John Young, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
john.c.young@uky.eduElectrical engineers find innovative ways to use electricity, electronic materials and electrical phenomena to improve people’s lives. The field of electrical engineering encompasses a very broad spectrum of technical areas, including computers and digital systems, electronics and integrated circuits, communications, systems and control, electromagnetics and electro-optics, energy conversion and power distribution, robotics, signal processing, solid state electronics and photonics. Electrical engineers work at the frontier of high technology and are involved in research, the creation of new ideas and the design and development of new products, manufacturing and marketing activities. Electrical engineers work in a variety of industries: film and television, aerospace, automotive, business machines, professional and scientific equipment, computers and electronics, communications, medical technology. They work in public utilities, at NASA, the National Institutes of Health, and the Department of Defense. As researchers, they study everything from fuel cells to nanotechnology. If it’s got an on/off switch, these engineers have studied it, designed it or produced it.
Electrical engineers learn to understand and use electrical power: make it, control it, transmit it, and tame it to design and run all kinds of traditional and advanced technologies. Students who enroll as Electrical Engineering majors at UK study at Kentucky’s flagship research institution, meaning you’ll be learning from top faculty looking to make the next big breakthrough in their field. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering faculty are readily accessible both inside and outside the classroom and students have every opportunity necessary to grow personally and professionally. Courses cover all the essentials: circuits, power and energy, semiconductors, embedded systems, computer architecture and others. The undergraduate degree culminates in the capstone design courses where seniors work in teams to handle real-world problems outside the classroom and get a taste of real world engineering work.
Undergraduate certificates are also available in power and energy as well as nanoscale engineering.
Industries Looking for You
“Nigeria has poor power distribution and transmission systems, so I'm trying to hone my skills in the power sector so I can eventually go back home and contribute toward solving some of the problems.”
Graduate student in Electrical Engineering
The Pigman College of Engineering offers multiple pathways to undergraduate admission -- both as an incoming freshman or transfer student.
Admission requirements for incoming freshmen can be accessed here.
Admission requirements for transfer students can be accessed here.
Engineering Standing
All incoming freshmen and transfer students admitted to the Pigman College of Engineering have their major listed as "Pre-Aerospace Engineering", "Pre-Biomedical Engineering", etc. on their admission letter and in our academic system, myUK. Engineering Standing will be achieved, and the pre- designation will be dropped from the major name, once the student achieves a minimum cumulative GPA and a minimum GPA in select courses. You may view the select courses in the University Bulletin.
The smartest, most talented engineers around the world are devoting themselves to tackling immense global challenges. As a student in the UK Pigman College of Engineering, you get to join them!
In 2008, the National Academy of Engineering identified 14 “Grand Challenges for Engineering in the 21st Century”—opportunities to greatly increase humanity’s sustainability, health, security and joy of living. Themes include making solar energy economical, enhancing virtual reality, reverse-engineering the brain, securing cyberspace, providing access to clean water and more.
These ambitious goals demand engineers roll up their sleeves and get to work, which is why we put them front and center during your first year as an engineering student. We have designed the First-Year Engineering (FYE) program to inspire you. We want you to discover your passion. We want you to explore where you might make your unique contribution. We want you to get your hands dirty and make stuff that might, one day, lead to a breakthrough.
Why wait until you’re taking upper-level classes to figure out what interests you? Through real engineering classes taught by top faculty and exposure to engineering’s greatest challenges, the FYE program gets you into the game from day one.
The following curriculum meets the requirements for a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, provided the student satisfies the graduation requirements of the Pigman College of Engineering
2023-24 Curriculum Previous CurriculaLearning also happens in student organizations, on field trips and on community service projects. UK electrical engineering students often get involved with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Kentucky Organization of Robotics and Automation, Solar Car Team, Tau Beta Pi, Society of Women Engineers, and others.
The electrical engineering program offers numerous opportunities to obtain hands-on experience through summer internships and co-operative education programs with many companies throughout the U.S. These experiences often lead to full-time engineering professional positions upon graduation. For those interested in research, the program offers numerous undergraduate research opportunities in each of the specialized areas of electrical engineering.
The Engineering Career and Co-op Center is a valuable resource for assisting you with developing job and co-op search skills; participating in education-abroad programs and participating in research endeavors and career network development so you can secure a rewarding career in your chosen field of study.
Electrical engineers learn to understand and use electrical energy: make it, control it, transmit it and tame it to design and run all kinds of traditional and advanced technologies. Electrical engineers also understand how to design and make the hardware that helps our newest intelligent tools, machines, houses and cars get smarter, smaller, cheaper, faster and safer. Electrical engineers work in every industry you can think of: artificial intelligence, aerospace, automotive, business machines, professional and scientific equipment, computers and electronics, communications and medical technology to name a few. They work in public utilities, for NASA, at the National Institutes of Health, at the Department of Defense, for consumer electronics companies, and much, much more. As researchers, they study everything from fuel cells to nanotechnology. If it’s got an on/off switch, these engineers have studied it, designed it or produced it.
Electrical engineers design, develop, test, and supervise the manufacture of electrical equipment.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics | Click the link for more info.
Median Salary
$109,010
per year in 2023
Number of Jobs
299,700
in 2023
10 Year Job Outlook
15,800
new jobs (average)
Electrical and electronics engineers work in industries including research and development, engineering services, manufacturing, telecommunications, and the federal government. Electrical and electronics engineers generally work indoors in offices. However, they may have to visit sites to observe a problem or a piece of complex equipment.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
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John Young, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
john.c.young@uky.eduPigman College of Engineering
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
453 F. Paul Anderson Tower
Lexington, KY 40506-0046
(859) 257-8042
