Master of Engineering (Electrical)

This program examines how to design and build electrical and electronic devices on all scales.

The Master of Engineering (Electrical) is designed to provide students with a formal qualification in engineering at the masters level. Electrical engineers design and build electrical and electronic devices on all scales, from transmitters smaller than the head of a pin, to large-scale infrastructure such as a national power grid. Students in this discipline are taught by staff, who work in partnerships with organisations such as NASA, IBM and Bionic Vision Australia. Each subject offered includes a practical laboratory component, combining theory with practice. During their final year students have the opportunity to take part in research under the guidance of leaders in the fields of broadband technology, telecommunications, signals processing and control systems. A particular strength and focus of this course is the attention paid to analytical and mathematical theory and practice, giving students the tools to direct their own future research and innovation.

Career Outcomes

Graduates pursue careers as technical specialists and managers in fields as diverse as the power industry, telecommunications, electronics, biotechnology, manufacturing, automation, transport, defense and the computer industry. With the strong technical base provided by this course, students are not only able to work as practising electrical engineers, but can also pursue research and innovation roles. Most graduates will begin their careers in technical roles, however most will move quickly into management roles. The attention paid to analytical and mathematical ability also enables graduates to work in non-engineering fields such as management, finance and banking. Graduates can find employment with companies and organisations such as Telstra, Siemens, Australian Aerospace, Holden, BHP Billiton, Chevron and Alcoa. Opportunities also exist in the biotechnology industry, which is quite strong in Australia, working for companies like Compumedics, Ausbiotech and Cochlear Ltd.

Dual accreditation with Engineers Australia (provisional) and EUR-ACE® allows graduates of the Master of Engineering, or the Master of Spatial Information Science, to practice as professional engineers virtually anywhere in the world. For more information see our accreditation page.

Mode
Coursework
Duration
2–3 years full-time
Available part-time.
Entry
Semester 1, Semester 2
Fees
Local CSP: $7756 per annum
International: $30,848 per annum

Further Fees Information

Detailed information about fees and funding support including local and international fee brochures, scholarships, loans and grants, youth allowance, austudy and abstudy, currency converters, the cost of living in Melbourne and financial aid, is available at:

Domestic Students

International Students

 

Entry Requirements

Prior Qualification Entry Requirements
University of Melbourne Engineering Pathways
  • One of the following undergraduate degrees with a Electrical Systems major or sequence:
    • Commerce
    • Science
  • An average of 65% in the final two years.
Undergraduate Engineering Degree
  • An undergraduate degree including:
    • the equivalent of 25 points (2 subjects) of first year mathematics, specifically Calculus 2 and Linear Algebra (or equivalent), and
    • the equivalent of 25 points of Physics (or equivalent).
  • An average of 65% in the final two years.

Note: Students with a Bachelor of Engineering who seek to specialise in the same field of engineering in which they majored, are likely to receive 100 points (one year) of credit, possibly more. Exact credit can only be determined on application.

Undergraduate Degree with Limited or No Engineering Study

(Including University of Melbourne Non-pathway Degrees)

  • An undergraduate degree including:
    • the equivalent of 25 points (2 subjects) of first year mathematics, specifically Calculus 2 and Linear Algebra (or equivalent), and
    • the equivalent of 25 points of Physics (or equivalent).
  • An average of 65% in the final two years.

Students who have graduated from an institution other than the University of Melbourne must supply official engineering syllabus or subject descriptions from their institution with their application.

English Language Requirements

All students studying at the University of Melbourne must satisfy the University’s english language entry requirements. For graduate entry, Engineering offers an alternative.

Engineering English Language Entry Requirements


Credit for Prior Studies

The Master of Engineering is a 300 point or 3 year program. The first 100 points (1 year) is made up of foundation study tailored to students from non-engineering backgrounds. Many students who enter the program will have some prior study in engineering, which will allow them to receive credit for up to the first year of the program, reducing the program to 2 years.

Students who have studied at an institution other than the University of Melbourne must supply engineering syllabus item details from their previous institution of study, along with an original or certified copy of their academic transcript, to enable credit to be assessed at the time of application.

Application for Advanced Standing Form [PDF 190KB]

Course Structure

These course plans are examples only and provided as an indicative guide. They will vary according to a student’s undergraduate degree and the time of commencement.

Master of Engineering (Electrical) Sample Course Plan

Preliminary year: required only for students entering from non-Engineering backgrounds.
Graduates from corresponding University of Melbourne New Generation degree pathways enter at second year.

Year 1 (Prelim) Sem 1 Electrical Network Analysis and Design Digital System Design Engineering Mathematics Engineering Communication
Sem 2 Electrical Device Modelling Signals and Systems Foundations of Electrical Networks Engineering Computation
Usual entry point for applicants with 100 points advanced standing.
Year 2 Sem 1 Probability and Random Models Control Systems Electronic Circuit Design Elective
Sem 2 Communication Systems Signal Processing Embedded System Design Electronic System Implementation
Year 3 Sem 1 Elective Elective Electrical Engineering Capstone Project Elective
Sem 2 Elective Elective Elective

Electrical Engineering electives are chosen from a prescribed list.

For further information on course structures, subjects and electives:

University Handbook listing


Further Information

If you have a question which isn’t answered by the links below, please use the ‘Enquire Now’ form.

Domestic Students

How to Apply


Fees


Scholarships



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David Grayden

Associate Professor David Grayden

Associate Professor David Grayden is Deputy Head (Academic) of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and the discipline of Biomedical Engineering at the Melbourne School of Engineering. He is the Academic Program Coordinator of the Master of Engineering (Biomedical) and the Master of Biomedical Engineering programs.

Associate Professor Grayden is interested in understanding how the brain processes information and how to best present information to the brain using medical bionics, such as the bionic ear and eye. He also conducts research into epileptic seizure prediction and electrical stimulation to stop or prevent epileptic seizures.

The Biomedical Engineering programs at Melbourne offer background in all areas of biomedical engineering: biosignals, biocellular, biomechanics and bioinformatics. This gives students enormous versatility to choose to develop their own particular area of interest. Biomedical Engineering is an exciting field because it offers huge opportunities for multidisciplinary research, development and industry applications, as well as having enormous potential to make a positive impact on human health.