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2025-2026 Undergraduate Catalog
Computer Engineering (B.S.Cmp.E.)
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Engineering, Technology, and Computer Science Building 327 ~ 260-481-6362
URL: http://www.pfw.edu/ece, email: ece@pfw.edu
Computer Engineering is the engineering discipline that deals with the design and application of computer systems. These computer systems range in size from tiny embedded processors to massive database and network servers. Purdue University Fort Wayne offers a four-year computer engineering undergraduate program leading to a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree.
Computer engineers have a broad technical background, covering both hardware (equipment) and software (programs). These two aspects of computer systems are inseparable: software cannot operate without hardware; without software, computer hardware can perform no useful function. In system design, it is often necessary to assign functions to hardware and software components, based on cost and performance criteria.
Our students, while drawn from diverse backgrounds, are all extremely able and committed to learning. Purdue Fort Wayne delivers an exceptional educational experience to engineering students, encouraging collaboration and teamwork throughout the curriculum.
Student Learning Outcomes:
As a framework for the continuous improvement policy, the Computer Engineering program has adopted a set of program educational objectives that describe the anticipated accomplishments of our graduates within a few years after graduation.
The Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering (BSCmpE) program educational objectives are to produce graduates who:
- Advance professionally to roles of greater engineering responsibilities and/or by transitioning into leadership positions in business, government, and/or education
- Participate in life-long learning through the successful completion of advanced degree(s), continuous education, and/or engineering certification(s)/licensure or other professional development
- Demonstrate commitment to community by applying technical skills and knowledge to support various service activities
- Demonstrate commitment to the moral imperatives and professional responsibilities expected from practicing professionals
The graduates from the Computer Engineering program will demonstrate that they have:
- The ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics.
- The ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors.
- The ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences.
- The ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts.
- The ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives.
- The ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgement to draw conclusions.
- The ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.
Accreditation:
- The Computer Engineering (B.S.) program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, https://www.abet.org, under the General Criteria and the Program Criteria for Electrical, Computer, Communications, Telecommunication(s) and Similarly Named Engineering Programs.
Program Delivery:
- The BSCmpE program is delivered primarily through on-campus courses; however, some of the required General Education courses are available as hybrid and/or on-line courses and those can be used to satisfy the program requirements.
Declaring this Major:
Students interested in declaring Computer Engineering as their major may do so in one of two ways:
- On their application when they first apply to Purdue Fort Wayne
- After meeting with an ECE faculty advisor, who will determine that the student has the required math and chemistry background to begin our program
General Requirements:
- Degree Requirements
- General Education Requirement
- Academic Regulations
Program Requirements:
In order to start in the Computer Engineering program, a student must meet the following criteria:
- Math Placement at or above MA 15400
Students in the Electrical Engineering program and Computer Engineering program take many common courses and are encouraged to explore the possibility of dual majors in BSEE and BSCmpE. Please contact your advisor for further information.
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College Scorecard
The U.S. Department of Education has created a scorecard for each university and its programs. The scorecard shows data for the university such as graduation rate, average annual cost, and median earnings. Then, when certain minimum standards have been met, data are available for a specific program. That data could include median earnings, median total debt, and number of graduates. The link below will help you learn more: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?151102-Purdue-University-Fort-Wayne&fos_code=1409&fos_credential=3 General Education: Credits 30
Effective Fall 2025, the General Education program at PFW requires 30 credits to be completed, such that students pass each course listed below with a grade of C- or better: - Category A. Foundational Intellectual Skills (Foundational Intellectual Skills Course Lists)
- One course in A1. Written Communication Cr. 3.
- One course in A2. Speaking and Listening Cr. 3.
- One course in A3. Quantitative Reasoning Cr. 3.
- Category B. Ways of Knowing (Ways of Knowing Course Lists)
- One course in B4. Scientific Ways of Knowing Cr. 3.
- One course in B5. Social and Behavioral Ways of Knowing Cr. 3.
- One course in B6. Humanistic Ways of Knowing Cr. 3.
- One course in B7. Artistic Ways or Knowing Cr. 3.
- One course in B8. Interdisciplinary Ways of Knowing Cr. 3.
- Six additional credits from any Foundational Skills (A1-A3) or Ways of Knowing (B4-B8) categories
- At least one Ways of Knowing course that is designated as having a focus on diversity, equity, inclusion, and/or global awareness
Some programs recommend courses and/or require a specific course as part of the major that may also be used to fulfill General Education requirements. Please see below or your Academic Advisor for courses that fulfill both purposes. You can familiarize yourself with other program regulations at General Education Requirements . Major and Supporting Courses Required for the BSCmpE
Core and Concentration Courses Required for the BSCmpE
Technical Elective Requirements
All Computer Engineering students must take at least three (3) credit hours from the list of Group I Technical Electives, and at least nine (9) credit hours from either the Group I or Group II Technical Elective lists. Group I Technical Electives
All Computer Engineering students must take at least one (1) course from the list of Group I Technical Electives given below: Group II Technical Electives
- ECE 29101 - Internship Experience Cr. 0-3.
- ECE 31000 - Motor Engine Control Cr. 3.
- ECE 31100 - Electric And Magnetic Fields Cr. 3.
Or - PHYS 31200 - Intermediate Electricity And Magnetism Cr. 3.
- ECE 32400 - Introduction To Energy Systems Cr. 3.
- ECE 33300 - Automatic Control Systems Cr. 3.
- ECE 48300 - Digital Control Systems Analysis And Design Cr. 3.
- ECE 49600 - Electrical And Computer Engineering Projects Cr. 1-15.
- ECE 49700 - Research In Electrical Engineering I Cr. 3.
- ECE 49800 - Research In Electrical Engineering II Cr. 3.
- ECE 53800 - Digital Signal Processing I Cr. 3.
- MA 57500 - Graph Theory Cr. 3.
- PHYS 32200 - Intermediate Optics Cr. 3.
- PHYS 34200 - Modern Physics Cr. 3.
- PHYS 34500 - Optics Laboratory I Cr. 1.
- STAT 51200 - Applied Regression Analysis Cr. 3.
- SE 52000 - Engineering Economics Cr. 3.
- SE 53000 - Systems Engineering Management Cr. 3.
- SE 54000 - Systems Architecture Cr. 3.
- SE 55000 - Manufacturing System Design For Sustainability Cr. 3.
- Either ECE 31100 or PHYS 31200 can be counted as Technical Elective Group II, but not both.
- ECE 59595, ECE 49500, or other 50000-level and above courses offered by ECE, math, computer science, or physics departments may be taken by the student as Group 2 technical electives with the approval of the advisor. (ECE 39595 - Motor Engine Control has been approved as Group 2 technical elective).
- ECE 49600, ECE 49700, and ECE 49800 may be counted as Group II Technical Electives, with the maximum of 3 credit hours each, upon the approval of the CPE curriculum committee.
- Math department approves ECE students to enroll in STAT 51200 with ECE 30200 as an equivalent pre-requisite.
NOTE:
- A course cannot be counted toward both an undergraduate degree and a graduate degree, with the exception of the students enrolled in the 5-year BS/MSE Combined Degree Program.
- Some 3XX-level and above courses offered by math, computer science, or physics departments may be taken by the student as Group 1 or Group 2 technical electives with the approval of the Computer Engineering Curriculum Committee. Once a course is approved, a student can take it as a regular technical elective with the approval of the advisor.
- For students admitted to the 5 year combined BS/MSE program, additional graduate-level courses have been approved as technical electives. A list of such courses can be located in the section of 5 Year BS/MSE Program on the ECE Department website.
- Overall major GPA should be 2.00 or higher.
- A student is only allowed to attempt ENGR 12700 three times and ENGR 12800 three times. This includes all attempts that have earned a withdrawal, letter grade, or pass/no pass. If a student fails to earn a successful grade (C- or higher or pass) after three attempts in either course, the student is removed from the mechanical, civil, electrical, and computer engineering programs at Purdue University Fort Wayne and is not eligible for re-entry.
- All BSEE and BSCmpE major requirements with the title of ENGR12800, ECE 2xxxx, 3xxxx, 4xxxx, 5xxxx CANNOT be taken as Pass/No-pass option.
- Computer Engineering majors are encouraged to explore the requirements for a minor in Computer Science, Math, or Physics. For more information, visit the ECE Department website.
Special Content Courses for the BSCmpE
In general, seminars, survey courses, project courses, special topic course, and informal laboratory courses are considered to be Special Content Courses. A complete list of these courses, as approved by the CmpE curriculum committee, is given below. The procedure for offering a Special Content Course is outlined below: • The proposal for offering the course in a semester must be submitted to the Chair of the CmpE Curriculum Committee three (3) weeks before the end of the previous semester. The course proposal is simply the course syllabus which includes the following information: - Course/Project title
- Course/Project description
- Number of credit hours
- Semester
- Design content
- Topics Covered
- Name of instructor
• If the course is to be counted toward the CmpE degree program (i.e., as a technical elective), the proposal must also be approved by the CmpE curriculum committee before the course is offered.
• The instructor is required to submit a written report to the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, at the end of the semester, at the same time the course grade is submitted. The format and length of the report is at the discretion of the instructor, but at a minimum it should include the course syllabus and a summary of the results. • No more than a combined total of 9 credit hours may be used to satisfy the CmpE degree requirement. • A combined total of no more than 6 credit hours of ECE 49600, ECE 49700, and ECE 49800 can be counted as Group II technical electives for the CmpE program. GPA Requirement
You must have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 required for this major. Total Credits Required: 127 minimum
Student Responsibility
You are responsible for ensuring that you satisfy all graduation requirements specified for each selected program. Thus, it is essential that you develop a thorough understanding of the required courses, academic policies, and procedures governing your academic career. If you cannot complete all program requirements by your stated graduation date but fail to remove those from your plan of study, the Registrar’s Office in consultation with your academic advisor will remove unmet pursuits from your plan of study. Changing curricular records during the graduation term of application may affect state or federal financial aid awards. All requests for exceptions to specific requirements must be made in writing and may be granted only by written approval from the appropriate chair or dean. Additional Course Use:
- ECE 20700 required, ECE 29300 accepted
- ECE 22900 required, CS 22900 accepted
- ECE 40601 + ECE 40602 can replace ECE 40600.
- For students in 2+3 programs who have completed the first two years in the School of Polytech, the following transfer credits can be applied
- MA 16500, CPET 19000 & ECET 11100 –> ENGR12800 + MA 16500
- ECET 11100 + ECET 14600 +self study of State Machine –> ECE 27000
- ECET 10200 , ECET 15200 + ECET 20400 –> ECE 20700
- New technical elective courses approved and added to the curriculum in future Catalogs may also be used as technical electives.
- ECE 36800 required, CS 26000 accepted.
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