Bachelor of Science in Photonic Science and Engineering, BSPSE

The Bachelor of Science in Photonic Science and Engineering degree is designed to prepare the next generation of engineers for the growing optics and photonics industry, which has a broad set of applications including manufacturing, healthcare, telecommunication, defense, security, and entertainment. The program draws on UCF's internationally recognized strengths in the field of optics and lasers and is matched to the strong photonics industry in Central Florida. The degree is offered jointly by the College of Optics and Photonics and the College of Engineering & Computer Science.

Degree Requirements

• Majors in the B.S.P.S.E. degree are required to achieve a 2.250 or greater GPA for their engineering core courses, including STA 3032 and PHY 3101, together with the photonics courses required for the major, technical elective courses, and the senior design courses.
• Students in the Photonic Science and Engineering major are expected to make consistent good progress toward their degrees to remain enrolled in, or eligible for, any major in the College of Engineering & Computer Science (CECS) or the College of Optics and Photonics (COP). Therefore, any student majoring in Photonic Science and Engineering who repeats any UCF course and does not earn a grade of "C" (2.0) or better on the second attempt will be placed on Lack of Progress Probation and remain on Lack of Progress Probation as long as the student is enrolled in a CECS or COP major. If a student on Lack of Progress Probation does not receive a grade of "C" (2.0) or better by the third attempt in the same UCF course, the student will be excluded from all CECS and COP majors. Any student majoring in Photonic Science and Engineering who has accumulated 7 or more unsuccessful attempts (i.e., grades below "C" (2.0) and withdrawals) over all courses taken at UCF will be placed on Lack of Progress Probation and remain on Lack of Progress Probation as long as the student is enrolled in a CECS or COP major. If a student on Lack of Progress Probation has a tenth unsuccessful attempt over all courses taken at UCF, the student will be excluded from all CECS and COP majors.
• A student who is excluded from CECS and COP majors may seek readmission to a major in CECS or COP after at least one full year has passed since exclusion. Readmission is not automatic and is dependent upon a high probability of success after readmission. Any student who is readmitted to the Photonic Science and Engineering major will be subject to all probation conditions that applied at the time of exclusion.
• Students who are on Lack of Progress Probation will not be approved for a transient request.
• In addition to courses required for admission to the BSPSE Major, students must also obtain a 2.0 or greater GPA in each of the following courses: EGN 3211 or PHZ 3150, EEL 3004C, EEL 3123C, MAP 2302, PHY 2049C or PHY 2049 and PHY 2049L, OSE 3052, and OSE 3052L .
• Students are required to complete 5 Foundation State General Education Core Courses, 12 GEP Courses, 12 credits (4 courses) Gordon Rule Writing Courses, 6 credits (2 courses) of Gordon Rule Math Courses, Foreign Language Requirement, and Summer Requirement prior to graduation. More information is here. Many classes can overlap so see the BSPSE advisor to create the best academic plan for you.

Degree Requirements

Core Requirements: Basic Level

• Complete all of the following
  • Complete the following:
    • PHY3101 - General Physics Using Calculus III (3)
  • Complete at least 1 of the following:
    • EGN3211 - Engineering Analysis and Computation (3)
    • PHZ3150 - Introduction to Numerical Computing (3)
  • C (2.0) or better required for EGN 3211 or PHZ 3150

Core Requirements: Advanced Level

• Complete all of the following
  Engineering Requirements
  • Complete all of the following
    • Complete the following:
      • EEL3004C - Linear Circuits I (3)
      • EEE3350 - Semiconductor Devices (3)
      • EEL3123C - Linear Circuits II (3)
      • EEE3307C - Electronics I (4)
      • EEL3552C - Signal Analysis and Analog Communication (4)
    • C (2.0) or better required in EEL 3004C and EEL 3123C.
  Photonics Requirements
  • Complete all of the following
    • Complete the following:
      • OSE3200 - Geometric Optics (3)
      • OSE3200L - Geometric Optics Lab (1)
      • OSE3052 - Foundations of Photonics (3)
      • OSE3052L - Foundations of Photonics Laboratory (1)
      • OSE3053 - Electromagnetic Waves for Photonics (3)
      • OSE4520 - Laser Engineering (3)
      • OSE4520L - Laser Engineering Laboratory (1)
      • OSE4410 - Optoelectronics (3)
      • OSE4410L - Optoelectronics Laboratory (1)
      • OSE4470 - Fiber-Optic Communications (3)
      • OSE4470L - Fiber-Optic Communications Laboratory (1)
      • OSE4830 - Imaging and Display (3)
      • OSE4830L - Imaging and Display Laboratory (1)
      • OSE4930 - Frontiers of Optics and Photonics (3)
    • C (2.0) or better required in OSE 3052

Restricted Electives

• Earn at least 12 credits from the following types of courses: 1. A minimum of three credits must be completed from a single OSE-prefixed course, or a combination of OSE-prefixed classes that include at least one credit of OSE 4912. 2. A combination of the following (See myKnight Audit for a complete list of eligible courses) a. Additional OSE-prefixed courses. b. Approved Restricted Elective courses from upper-level photonics, engineering, physics, mathematics, or other related electives. c. EGS 1006C Introduction to the Engineering Profession. Credit Hours: 1 d. EGN 1007C Engineering Concepts and Methods. Credit Hours: 1 Note: All electives must be approved by the program advisor. The courses used to satisfy the restricted elective requirement and used as part of the major GPA calculation will be those with the highest grades out of all restricted elective courses the student has completed. 2. EGS 1006C and EGN 1007C are for UCF FTIC students, or may be transferred to UCF. These two credits are counted toward the restricted elective credit total.  Suggested to complete the following:  EGS1006C - Introduction to the Engineering Profession (1)  EGN1007C - Engineering Concepts and Methods (1)  OSE 2050 – Introduction to Photonic Engineering Design (1) 3. Electrical and Computer Engineering Double Majors are required to complete OSE 4953 and these credits will count toward the restricted elective count.

Capstone Requirement

• Complete 1 of the following
  • Complete the following:
    • OSE4951 - Senior Design I (3)
    • OSE4952 - Senior Design II (3)
  • Students who declare a double major in Photonic Science and Engineering along with Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering can elect to complete the following two-semester sequence for their capstone requirements: EEL 4914 - Senior Design I and OSE 4953 - Senior Design Double Major ECE followed by EEL 4915L - Senior Design II and OSE 4953 again. Otherwise, students will need to complete OSE 4951 and OSE 4952 in addition to the ECE requirements for Senior Design (EEL 4914 and EEL 4915L) If students are a double major with Electrical or Computer Engineering, the below listed classes are the required sequence. Two excess credits from OSE 4953 will count toward restricted elective requirements.
  • Earn at least 6 credits from the following:
    • EEL4914 - Senior Design I (3)
    • EEL4915L - Senior Design II (3)
    • OSE4953 - Senior Design Double Major ECE (1)

Grand Total Credits: 71

Foreign Language Requirements

Admissions

• Two years of one foreign language in high school, or one year of one foreign language in college (or equivalent proficiency exam) prior to graduation.

Graduation

• None

Additional Requirements

• Photonic science and engineering students must earn at least 32 hours in residence at UCF. 24 of the 32 Residency hours must be at the 3000-5000 level, in courses taken from the College of Optics and Photonics at UCF and applicable to the degree program.

Required Minors

• None

Departmental Exit Requirements

• None

University Minimum Exit Requirements

• A 2.0 UCF GPA
• 42 semester hours of upper division credit completed
• 60 semester hours earned after CLEP awarded
• 30 of the last 39 hours of course work must be completed in residency at UCF.
• A maximum of 45 hours of extension, correspondence, CLEP, Credit by Exam, and Armed Forces credits permitted.
• Complete the General Education Program, the Gordon Rule, and nine hours of Summer credit.

Total Undergraduate Credit Hours Required: 128

Additional Information

Honors In Major

• Application and admissions through The Burnett Honors College and department. More information about Honors in the Major can be found at honors.ucf.edu/research

Related Programs

• Electrical Engineering - Accelerated Undergraduate-Graduate (B.S.E.E. / M.S.E.E.)
• Computer Engineering - Accelerated Undergraduate-Graduate (B.S.Cp.E. / M.S.Cp.E.)
• Physics (B.S.)

Certificates

• None

Related Minors

• Engineering Leadership Minor
• Mathematics Minor
• Physics Minor

Advising Notes

• Photonic Science and Engineering major and pending students should meet with the academic advisor regularly.
• Each student should seek academic advisement before registering for classes each semester to minimize excess hours.
• Students are assumed to have knowledge of a higher level programming language.
• Students in the BSPSE Major are required to take OSE-prefixed lab courses in the same semester as the corresponding lecture course.
• Prior to enrolling in OSE 3200, students are encouraged to meet with the BSPSE Academic Advisor.
• Students who have a major GPA of less than 2.25 prior to enrolling in OSE 4951 or OSE 4953 will be required to meet with the Academic Advisor.

Transfer Notes

• Courses taken from Florida College System institutions do not substitute for upper division courses unless part of an articulated pre-engineering degree program.
• Courses transferred must be formally evaluated for equivalency credit. The student must provide all supporting information with his/her petition for this evaluation.
• EGS 1006C and EGN 1007C are required courses for incoming freshmen only and without completion of these courses, restricted elective requirement increases to 12 credit hours.

Acceptable Substitutes for Transfer Courses

• None

Program Academic Learning Compacts

• Program Academic Learning Compacts (student learning outcomes) for undergraduate programs are located at: https://oeas.ucf.edu/about/academiclearningcompacts/

Equipment Fees

• Part-Time Student: $45 per term
• Full-Time Student: $90 per term