电机工程学是以电子学、电磁学等物理学分支为基础，涵盖电子学、电子计算机、电力工程、电信、控制工程、信号处理等子领域的一门工程学。十九世纪后半期以来，随着电报、电话、电能在供应与使用方面的商业化，该学科逐渐发展为相对独立的专业领域。

电机工程广义上涵盖该领域的分支，但在有些地方，「电机工程学」（英语：Electrical Engineering）一词的意义有时不包括「电子工程学」（英语：Electronic Engineering）。 这个情况下，「电机工程学」是指涉及到大能量的电力系统（如电能传输、重型电机机械及电动机），而「电子工程」则是指处理小信号的电子系统（如计算机和集成电路）。

Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. This field first became an identifiable occupation in the latter half of the 19th century after commercialization of the electric telegraph, the telephone, and electric power distribution and use. Subsequently, broadcasting and recording media made electronics part of daily life. The invention of the transistor, and later the integrated circuit, brought down the cost of electronics to the point they can be used in almost any household object.