Electrical and Computer Engineering

Electrical and Computer Engineering is a field within the Engineering Sciences area of study at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Prospective students apply through the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (Harvard Griffin GSAS). In the online application, select “Engineering and Applied Sciences” as your program choice and select "PhD Engineering Sciences: Electrical and Computer Engineering" in the area of study menu.

The Electrical and Computer Engineering program studies systems that sense, analyze, and interact with the world. You will learn how this practice is based on fundamental science and mathematics, creating opportunities for both theoretical and experimental research. Electrical and computer engineers invent devices for sensing and actuation, designing physical substrates for computation, creating algorithms for analysis and control, and expanding the theory of information processing. You will get to choose from a wide range of research areas such as circuits and VLSI, computer engineering and architecture, robotics and control, and signal processing.

Electrical and computer engineers at Harvard are pursuing work on integrated circuits for cellular biotechnology, millimeter-scale robots, and the optimization of smart power groups. Examples of projects current and past students have worked on include developing methods to trace methane emissions and improving models for hurricane predictions.

Graduates of the program have gone on to a range of careers in industry in companies such as Tesla, Microsoft HoloLens, and IBM. Others have positions in academia at the University of Maryland, University of Michigan, and University of Colorado.

Engineering and Applied Sciences