UNT’s Electrical Engineering Department was founded in Spring 2005 after the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) approved the formation of the department based on a proposal submitted by the university in 2004.

The department started with four faculty members — department chair Murali Varanasi, Hai Deng, Parthasarathy Guturu, and Xinrong Li.

The department received one million dollars to offer a “Project- and Design-Oriented Innovative Electrical Engineering Program.” The THECB approved the Bachelors program in Electrical Engineering in 2005 and the Masters program in Fall 2007.

In 2007, the E.E. department received a Nugget — a special performance recognition — from the National Science Foundation.

These are some of the documents and research presentations cited in the founding the Electrical Engineering department.

• Innovative Approaches to Education
• "Work In Progress" presentation paper Our program's strategy for individual courses.
• Project-based Course Remodeling Our methodology for creating project-based classes focusing on learning-to-learn principles.