Is this semester coursework too much?

[fmpak93]

I recently got into graduate school for electrical engineering to study solid state electronics. I did my bachelors in Physics and will be graduating this May and start grad school in the Fall 2015. Here is my current cours schedule:

Fall 2015
- Intro to Solid State Electronics (3 cred.)
- Electromagnetic Waves and Radiation (3 cred.)
- Semiconductor Devices I (3 cred.)
- System Analysis (Linear Systems and Signals) (3 cred.)

Is this too much? the first three are required courses for my concentration, solid state electronics. Thing is I have a strong understanding of EM waves and solid state due to a decent background on Optics and Quantum Mechanics, so will it be too ambitious to throw an extra course in there? Because usually for grad school even 3 courses can be difficult per semester.

 

[donpacino]

no, i would say 12 credits is fine.

 

[Loststudent22]

no, i would say 12 credits is fine.

Is this true for grad school also? I've heard you don't want to take too many classes since your expected to do research and TA also(plus grad classes are extremely time consuming compared to undergrad). I've heard 4 classes is pushing the upper limit and 3 is more average.

 

[jtbell]

Depends on your workload as a TA or RA. When I started grad school in physics (U of Michigan) nearly 40 years ago, the typical first-year grad student was a "half-time" TA. Each semester, I took two courses and taught four introductory lab sections.

 

[donpacino]

Is this true for grad school also? I've heard you don't want to take too many classes since your expected to do research and TA also(plus grad classes are extremely time consuming compared to undergrad). I've heard 4 classes is pushing the upper limit and 3 is more average.

typpically you need 30 credits to get a masters degree. That's 30 credits. at 3 classes per semester it will take you a little over three semesters.
Most people finish their MS in a year (2 semesters)...

 

[fmpak93]

typpically you need 30 credits to get a masters degree. That's 30 credits. at 3 classes per semester it will take you a little over three semesters.
Most people finish their MS in a year (2 semesters)...

In a year? wouldn't that mean taking 3-4 courses + research every sem?

 

[fmpak93]

Depends on your workload as a TA or RA. When I started grad school in physics (U of Michigan) nearly 40 years ago, the typical first-year grad student was a "half-time" TA. Each semester, I took two courses and taught four introductory lab sections.

I see, so it probably toook minimum 2 years to complete the masters then?

 

[radium]

I guess it depends on the school but at my current institution, even three grad classes is a ton of work.

 

[jtbell]

I see, so it probably toook minimum 2 years to complete the masters then?

Right, it took me two years to get enough credits for a master's. I was there for a Ph.D. anyway, so picking up the M.S. wasn't a major event. Some of my classmates didn't bother.

 

[donpacino]

In a year? wouldn't that mean taking 3-4 courses + research every sem?

you usually get credit for research...

 

[snowman_]

Are those undergraduate courses being taken for foundation material or graduate courses?

If they're UG and you have a light work schedule (like a job you work) then you'll be perfectly fine. That's a very typical schedule for a junior/senior EE UG student.

 

[fmpak93]

Are those undergraduate courses being taken for foundation material or graduate courses?

If they're UG and you have a light work schedule (like a job you work) then you'll be perfectly fine. That's a very typical schedule for a junior/senior EE UG student.

Yes, Semi-Conductor Dev, and EM waves are UG, but solid state electronics and Systems and Signals are strictly graduate level. Thanks :)