Disclosed herein is a method for parameter identification in a switched reluctance electric machine comprising: operating the switched reluctance electric machine in response to a desired command; and measuring an actual operating characteristic of the switched reluctance electric machine. The method also includes: modeling the switched reluctance electric machine to formulate an estimated operating characteristic based on the desired command; comparing the actual operating characteristic and the estimated operating characteristic to formulate an error there between; and determining a parameter estimate for the switched reluctance machine based on the error and a previous parameter estimate. Also disclosed herein is a system for estimating a parameter for a switched reluctance electric machine comprising: a switched reluctance electric machine including a sensor generating and transmitting a sensor signal indicative of a sensed characteristic; and a controller operatively coupled to the sensors executing the abovementioned methodology.