Electrical & Computer Engineering

photo of the ends of a bundle of optical fibres glowing with green and blue light against a black background
Electrical and computer engineering (ECE) is the platform on which innovations in other disciplines of science and engineering, and increasingly social sciences, are built.

Technological advances in all sectors of our economy depend on power, control, communication and computation. The internet of things, smart cities and personalize healthcare are just some parts of our modern world that depend on connectivity, big data collection, and advanced computing.

Electrical and computer engineers help create signal processors for wireless systems, tools for medical diagnostic and imaging, and safety features for cars. They design control systems for automated manufacturing, consumer electronics for home theatres, and high-speed communication systems on Earth, beneath the seas, and in space.

EngSci's Electrical and Computer Engineering major is one of the program's oldest and popular majors.  It prepares students with a broad foundation in diverse focus areas and rigorous training in both hardware and software disciplines.

The major's focus areas include photonics and semiconductor physics; control, communications and signal processing; electromagnetics and energy; computer hardware and networks; electronics; and software.

Electrical engineering fundamentals are covered in core courses on electromagnetic fields, energy systems, and electronics. Computer engineering fundamentals are developed in core courses on computer organization, systems software, and computing. The major's exceptionally broad range of technical electives provides tremendous flexibility that allows students to focus on their specific interests within ECE.

Courses are taught by world-renowned professors from the U of T's Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering and the Department of Computer Science-two of the largest and top-ranked departments in Canada. Students have access to advanced facilities and close research collaborations between professors and global partners, including the Fujitsu Co-Creation Research Laboratory. Students also benefit from the university's affiliation with organizations like the Vector Institute, U of T's SciNet supercomputing consortium, and the vibrant tech and startup landscape in Toronto.

FAQs

Sample Courses

Did you know...?

Students can further their knowledge in student clubs like IEEE's U of T Chapter, Spark Design Club, and more.

Find more student clubs here.

Where this major can take you

Graduates from the ECE major leaders in areas as diverse as datacentre hardware, power distribution systems, voice recognition software, and many more. Meet some of our alumni.

Recent graduates from this major have pursued graduate studies at Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, Columbia University, MIT, Stanford University, UC Berkeley, University of Toronto, University of Waterloo, and more.

Some graduates work in academia as professors, while others work in industry for companies such as AMD, Altera Corporation, Apple, Facebook, Google, McKinsey & Company, Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto Hydro, Twitter, and more.

Entrepreneurial graduates have started companies like Sound Hound and Ergeon.

Professor Jonathan Rose wearing glasses, a black shirt and dark grey blazer, and smiling to camera in front of a pale grey background

Chair of the Electrical & Computer Engineering major

Professor Jonathan Rose (ECE)

Professor Jonathan Rose was the Chair of the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering and has taught EngSci students for many years. He was a co-founder of Right Track CAD Corporation which delivered FPGA chip-level architecture and CAD tools to customers, and was acquired by Altera, now Intel. His current research focuses on software and natural language processing for mental health diagnosis and therapy.

jonathan.rose@ece.utoronto.ca