Bachelor of Engineering in Semiconductor and Microelectronic Engineering
Integrated circuits are the physical substrate of every intelligent system, and the discipline has been identified as a strategic priority in every serious industrial policy in the world. Africa currently designs almost none of them. Fabric...
Employment thesis
What this programme is designed to produce
Forward publishes the destination of every programme before you enrol. If the thesis stops holding, the programme is reviewed and, where necessary, retired. Next review: 2031.
Roles
- Digital and analogue IC design engineer
- verification engineer
- physical design engineer
- test and characterisation engineer
- embedded hardware engineer
- FPGA engineer
- electronics design consultant.
Employer types
- Global semiconductor design houses hiring remote design and verification capacity
- electronics manufacturers
- telecommunications equipment vendors
- instrumentation firms
- research institutes
- and hardware start ups.
Target outcomes we hold ourselves to
- Verification and physical design in particular are globally supply constrained roles routinely staffed remotely, giving graduates access to international compensation from Kampala.
Compulsory · The Forward Core
How the Core works →Every Forward programme, including this one, carries the same five cross-cutting requirements. They are graded, not optional.
- AI Fluency
- Quantitative Reasoning
- Ethics and African Context
- Human-Advantage Skills
- Enterprise
Includes 12 months paid work-integrated learning
Am I eligible?
Check yourself against the published requirements
7 questions written specifically for Bachelor of Engineering in Semiconductor and Microelectronic Engineering. Every answer is checked against a requirement Forward has published, and the result tells you which page that requirement comes from. Indicative only, the admissions office decides on your full file.
What is the highest qualification you hold or are completing?
Curriculum structure
The same degree, in both pathways
Every Forward programme is published in both pathways: Path One, the term plan of two six-month terms, and Path Two, the block sequence of twelve four-week blocks. Same competencies, same assessments, same award. Toggle to see this programme in each.
Path One term plan shown
Path One · The Term Model
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 101 | AI Fluency I: How Intelligent Systems Work Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| IEM 110 | Engineering Mathematics I Objective | 5 | 4-2-0 |
| IEM 111 | Physics for Electronics: Fields and Devices Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| IEM 112 | Programming for Engineers Performance | 4 | 1-2-4 |
| IEM 113 | Electronics Laboratory and Instrumentation Practicum Performance | 4 | 1-0-6 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 102 | Quantitative Reasoning and Evidence Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| IEM 130 | Engineering Mathematics II Objective | 5 | 4-2-0 |
| IEM 131 | Electrical Circuits and Network Analysis Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| IEM 132 | Digital Logic Design and HDL Practicum Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| IEM 133 | Materials Science for Electronics Both | 3 | 1-2-2 |
| COP 190 | Workplace Immersion (4 weeks, recess term) Performance | 0 | 0-0-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 201 | Ethics, Society and the African Context Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| IEM 210 | Semiconductor Device Physics Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| IEM 211 | Analogue Circuit Design Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| IEM 212 | Computer Architecture and Microprocessors Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| IEM 213 | Signals, Systems and Transforms Objective | 3 | 2-2-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 202 | Human Advantage: Argument, Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| COP 290 | Co-operative Education Placement I (6 months) Performance | 10 | 0-0-0 |
| IEM 230 | Digital Integrated Circuit Design (CMOS) Performance | 6 | 3-2-4 |
| IEM 231 | Probability, Statistics and Yield Objective | 2 | 1-2-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 301 | AI Fluency II: Building, Evaluating and Auditing Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| IEM 310 | Advanced Analogue and Mixed Signal Design Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| IEM 311 | Functional Verification and Coverage Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| IEM 312 | Embedded Systems and System on Chip Design Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| IEM 313 | Electromagnetics and High Speed Signal Integrity Both | 3 | 1-2-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 302 | Enterprise, Employability and Financial Literacy Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| COP 390 | Co-operative Education Placement II (6 months) Performance | 10 | 0-0-0 |
| IEM 330 | Physical Design, Floorplanning and Timing Closure Performance | 6 | 3-2-4 |
| IEM 331 | Semiconductor Supply Chains and Economics Objective | 2 | 1-2-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 401 | AI Fluency III: Domain Deployment, Governance and Assurance Both | 3 | 1-2-0 |
| IEM 410 | Radio Frequency and Communication Circuits Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| IEM 411 | Test, Characterisation and Failure Analysis Performance | 5 | 1-0-8 |
| IEM 412 | Hardware for Machine Learning: Accelerator Design Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| IEM 413 | Specialisation Elective I Objective | 4 | 3-2-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 402 | Capability Portfolio and Day One Preparation Both | 3 | 1-2-0 |
| IEM 430 | Microelectronics Capstone: Tapeout Project (silicon returned) Performance | 9 | 0-2-16 |
| IEM 431 | Packaging, Reliability and Thermal Design Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
| IEM 432 | Engineering Economics and Project Management Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| IEM 433 | Professional Engineering Practice, Ethics and Registration Objective | 4 | 3-2-0 |
Total credit units: 179
Curriculum source
Forward University Curriculum Compendium
Assessment
Coursework + project + integrated exam
Work-integrated learning
12 months paid co-operative education
Your week at Forward
A typical week on Bachelor of Engineering in Semiconductor and Microelectronic Engineering
Path One, the Term Model: your own pace across a six-month term, one live session a week, short flexible lessons, and assessment on demand.
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Curriculum explorer
Drill into the degree, step by step
Choose a study path, then a year, then a term or block, then a course. Credit totals add up as you go, and every course shows what comes before it and what it unlocks.
Step 1, choose a year
Step 2, choose a term
TERM 1 (SIX MONTHS) | FORMERLY YEAR 1, SEMESTER 1
Year 1 · this step is worth 22 CU
Cumulative
22
Programme total
176
22 CU of 176 CU completed by the end of this step (13%)
Step 3, choose a course
Pick a course to see the detail
Credits, assessment, prerequisites and what each course unlocks later.
The twelve Forward capabilities
What this programme develops in you
Every Forward degree develops the same twelve cross-cutting capabilities. The profile below is the level this programme is designed to develop and verify by graduation, on the four-level scale in Part B2 of the Curriculum Compendium. Every claim above Level 2 is verified by someone other than the teaching lecturer.
- C1Intelligent Systems FluencyLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C2Quantitative and Evidential Reasoning CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C3Ethical and Contextual JudgementLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C4Communication and PersuasionLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C5Disciplinary Mastery CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C6Technical Production and Craft CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C7Problem Framing and Systems ThinkingLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C8Collaboration and Multidisciplinary TeamingLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C9Enterprise, Value and Commercial LiteracyLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C10Professional Conduct and Workplace PerformanceLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C11Learning to Learn and Adaptive Capacity CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C12Stewardship and Public ContributionLevel 3 of 4, Independent
Critical capabilities for this programme: Quantitative and Evidential Reasoning · Disciplinary Mastery · Technical Production and Craft · Learning to Learn and Adaptive Capacity. A graduate cannot pass out of this programme below the stated level on any capability marked critical.
Programme Learning Outcomes
What you will be able to do
Each outcome is assessed, and each is tagged with the Forward capabilities it is verified against.
- PLO 1Explain semiconductor device physics and relate device behaviour to circuit performance.
- PLO 2Design, simulate and lay out digital and analogue integrated circuits to a specification.
- PLO 3Write and execute a verification plan, including coverage driven and formal methods.
- PLO 4Take a design through the physical implementation flow to a tapeout ready database.
- PLO 5Design, program and debug embedded systems and system on chip platforms.
- PLO 6Characterise and test fabricated silicon and diagnose failures.
- PLO 7Assess the supply chain, cost and geopolitical constraints of semiconductor products.
- PLO 8Learn a new electronic design automation toolchain independently.
Why this programme exists
Integrated circuits are the physical substrate of every intelligent system, and the discipline has been identified as a strategic priority in every serious industrial policy in the world. Africa currently designs almost none of them. Fabrication is capital prohibitive in Uganda for the foreseeable future, and this programme does not pretend otherwise; it is built around design, verification, test and packaging, which are the labour intensive, exportable and immediately employable segments of the value chain. Students tape out real designs through multi project wafer shuttle services and receive physical silicon they have designed, which no other undergraduate programme in the region offers.
Admission requirements
UACE with two principal passes in Physics and Mathematics, plus UCE with five passes including Mathematics, Physics and English. Alternative pathways: Foundation Year, diploma entry with advanced standing, mature age entry and recognition of prior learning, all governed by Part A5 and Part G. Online applicants additionally complete the compulsory Digital Readiness orientation under Part D6.
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