A thermal boundary layer is established by heating a vertical plate in a dielectric liquid. An alternating voltage is applied between the heated plate and another plate which is not parallel to the heated plate. This voltage produces a non-uni- form electric field which in turn produces electrical forces acting on the gradients in dielectric permittivity which result from the temperature gradients. These electrical forces alter the boundary layer. In this paper approximate equations are developed which allow one to calculate the boundary-layer,thickness, velocity, and Nusselt numbers for the boundary layer in the presence of the non-uniform electric field. Numerical calculations show that the heat-transfer coefficient can be either increased or decreased by the non-uniform field, depending on whether the field is strongest at the top or bottom of the plates and also on the field strength. Experiments were performed which demonstrate the change in heat transfer caused by the non-uniform field.