Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical & Electronic Engineering

Overview

Philosophy

Electrical and electronic engineering are the foundation of 21st century innovations: from digital communications to robotics systems, from sustainable energy to smart environments. With the MSc Electrical and Electronic Engineering from GCU, you'll develop the skills to work at the forefront of these exciting fields. Through discovery and invention, you can build a better future for humanity and contribute to the common good.


Rationale
The   course    offers    opportunities       to    candidates    with   suitable qualifications   who   want   to   pursue   further    studies   in electrical and electronic     engineering.  The course   has taken into account the   latest   developments in this field   of engineering     the national requirements. The course   is offered   in two   fields; Electrical and Information Engineering. Options in these two fields  have been carefully grouped   into clusters, which define areas of further specialization.

Objectives

  1. Apply advanced theories and methodologies in the field of electrical and electronics engineering.
  2. Propose advanced engineering solutions with sustainability factors in global, economic, environmental, and societal context.
  3. Communicate effectively in oral and written forms to present complex and diverse problems to professional audience.
  4. Value the principles of professional ethics issues and develop fair and valid judgments in contemporary contexts.
  5. Function on multidisciplinary teams with management and leadership capabilities.
  6. Design and conduct experiments/simulation for research.
  7. Use advanced engineering tools to analyze and interpret data.

Schedule of Intakes

The Department admits new students at the beginning of every academic calendar year (which is usually September)

Application Information

You will be required to enter some basic information, including your email address and to choose a password. We will then send you an email to the address you entered, so that we can validate your account. When you have clicked on the validation link (sent to you in the email), you will be able to log in to the application system using the "Login" box below

For instructions on how to apply click here

To apply online here

Mode of Delivery

  • Face-to-Face Mode

This is through lectures and tutorials using notes, electronic presentations, instruction manuals, group discussions, practical laboratory demonstrations and fieldwork.

  • Open, Distance Learning and e-Learning

In case of delivery through ODeL, special arrangements shall be made for the practical laboratory, field work and computing sessions. Where not feasible alternative arrangements will be made to do them on campus. 

  • Blended Learning

This is a hybrid of face to face with Open, Distance Learning and e-learning.

Contact of Support Persons

Main Campus,
American Wing Building,Room AW100 Ground Floor
Tel: +254 020 4913524
emails: dept-elec@uonbi.ac.ke
 

              complaints-elect@uonbi.ac.ke

Notable Alumni

Application Information

Application for admission are open throughout the year through the online platform. The requirements for submitting your application are detailed in the link provided (https://application.uonbi.ac.ke/).

Minimum Duration

A candidate registered for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy shall carry out a programme of original study or research over a minimum period of 18 months after the date of registration or after completion of any required coursework examination, shall submit a thesis based on the study or research done.

(ii) Maximum Duration

No candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy shall be registered as a full-time student for more than four years or as a part-time student for more than five years without submitting his thesis, except by permission of Senate.

  1. Subject to the approval of Senate, Faculties may require the candidate to attend such a course or courses as may be considered appropriate to remedy deficiencies in the candidates academic background or to endow the candidate with specialised skills or knowledge to assist him in his study or research. Performance in courses offered may be assessed.
  2. On the recommendation of the Faculty Board concerned the Senate may permit a candidate to change his registration status from part-time student or vice versa once only, in which case regulation 7 (ii) above shall apply to such a candidate as if he had initially been admitted to the status he now seeks.

Admission Requirements

The common regulations of the Doctor of Philosophy Degrees in all Schools/Faculties of the University of Nairobi apply.  However, admission into any PhD programme in the School of Engineering shall be open to holders of Master of Science degree in the respective field of specialization, either from the University of Nairobi or other Universities recognized by the Senate of the University of Nairobi. In addition, the applicants should submit a research proposal showing that they are capable of carrying out original research.

Schedule of Intakes

The Department admits new students at the beginning of every academic calendar year (which is usually September).

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING (F804)  YEAR 1   YEAR 2   YEAR 3    TOTALS 
TUITION            540,000             540,000         540,000            1,620,000
ICT SERVICES - (PER YEAR)                7,000                 7,000             7,000                 21,000
THESIS EXAMINATION                     -                        -             50,000                 50,000
REGISTRATION (PER SEMESTER@2250)                4,500                 4,500             4,500                 13,500
ID CARD ( PER YEAR)                1,000                 1,000             1,000                   3,000
CAUTION - (ONCE)                5,000                      -                     -                     5,000
MEDICAL FEE (PER YEAR)                6,500                 6,500             6,500                 19,500
ACTIVITY-( PER YEAR)                2,000                 2,000             2,000                   6,000
LIBRARY (PER YEAR)                5,000                 5,000             5,000                 15,000
STUDENT ORGANISATION(PER YEAR)                1,000                 1,000             1,000                   3,000
EXAMINATION (PER UNIT @1000)                     -                        -                     -                           -  
Grand TOTAL            572,000             567,000         617,000            1,756,000

Attachment Opportunities

PhD in Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Electrical engineering is a versatile degree. Because electronics have penetrated virtually every aspect of our lives,the opportunities are unlimited.By the time you’ve graduated with a PhD in Electrical and Electronic Engineering , chances are you’ll be more proficient in some skills than others. Depending on your preferences, you may choose to go down one of these common career paths:

  • Electrical Engineer: The most obvious career path for one with an Electrical engineering degree, the electrical engineer is generally responsible for the design, development and testing of electronic products, components, and devices.
  • Project Engineer: If you have strong soft skills such as leadership and communication, you may be suited to overseeing projects and delegating tasks. Project engineers are responsible for managing personnel, budgets, and schedules to meet technical deliverables.  Depending on the structure of a company, a senior electrical engineer may double as a project engineer or project manager
  • Design Engineer: If you love CAD and PCB design, this is the career path for you. The design engineer is the one who actually drafts the wiring diagrams and engineering drawings that document the product. Design engineers are actively involved in turning engineering requirements into product designs.
  • Test Engineer: Products need to be tested, often in the field. The test engineer will test a product to its engineering requirements. This can involve everything from subjecting a product to extreme temperatures, humidity, and dynamic environments to running electrical tests on the assembly line.
  • Instrumentation & Controls Engineer: The instrumentation and controls engineer takes process variables such as pressure, temperature, humidity, flow, and speed, etc. and uses them with control schemes to automate a production process.

In reality, there can be a lot of overlap between the different job titles in this list. The actual roles of job titles can vary from company to company. 

Career Prospects


Your degree and specialist knowledge will guarantee you excellent career opportunities around the world. You might find work in the electrical power industry, the renewable energy sector, the offshore industry, transport engineering, electronic engineering or telecommunications.

Electrical Engineering Careers List

  • Circuits Engineer
  • Controls Engineer
  • Design Engineer
  • Electrical Engineer
  • Instrumentation and Electrical Reliability Engineer
  • Power Systems Engineer
  • Project Engineer
  • Test Engineer

Computer Engineering Careers List

  • Computer Hardware Engineer
  • Field Service Engineer
  • Hardware Design Engineer
  • Network Engineer
  • Project Engineer
  • Systems Engineer
  • Systems Integration Engineer

Exam Regulations

Regular Ph.D programmes in the School are by thesis only.  Candidates will be required to undertake research guided by at least two supervisors competent in the subject area and field of research in which the candidate proposes to work.  The main supervisor must come from the Department where the student is registered. After the research, the candidate shall be required to submit a thesis for examination.  The programme shall take a minimum period of three (3) years and a maximum of six (6) years.

Examination  shall comprise two parts: (i) Independent written assessment of the thesis by Internal and external examiners (ii) oral examination of the thesis by a board of examiners as prescribed by the University of Nairobi statutes. 

Degree Award

Successful candidates shall be awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the respective area of specialization. Where a candidate’s thesis is assessed and found to require major revision, it shall be re-submitted once only for re-examination in a revised form within twelve months. Beyond this period, the candidate shall be discontinued.

Research Proposal Format (PHD AND MSC)

The proposal should be between 15 and 30 pages in length (News Time Roman-Font 12, double spaced OR Arial Font-12, 1.5 spacing). The left and right margins should be 25 mm (1 inch) and the top and bottom margin 30 mm (1.25 inches) and 20 mm (0.75  inches) respectively.

All proposals shall consist of the following sections: 

Front page, Table of Contents, Introduction (Study Background, Problem statement, Objective), Literature review, Materials and methods / Methodology, References, Work plan / Schedule of activities, Budget, Appendices.

The following shall be the format of the research proposal:

A.     Front/Title Page

The front page will consist of the following:

  • University Logo followed by University of Nairobi and School of Engineering
  • Project Title:  This shall be short, precise and descriptive of the study.
  • Candidate:  Full name and admission number followed by space for signature and date.
  • Supervisor(s):  Names of all supervisors, followed by signature and date.
  • Chairman of Department:  Signature and date.
  • Chairman SPSC:  Signature and date.
  • Dean SoE:  Signature and date.
  • Statement:  “A proposal submitted in fulfillment for the Degree of (insert name of degree)in the (insert Department where candidate is registered) in the University of Nairobi”.
  • Date:  Date of submission of proposal (month and year).

B.     Table of contents 

The second page should contain a table of contents with page numbers.

C.     Proposal Body

The body of the proposal should consist of the following subsections.

1. Introduction

Background

This section shall provide a brief overview of the proposed area of study.  It should be short (maximum four (4) pages); telling the reader what the study will be about and why it is important and timely. 

      Problem Statement / Statement of Research Problem

This section should provide brief information identifying the gaps in knowledge or problems to be addressed in the study.

      Objectives

      These should clearly state how the problem will be addressed. Research questions or

      hypothesis should be included and tally with the objectives.

2. Literature Review

This section shall present information on the evolution and present state of theory, practice and research of the topic proposed for investigation.  A candidate is expected to demonstrate review of most recent and relevant publications which must be properly cited in the references. This section may be organized with subheadings to represent different areas of emphasis. 

3. Materials AND Methods / Methodology

  • Focused on addressing the objectives of the study.
  • Detailed enough that the study is repeatable and reproducible.
  • Where standard methods are used, adequate reference should be provided  

4. Work Plan / Schedule of Activities

The work plan should indicate the duration of planned activities in a logical sequence.

5. Budget

  • Shall be based on all envisaged activities of the study.
  • Shall comprise costs relevant to the above activities, including all the materials and contingencies.

6. References

There are two widely used methods of citing references in documents such as a thesis or project report.   In the first method, the reference is cited as a number in the text, thus:  “These results are similar to those that have been found by other researchers [1, 2]”.   In this method, it is not necessary for the authors’ names to appear in the text, though they frequently appear.  In the references section, the cited references are then listed, in proper numerical sequence, as follows. The IEEE format also falls under this category.

1. WISMER, R. D. and H. J. LUTH.   Off-road traction prediction for wheeled

    vehicles. Journal of Terramechanics, 10(2):49-61.  1973.

2. KEPNER, R. A., R. BAINER and E. L. BARGER.  Principles of Farm Machinery,

    AVI Publishing Co., Inc. 1972.

In the second method, the authors’ names and the year of publication of cited literature are used in the text, in citing the literature, thus:  “These results are similar to those that were found by WISMER and LUTH (1973) and by KEPNER et al. (1972)”.  In the references section, the cited references are then listed, without numbering but in proper alphabetical order, as shown below:

KEPNER, R. A., R. BAINER and E. L. BARGER, (1972).  Principles of Farm Machinery, AVI Publishing Co., Inc.

WISMER, R. D. and H. J. LUTH, (1973).  Off-road traction prediction for wheeled vehicles.  Journal of Terramechanics, 10(2):49-61.

Note:All web-based cited references should be of reputable institutions to facilitate independent verification.

7. Appendices

The appendices should be clearly labelled and placed after the reference section.  The labelling system should be e.g. Appendix A (A1, A2 …), Appendix B (B1, B2), etc.  They should be listed in the table of contents.

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