The Faculty of Electrical Engineering was established in 1965 as the second faculty of the university. The initiator of the creation of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering was the organizer of higher education in Rzeszów – prof. Roman Niedzielski, and the organizer of the first teaching teams was PhD Jerzy Sozański, who also became the first dean of the Faculty in 1965-1967.
Initially, at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering only engineers were educated during 4-year full-time studies and 4.5-year extramural and evening studies. Classes started on September 1 and ended on June 30 of the following year. A characteristic feature of day studies was a 1-semester internship in the first year of studies carried out at many production departments of the Communication Equipment Factory in Rzeszów. The number of students during this period was 80-100 people.
Until the mid-1970s, the following teaching teams operated at the Faculty:
- Industrial Electrical Engineering (head: PhD Jerzy Sozański),
- Machines and Electromachine Drives (head: PhD Zygmunt Bajorek),
- Electrical Engineering and Metrology (head: PhD Irena Kuzora),
- Electronics, Automatics and Telemechanics (head: MSc Włodzimierz Kalita).
Despite the diverse scientific specialties of the employees, the Faculty was entitled to educate students in one specialization: industrial electrical engineering.
From 1970, the organizational units of the university were transformed into research institutes. After this change in 1973, the Electrotechnical Institute was established as a faculty. At the same time, the Electrotechnical Institute received the right to educate students at the master's level within 4.5-year full-time studies. Three introduced specializations were: automatics and metrology, construction of electrotechnical machines and devices as well as processing and use of electricity. Extramural and evening engineering studies were continued. Extramural studies were also conducted at consultation points, first in Tarnobrzeg, and then in Przemyśl. A 2-year supplementary master's degree program has been opened for electrical engineers.
The 1980s brought a dynamic development of the Faculty staff and an amendment to the Act on Higher Education. The Act on Higher Education of 1982 introduced the election of academic authorities (rector, dean, university senate, faculty council). The staff development of the university was particularly visible in the increase in the number of habilitated doctors and doctors. Two institutes were established at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering: Electrical Engineering (with the departments of Power Electronics and Electrical Power Engineering, Electrical Machines, Theoretical Electrical Engineering and Electrodynamics) and Automation and Metrology (with departments: Automation, Electrical and Electronic Metrology, Fundamentals of Electronics and Electronic Systems). The 1980s also gave a dynamic growth in research work for industry in the region and in Poland. A foreign cooperation also was developed (Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, the Soviet Union).
The modified Act on Higher Education of September 12, 1990 was an impulse to transform the profile of didactic activity. The Act increased the powers of the Faculty Council to establish new specializations and to amend study plans and programs. Responding to the numerous demands of students and candidates for studies, a new specialty was established, electronic apparatus, and the specialty of processing and use of electricity was reactivated, moreover the specialization: automation and metrology was transformed into two specialties: automation and computer engineering, as well as metrology and measurement systems. The education offer has been extended to 4-year full-time engineering studies. These organizational changes were also reflected in the program changes - the adaptation of the content provided to students to the dynamic development of electrical engineering, automation and electronics, and especially the widespread use of computer science.
In 1989, the institutes were closed and the organizational structure of the Rzeszów University of Technology was simplified. Until now, the organizational units of faculties are chairs and departments. In 1996, students in the field of computer engineering began their studies at the Faculty for the first time, and in 1999 the Faculty was authorized to award a doctoral degree in the discipline of electrical engineering.
On December 6, 2000, the Minister of National Education changed the name of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering to the Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering. On October 1, 2005, the first students of electronics and telecommunications began their education. In 2009, the creation of two new fields of study was approved: automation and robotics, and power engineering. In January 2010, the Faculty was granted the right to confer the academic degree of habilitated doctor of technical sciences in the discipline of electrical engineering. And in May 2012, the right to award the academic degree of doctor of technical sciences in the discipline of computer science.
From the academic year 2011/2012, the Faculty conducts doctoral studies in the scientific discipline of electrical engineering, and from 2013/2014, doctoral studies in the scientific discipline of computer science are conducted.
Important dates in the history of the Faculty:
1963 The first graduate electrical engineers start their studies; first at the Faculty of General Technology (4 semesters), then at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the University of Engineering in Rzeszów.
1965 Establishment of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the Engineering University in Rzeszów.
1970 Establishment of the faculty structure.
1973 Beginning of graduate studies at the academic level.
1974 Establishment of the Rzeszów University of Technology Ignacy Łukasiewicz from the University of Engineering in Rzeszów.
1978 Promotion of the first graduates with the professional title of Master of Science in Engineering.
1981 Return to the faculty structure at the Rzeszów University of Technology. The first democratic elections of academic authorities at the Rzeszów University of Technology.
1989 Resumption of extramural studies.
1990 Obtaining the right to independently shape study plans and programs in the field of electrical engineering and to establish new educational specialties.
1992 First exchange of student education with foreign universities.
1996 Stat of education in the field of computer engineering.
1999 Obtaining the right to award the academic degree of doctor in the discipline of electrical engineering.
2000 Change of the name of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering to the Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
2002 Organization of the 12th National Congress of the Deans of the Faculties of Electrical, Electronics and Computer Science.
2002 First public defence of a doctoral dissertation in the discipline of electrical engineering.
2004 Positive evaluation of the State Accreditation Committee for the field of computer engineering.
2005 Start of education in the field of electronics and telecommunications.
2006 Positive evaluation of the State Accreditation Committee for the study in electrical engineering.
2009 Start of two new fields of study: automatics and robotics and power engineering.
2010 Obtaining the rights to award the academic degree of habilitated doctor in the discipline of electrical engineering.
2010 Positive assessment of the National Accreditation Committee for the studies: computer engineering, electronics and telecommunications.
2012 Obtaining the right to award the academic degree of doctor in the discipline of computer science.
2013 Establishing doctoral studies in the discipline of computer science.
2014 Positive institutional assessment of the Faculty.
2015 The first public defence of a doctoral dissertation in the discipline of computer science. Obtaining the right to conduct second-cycle studies in the field of power engineering.
2019 Positive program evaluation of the Polish Accreditation Committee for the studies: computer engineering and electrical engineering.
2021 Start of education in the field of electromobility.