The Electrical and Computer Engineering graduate program offers degrees leading to either a master of science or doctoral degree in electrical and computer engineering and there are many specializations to choose from. The graduate program prepares students for technical leadership roles in industry, academia and government. The training provides students with a fundamental understanding of engineering sciences so that graduates can develop creative and innovative approaches to the world's important engineering problems. The purpose of the PhD program in electrical and computer engineering is to produce graduates who can think independently and solve engineering problems based on first-principle scientific and mathematical concepts. The training to produce such a graduate involves the in-depth study of a challenging research problem that has not been previously solved or has not been solved to a desired level of effectiveness. The student is expected to work closely with a faculty advisor on the research problem (resulting in a dissertation), and it is expected that the overwhelming majority of his/her time in the PhD program will be devoted to solving the research problem. Because of the emphasis of the ECE graduate program on research, a greater share of financial aid is reserved for those students pursuing the PhD degree. Most of the PhD students are on either a fellowship (from the university or other external sources) or a graduate assistantship from the university. There are two tracks that lead to a PhD degree depending on the highest degree obtained at the time of admission.