The Certificate Program in Electronics Technology

The Certificate Program in Electronics Technology is designed to provide the students with a broad-based knowledge of circuit theory and electronics, with laboratory work included to ensure that good hands-on experience is acquired along with the deep understanding of fundamental and changing technologies. All the courses in this certificate program can be applied towards the A.S. or B.S. degree in Electronic Engineering Technology.

Required Courses: (8)

17.213 Circuits I
17.214 Circuits II and Laboratory - Available Spring 2012!
17.215 Circuits III and Laboratory
17.216 Circuits IV - Available Spring 2012!
17.355 Electronics I and Laboratory
17.356 Electronics II and Laboratory - Available Spring 2012!
17.357 Electronics III and Laboratory
17.358 Electronics IV and Laboratory - Available Spring 2012!

Certificate Requirements

Students enrolled in UMass Lowell certificate programs must complete all courses, generally consisting of both required courses and electives. Students may complete the certificate program at their own pace, enrolling in one or two courses each semester. Courses on-campus typically meet one night per week, three hours each night, during the Fall and Spring semesters. Online students generally log on to their course site one or more times per week to retrieve lectures and assignments or to participate in a chat session. For more information on online courses, visit our online program home page.

In addition to the Fall and Spring semesters, students may also have the opportunity to accelerate their programs of study during two concentrated six-week Summer sessions. Online courses are also offered during the Summer semester, but typically run from May through August unless otherwise noted. All students should anticipate at least two hours of preparation for every hour of classroom instruction. Students are required to maintain a grade point average of 2.0 or better to receive the certificate.

Application into the Program

Those who wish to enroll in the certificate program should submit a completed application form and arrange to have their official high school transcript or GED sent to Continuing Studies. Applications, transcripts, and other correspondence should be sent to: University of Massachusetts Lowell, Admissions/Online and Continuing Education, Dugan Hall, Room 110, 883 Broadway Street, Lowell, MA 01854-5104. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis and there is no fee to apply. Upon acceptance, notification will be sent to students.

Registering for Courses

Continuing Studies offers courses during the Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer. Information about current course offerings, schedules, and registration procedures is published regularly on our website. If you would like to receive a printed Course Bulletin, please contact our Faculty and Student Support Center at (978) 934-2474.

You may take courses without being officially enrolled in a certificate or degree program, but you must meet the particular course prerequisites. Registrations are accepted on a first come, first served basis. Class size is limited. We recommend that you register early to reserve your place in class.

Transfer Policy

With the program coordinator's approval, one course may be transferred from another accredited institution to satisfy undergraduate certificate program requirements. The course should be equivalent to UMass Lowell instruction, applicable to the intended program, and the student must have received a grade equivalent to a C- (1.70 on a 4.00 scale) or better.

Academic Advising

Program Coordinators and Faculty and Student Support Specialists are available by appointment to help students determine appropriate course loads, discuss admission requirements, and review the transferability of courses. For online advising, email us at Continuing_Education@uml.edu. To schedule an appointment with a Program Coordinator or Faculty and Student Support Specialist, please call Online and Continuing Education at (978) 934-2474. General academic advising is also available at the Faculty and Student Support Center on a drop-in basis, located in Southwick Hall, Room 202 on UMass Lowell North. Call (978) 934-2474 or stop by the office Monday through Thursday between 8:30am-8:00pm and on Friday between 8:30am-5:00pm.

Awarding of Certificates

Upon successful completion of the certificate program, students must submit a completed Certificate Petition Form to Online and Continuing Education. Upon verification, students will be mailed their certificates. Receipt of the certificate will be noted formally on the student's transcript with an award date of October, February, or June.

Tuition

Please refer to our current course listings published online each semester for up-to-date pricing information or refer to the Online and Continuing Education Course Bulletin each semester.

For More Information

For additional information on any of our programs, call Online and Continuing Education at (978) 934-2474 or email Continuing_Education@uml.edu.

For information on Financial Aid, call the Financial Aid Office at (978) 934-4220.

Gainful Employment Disclosure Information

Completion rates, median loan debts and program costs are outlined for each certificate program.

Undergraduate Certificate Gainful Employment Disclosure Information

Course Descriptions

17.213 Circuits I

This course discusses: electrical circuits; voltage, current and resistance; energy, power and charge; Ohm's Law, Kirchhoff's Current Law and Kirchhoff's Voltage Law; simplification and conversion techniques for networks containing sources and/or resistance; Thevenin's and Norton's theorems; fundamentals of magnetism and magnetic circuits; properties of capacitance and inductance and associated transient behavior of circuits. 3 credits. Prerequisite: 92.125 (May be taken concurrently), 90.267.

17.214 Circuits II and Laboratory

This course provides a continuation of 17.213. Topics include sinusoidal waveforms, phasors, impedance and network elements. Mesh and nodal analysis of AC circuits; series and parallel circuits, superposition and Wye/Delta conversions are also covered. The use of power supplies and various electrical measuring instruments will be studied. DC circuit analysis concepts studied in 17.213 will be verified by laboratory experiments. Written reports are required. Alternate lecture and laboratory sessions. 2 credits. Prerequisite: 17.213.

17.215 Circuits III and Laboratory

This course serves as a continuation of 17.214. Topics to be discussed include maximum power transfer, real and reactive power; resonance; and polyphase systems. Oscilloscopes, voltage, current and phase measurements are demonstrated. Other topics include series and parallel sinusoidal circuits, series-parallel sinusoidal circuits, series resonance, parallel resonance and transformers. Filters, 2-port networks, computer aided circuit analysis (PSPICE). Computer terminals will be available in the laboratory and their use is expected. Written reports are required. Alternate lecture and laboratory sessions. 2 credits. Prerequisite: 17.214.

17.216 Circuits IV

Advanced Circuits is a continuation of passive circuit analysis, where the student is introduced into the frequency domain. LaPlace techniques are used to analyze electric circuits using sources and elements similar to those in earlier circuit analysis courses. The concept of boundary conditions is introduced along with initial value and final value theorems. There is a brief review of mathematical concepts such as logarithm, exponential functions and partial fraction expansion to aid the student for newer analysis techniques. The S plane is introduced as a graphical technique to plot the poles and zeros of a function and acquire an insight into the time domain. The dualities of electrical elements in other engineering fields (mechanical, fluids and thermal) are introduced and analyzed using LaPlace techniques. Bode plots are used as another tool to gain insight into the time domain. The cascade interconnect is introduced along with the concept of transfer functions and the impulse response. Filter circuits are again analyzed but this time in the frequency domain using the concepts of LaPlace and Bode. 3 credits. Prerequisite: 17.215.

17.355 Electronics I and Laboratory

This course introduces Electronics from a fundamental perspective and analyses of circuits from a practical point of view. Semiconductor devices and their application are stressed. This course surveys the operating characteristics of pn junction diodes, transistors and operational amplifiers, and analyzes their application in actual circuits. The use of diodes in power switching circuits and the use of transistors in logic circuits and amplifiers will be covered extensively. Examples and homework, based on present-day applications, are designed to provide practice in the use of fundamental concepts and applications. It is expected that following the four-course electronic sequence, students will be able to use the textbook used in this course or other professional level electronic texts for further study of specific electronic topics. The course includes computer applications in solving problems involving models of electronic devices and circuits. Coverage of some topics is based on notes handed out that augments coverage in Sedra and SMith. 2 credits. Prerequisite: 17.215, 42.226.

17.356 Electronics II and Laboratory

This is the second course in a series of four courses with Labs. It introduces Electronics from a fundamental perspective and analyzes circuits from a practical point of view. Semiconductor devices and their application are stressed. P-and N-channel MOSFETs and junction field effect transistors (FET) will be introduced and discussed. These include linear small-signal AC models, and amplifier. This course surveys the operating characteristics of MOSFET and bipolar junction transistors (BJT) its circuit symbols; nonlinear large signal behavior and operational amplifiers, and analyses; their application in actual circuits. Large signal piecewise linear DC circuits, and small signal AC circuits will be studied. This course will include MOSFET and BJT as used in amplifiers, switches cut-off and saturation will be discussed. Examples and homework, based on present day applications, are designed to provide practice in the use of fundamental concepts, and applications. It is expected that following the four course electronic sequence, students will be able to use the textbook used in this course or other professional level electronic texts for further study of specific electronic topics. The course includes computer applications in solving problems involving models of electronic devices and circuits. Coverage of some topics is based on notes handed out that augments coverage in Sedra and Smith. 2 credits. Prerequisite: 17.215, 17.355, 42.226, 92.126

17.357 Electronics III and Laboratory

This course introduces Electronics from a fundamental perspective and analyses of circuits from a practical point of view. It is expected that following the four course electronic sequence, students will be able to use the textbook used in this course or other professional level electronic texts for further study of specific electronic topics. The following topics will be covered: review BJT and MOSFET, differential amplifiers, and frequency response of different types of amplifiers will be discussed, diff. pair, small signal analysis, biasing, current source, active load CMOS, Frequency response, Bode Plots cascode configuration. 2 credits. Prerequisite: 17.356.

17.358 Electronics IV and Laboratory

This course provides the student with the understanding of feedback. The course covers the feedback equations, the four topologies of feedback, two port theory, Bode Plots, active filters, Weinbridge Oscillators, and power amplifiers. There are two experiments the first covers finite gain, finite band width, output resistance, input resistance, and nonlinear distortion. The second covers multiple poles and loop stability, stabilization with three coincident poles, and loop gain for oscillation. 2 credits. Prerequisite: 17.357