Service:Academic Advising
According to Florida Tech's Faculty Handbook, ``... Faculty advisers should instill in their advisees a confidence that the academic, professional and social development of the student is their serious concern ...'' If you are one of my assigned advisees, please feel free to make an appointment to meet with me. I strongly encourage you to meet with me at least once every Fall and Spring, whether you are an undergraduate or a graduate in one of our programs.
I will be happy to assist you in registering for courses, as well as help you with any type of academic affairs or procedures. Most importantly, though, I will be happy to provide you with advice concerning your courses of study and your overall career development. My only request from you is to come to our meeting prepared; for example, please come with the required forms already filled out, if applicable.
If you need immediate assistance and I am unavailable at that moment please contact the ECE Department's Student Coordinator, Mrs. Cheryl Mitravich, at (321)674-7047. Please keep in mind that during the summer I usually do not teach any courses and, thus, I am typically unavailable for advising.
Below you will find a few tips that I usually provide to students; I hope you will find them useful. Additionally, at the bottom of this page you will find some relevant links that may come in handy on occasion.
Tips for Undergraduate Students
- Elective Courses. It is recommended that you postpone the selection of elective courses to as late as possible in your program, if possible. Instead, make sure you first take all core courses and specify elective courses towards the end of your studies for maximum flexibility.
- Mathematics Skills. The last two years of the Electrical and Computer Engineering programs are quite demanding, as you will be required to take more advanced courses in your discipline. These courses also require significant mathematical sophistication from your part. Therefore, it is in your best interest to acquire the most mathematics background and skills you can afford. This effort is guaranteed to pay off!
- MATLAB. MATLAB has become a very popular computational platform that is used extensively in the academia and the industry. Proficiency in MATLAB will empower you significantly in your coursework (e.g. it will facilitate your work on course assignments and projects) and will increase your future marketability, when you apply for engineering positions in the industry or government.
- Programming Skills. Even if you consider yourself a hardcore Electrical Engineer, my advice to you is to acquire as much as programming expertise as possible. The particular language(s) you chose is of less importance, as you may become a fast learner of new languages, once you have a certain fundamental programming experience and understanding. While any type of knowledge is empowering, programming may help you land your first job, as there is an abundance of software development related jobs in the market.
- Grades. Make every effort to exceed a 2.0 GPA, as any lower GPA at the end of your studies will prevent you from getting your degree! Ever! In other words, you will have wasted all this time, money and effort for nothing! I am stating the obvious here, but strive to attain the highest possible performance during your studies. While you will indeed graduate and get your degree, if you attain a GPA of 2.1, there will not be too many employers that will hire you. In other words, your degree will be much less worth. Furthermore, an undergraduate GPA of less than 3.0 may prevent you from entering any graduate school in the country! Also, keep in mind that, if you would like to compete for fellowships that may pay for your studies and provide you with stipends, in order to maximize your chance of obtaining them, you need to maintain an almost perfect GPA throughout your studies.
Tips for Graduate Students
- Plan of Study. Please remember that, as a graduate student at FIT, you are required to file with the Department a Plan of Study before the end of your first semester. This requires you to meet-up with your academic advisor and agree upon a list of courses that you need to take in order to fullfill your graduate degree requirements. Failure to do so may lead to unpleasant situations, such as having to take additional courses in order for you to get your degree.
- Elective Courses. It is recommended that you postpone the selection of elective courses to as late as possible in your program, if possible. Instead, make sure you first take all core courses and specify elective courses towards the end of your studies for maximum flexibility.
- Grades. Make every effort to maintain a high GPA during your graduate coursework. First, if your GPA drops below 3.0, you may be dismissed from your graduate program and you will not get a degree from Florida Tech! Secondly, most sponsors that pay tuition (e.g. your company) will do so only for courses, in which you obtained a grade of A or B; otherwise, you will be responsible for the tuition. Thirdly, entrance into most US doctoral programs rewuires a minimum GPA of 3.5, in case you are considering to pursue a doctoral degree.
- Master's Thesis. If you intend to pursue a doctoral degree in the future, seriously consider opting to perform thesis research during your MS studies. The process will allow you to gain valuable experience that is directly applicable to your doctoral program. This experience includes exposure to one or more research fields, development of your technical writing skills and, in general, a rather global view of what research is all about. The latter one is particularly valuable in the sense that it may help you establish a better view of what doctoral studies entail.
- Doctoral Research. The best measure of academic/scientific worth of your research is the number and quality of your peer-reviewed journal publications. Thus, if you are pursuing a doctoral degree, make it your goal to publish as much as you can.