Medical Imaging

Semiconductor Devices & Integrated Circuits

A process engineer studies physics, chemistry, and material science. The process engineer designs the physical and chemical processes that are used to create a semiconductor device or integrated circuit. This work is mostly applied to physics and chemistry. 
Processing

Processing

A chip designer designs and lays out the circuitry on an integrated circuit chip. The physical and chemical processes used are given to them by process engineers, and he or she designs the circuitry on the chip and does the physical layout. 
Chip Design

Chip Design

Learn More About the Specialty Areas

Career Outlook

Electrical Engineers can do anything from developing new integrated circuits to helping a medical team create new devices to help save lives!

What You Can Do

  • Aerospace engineer
  • Automotive engineer
  • Controls engineer
  • Design computer chips
  • Design medical instruments
  • Embedded system engineer
  • Power Plant Designer
  • Substation Engineer
  • Engineering Manager
  • Power Electronics Designer
  • Semiconductor engineer
  • Wireless communication engineer

Industries You Can Work In

  • Renewable and clean energy
  • Electric vehicles (land, ocean, space)
  • Robotics and automation
  • Smart phones and communication networks
  • Smart Grid
  • Nanotechnology & optoelectronics

 

> 90%

Graduate School & Employment Placement Rate

 

$101,780

2021 Median Wage for Electrical Engineers*

 

303,800

Number of Jobs, 2021*

*According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Research Resources

More Research

Research Centers

GRid-Connected Advanced Power Electronic Systems (GRAPES) Center

High Density Electronics Center (HiDEC)

National Center for Reliable Power Transmission (NCREPT)

Center for Power Optimization of Electro-Thermal Systems' (POETS)

Center for Infrastructure Trustworthiness in Energy Systems (CITES)

Explore Other Research Resources

Department News

More News

Magda El-Shenawee, Professor
Faculty Spotlight

Electrical engineering professor Magda El-Shenawee’s effort to develop a more accurate and less-invasive method for detecting breast cancer will benefit from a $424,545 grant from the National Institutes of Health. 

Magda El-Shenawee, Professor

Learn More

Alan Mantooth, Distinguished Professor
Faculty Spotlight

Mantooth Named to Arkansas Future Mobility Advisory Council. "We are here today to take a step into the future of mobility," which will "impact the options in transportation and supply chain deliveries for generations to come."

Alan Mantooth, Distinguished Professor

Learn More

Dereje Woldegiorgis and Yuqi Wei, Doctoral Students
Student Spotlight

Dereje Woldegiorgis and Yuqi Wei, earned best presentations at the Applied Power Electronics Conference. Woldegiorgis won for his presentation "Simple Carrier Based Capacitor Voltage Balancing Technique for Three-Level Voltage Source Inverters." Wei won two awards for presentations titled "A Fast and Accurate Simulation Tool for LLC Converters" and "A Family of LLC Converters with Magnetic Control."

Dereje Woldegiorgis and Yuqi Wei, Doctoral Students

Learn More

Information For...

Myths About Electrical Engineering

Myth: It’s Hard

Fact: Electrical Engineering covers a wide range of topics in math, science and engineering. If you are someone who enjoys math and science, and you enjoy solving problems, then you’ll probably find electrical engineering relatively easy to study.

Myth: Electrical Engineers work at power utility companies.

Fact: Electrical engineers are in high demands in a wide range of fields, such as aerospace, biomedical instrumentation, electrical vehicles, embedded systems, radars and antennas, nanotechnology, robotics and automations, semiconductor and microelectronics, smart grid and renewable energy, and telecommunications, etc.

Myth: You should study Computer Engineering if you want to design computer chips.

Fact: Electrical engineering has the subfield of digital integrated circuit (IC), which focuses on the design of computer chips that can be used in computers and other digital systems, such as cell phones, space shuttle controllers, industrial automation systems, etc.

Myth: Electrical engineering jobs will be outsourced.

Fact: Electrical engineering is an indispensable discipline and it plays an essential role in continuously improving the critical infrastructure and economic development of US. EE-related jobs are in high demands in the US, such as smart grid, sustainable energy sources, telecommunication networks, microelectronics and semiconductors, aerospace, industrial control and automations, radars and sensors, military applications, etc.

Contact Us

Have questions or concerns?


Call (479) 575-3005, email eecs@uark.edu