Introduction

One thing I am very grateful in having early in my Computer Engineering journey was having a friend who was a year ahead of me that would answer any questions I had about courses or the major itself. It helped me immensely to have someone who helped guide me through the storm, so here I will do my best to give some tips and tricks on the classes you will take as well as recommendations and warnings for electives later on for your last 3 semesters.

:memo: Note: These are just my opinions based off my experience, please do not take this as gospel.

:question: Question not answered here? Feel free to email me at colehfeely@gmail.com

Table of Contents

Preface Points

Some things I think you should definitely know early on in your journey.

  1. Don’t Double Major in CS and CompE
    • That’s completely BS, no company is really going to care and you’re just going to be dying for 5 years instead of 4
  2. If you have any interest in business, you MUST take the Engineering Management Minor
    • Isenberg classes are very very restrictive and it’s a great opportunity to take classes outside of ECE and great if you are interesting in combining Tech and Business
    • Isenberg classes are very easy and can help your GPA
    • Downside is 5 extra classes through an already packed schedule
    • I only recommend if you are coming into College with 2+ Gen Eds from College credit or consider taking some Gen Eds at a community college over the summer
  3. If you get into the Honors College, keep it for the first two years for the housing (worth it) but consider not doing take any honors classes or do the thesis senior year
    • I know you have a high ego and you want to have that one part of your resume to show off to others but I promise your sanity is not worth it, most Honors Computer Engineers drop it
    • The Classes are insanely harder than the general classes for no extra credit whatsoever and will only hurt your GPA
    • You will already have your Senior Design Project Senior year and doing an honors thesis is too much work. Doing grunt work for a professor’s lab will not be fun combined with the amount of work SDP will be
    • Although, I have heard they removed the honors thesis requirement for ECE honors students - Companies could not give two shits whether you are in an honors college or not. If anything, they would care about your GPA more (remember the harder classes?), and they don’t really care about that to begin with. They care more about how good you can code/ your knowledge about EE or Comp E and what projects you have completed
  4. You are not an Engineering Major, you are an ECE major. After Freshman year, you have nothing in common with the other engineering majors. They basically become either applied Physics or Chemistry majors. Don’t do too much work with people outside of ECE because very soon, you will not be in class with them and other people will group up without you

Before Freshman Year

Yes I know, before your Freshman Year, you shouldn’t worry about school and you should focus on spending the rest of your time at home with your friends and having little responsibility or expectations. But there are definitely some things you need to know before heading into the course.

  1. Know what classes you can get credit for from High School
    • This is crucial because in ECE, you have a very busy first 3 years and taking a Gen Ed is a big time sink, getting a lot of those out of the way early on is crucial
  2. Your first year to year and a half, you will take a lot of general STEM classes
    • These are to give you the background knowledge/ understanding for your higher level classes later on
    • As a warning, these are weed out classes- in fact, the first two years are weed out classes
    • Physics and Calculus are challenging for many people and forces many of them out of the major
  3. BEFORE YOU GO TO YOUR ORIENTATION
    • You will refer to the curriculum chart below and do the following:
    • Go to your Spire and click on courses
    • Go to course search
    • Look up your courses (Math 131, Physics 151, English Writing)
    • Look up the professors on rate my professor and write these down
    • Note the ones that are too early or too late
    • When you go to Orientation, they will have you pick your classes. These people do not care about you and will make you have the worst schedule ever. But if you take these steps, you will know which classes to take so you aren’t dying in November
  4. Each ECE class has prerequesites
    • Why is this important? If you’re looking to graduate early or study abroad, you will need to look into which courses require other classes to rearrange your schedule
  5. Consider how important studying abroad is
    • If it’s a top priority of yours, talk to Bill Leonard(a super helpful and nice Professor) right away to see how this is possible
  6. Consider taking a minor
    • This is only feasible if you come into school with credits from high school courses

Curriculum

Above outlines which classes you will take through your time with the major. As you can see, in Comp E, the first year is a lot of general classes, but then your second year, you start taking all ECE classes. ECE is the only engineering major that starts taking pure Engineering classes this early, other engineering majors continue to take more math and science classes until junior year. You can start picking your classes Junior Year second semester, but until then, you only get to pick your Gen Ed classes.

 

:computer: Freshman Year

 

Fall (Semester 1)

Engineering 112

  • An introduction to ECE where professors try to show you the different things you can do in the field
  • Professors in the class:
    • Professor Wolf is amazing
    • Hollot is okay but up tight
    • Sequira is very weird
  • The homeworks will be hard on purpose and really long, I suggest going to TA office hours and finding other kids to collaborate with
  • There are some specific questions mixed with conceptual homework type questions on the exams  

Physics 151

  • This is a huge weed out class
  • Kids from all sorts of majors are here and its going to be a challenge to complete
  • The homeworks are all online and there are two three exams. The exams will be hard, some kids will find it very easy but don’t worry, later on you’ll all be on the same level with your courses. The exams are all multiple choice which is not a good thing
  • I recommend studying a week in advance, go over the practice exam multiple times, go over homework questions, go to office hours and find a study group to go over the practice exam with  

Math 131

  • Another major weed out class
  • A hack for this class is that there are 10 years worth of exams at your disposal online. All the exams have 8-10 types of questions which your exam will have as well. Practice the crap out of these questions. My goal was to get to the point that I could solve them without paying attention, which was great because most of the time I took the exams, I was falling asleep
  • Find a study group to practice all the practice exams with. I recommend getting a room at the library and each of use a white board and all do the problem at once then reviewing together
  • I felt guilty for some reason with this strategy, it really works for these types of classes  

English Writing 112

  • A grad student teaches you basic English. You should just write well and stay up to date with the course assignments
  • For a cheat code, just go to their office hours and introduce yourself, get them to review your rough draft  

Freshman Year Seminar

  • Literally just a class for you to meet people. Be friendly and make new friends  

Gen Ed

  • Pick one you need, go on rate my professor and make sure they have a good score and a decent class schedule  

:snowflake: Freshman Winter Break Tips

  • Over break, make sure to watch a bunch of intro to python videos to get an understanding of what’s going on. You should get yourself to be able to program a game.

  • If you’re bad at physics, watch some circuit videos on youtube.

  • Watch some boolean logic videos and solve some problems.

Spring (Semester 2)

ECE 122

  • This is a python programming course
  • If you’ve never programmed before, this class can seem very fast paced
  • Take notes by hand, believe me its easy to just type out your code from class and hit compile but you really need to go line by line and understand what everything is doing later on
  • Practice writing out your code on paper before exams, try to debug by hand
  • Go to office hours if you are running into errors
  • Try to debug your friends code
  • Programming requires a certain way of thinking and in this class is all about developing that

ECE 124

  • I am a TA in this class
  • This class starts easy and it seems like simple addition and subtraction at first but the last half of the semester picks up rapidly
  • You are really going to learn through the homeworks and discussion questions, so try and follow along in class
  • For exams, make sure you know everything out of the homework very well as well as the discussion and practice exam questions
  • Go to office hours :grin:

Physics 152

  • Same as Physics 151 tips
  • This class is focused on circuits, electricity and magnetism

Calculus 132

  • In my opinion, better than 131
  • Same strategy as Calc 131

Gen Ed

  • Take an easy Gen Ed here or take a class for your minor

 

:sunny: Rising Sophomore Summer Break Tips

  • Rarely do people get internships the summer after Freshman year so don’t feel bad if you don’t have one or a pressure to have one, companies don’t really look at you for internships until you are a Junior
  • I recommend getting a summer job and working on projects that you can put on your resume and/or used UMass’s LinkedIn learning resources to get certificates.

   

:microscope: Sophomore Year

:warning: This is your hardest year. Buckle up because you will struggle with your relationship with ECE until Spring Junior Year.

Fall (Semester 3)

ECE 201

  • This is a math course for ECE students
  • Differential Equations, Linear Algebra and Eurler’s math
  • Not bad, picks up with difficulty at the end
  • Highly recommend working with a group of people
  • To study, again know the shit out of the homework, discussion and practice exam questions. Be able to do them in your sleep

ECE 202

  • I was a tutor in this class
  • Mastering Matlab and Excel
  • Bill Leonard has a philosophy and really hammers it into you through this course
    • His philosophy is called Mastery and it’s basically doing an assignment over and over again until you get it completely right with no errors
    • Essentially his homeworks aren’t hard, but you have to get it perfect, meaning you will be submitting one assignment about 7+ times until it’s perfect
  • This class is a lot of work but the assignments are easy
  • My strategy was to do an assignment everyday and submit it, then resubmit assignments you got feedback on everyday
    • Do you remember that children’s game called something like “clear the yard” where two teams try to throw objects into the other team’s side and the team with the least amount of objects at the end wins? This class is basically that, you are just going to work on assignments and every time you get feedback, you submit it right away
  • This class is set up for you to succeed. If you get your bonus points by getting things in on time, you can get an A and be done with the class early
  • Go to tutoring as frequently as possible, they literally have the answer key
  • DO NOT PROCRASTIONATE
    • This class will fail you for procrastinating

ECE 241

  • This is advanced programming where you learn everything you will ever need to be a computer scientist
  • So if you are interested in software, PAY ATTENTION IN THIS CLASS AND TAKE BEAUTIFUL NOTES SO YOU CAN COME BACK LATER AND STUDY FOR INTERVIEWS
  • Projects are hard, exams are exactly like the practice exams
  • Work on projects with a group
  • Go to office hours when stuck
  • Use the Bill Leonard method: work on an assignment until you get stuck, then move onto something els. Do this everyday

ECE 210

  • A lot of people struggle in this class and complain a lot. They complain because they feel like there is a big difference between lecture and assignments. Yes, this is on purpose. Like how 241 is literally everything you need to get a job in Software, this course is everything you need to get a job in EE. There’s a lot to learn and like how 122 changed your brain, this class will too
  • Pay attention in class and take notes
  • Use different colors for your circuit diagrams
  • Practice the shit out of practice exams and homeworks, know how everything works
  • There are a few rules like KCL and KVL that will let you solve any circuit. Really practice those so you can solve all the problems easily

Gen Ed

  • Take another Gen Ed, make sure to go onto rate my professor and find the best one with a decent class schedule

:snowman: Sophomore Winter Break Tips

  • Honestly this break, just do nothing and just try and recooperate/ mentally prepare yourself for the next semester
  • Get your resume ready

Spring (Semester 4)

This is considered the hardest semester by many. This is mainly because CS 250 is the hardest CS class, let alone ECE. That’s a lot of work but 213 and 231 sneaks up on you with their assignments.

CS 250

  • Math course in Computer Science
  • Literally no tips, just bite the bullet, this class is god awful

ECE 213

  • This class you learn about signals and waves
  • Short exams, get ready to perform questions VERY quickly
  • No new tips really, strategy is show up to lecture, and try your best to pay attention. If notes are provided, use them for your homeworks and studying
  • Start studying as early as possible
  • This semester was so busy, I would study a day before and spend 24 hours on just this class, do not recommend

ECE 214

  • Probability and Stats
  • Most fair and easy class in ECE
  • Literally no excuse for not getting an A, they put this here because your other courses are terrible

ECE 231

  • Cool class, you learn to work with MCUs and building computer systems
  • Vital for your JDP and SDP
  • Completely project based with a final
  • Learn C here
    • PAY ATTENTION TO C
    • The next semester you have a brutal C class and being familiar with C will be super helpful
  • Work with a group
  • You’re going to be that weird carrying around a vase of electronics all day :/
  • Projects will seem very difficult

:sunny: Rising Junior Summer Break Tips

  • Again, no one expects you to have an internship at this point. If you do, you probably networked through your parents or family friends, which isn’t a bad thing!
  • Get a summer job and in your spare time, you need to study the crap out of interview questions that you would be asked and preparing your interview skills
  • For Computer Engineering or Sowftware jobs, read “Cracking the Coding Interview” and practice questions on LeetCode. For EE, there are definitely some resources out there to study with
  • Junior Year Fall is when you are going to be busting your ass looking for an internship and you won’t have any spare time to really study hard for those interviews, so get it out of the way now! You’ll thank yourself later

 

:floppy_disk: Junior Year

 

Fall (Semester 5)

You will be looking for an internship this semester and you will be busting your ass doing so. I recommend going to the Engineering Career Center and getting your resume perfected and practicing your interview skills with mock interviews

ECE 322

  • This is a Linux, C and bash class
  • One on the hardest required classes, if not the hardest
  • The way it works is that you have a certain amount of projects and grace days (days you can submit late)
    • You will need grace days later so try not to use them during the first projects
  • Your Projects will be things like building a Kernal in C
  • DO NOT REMOVE YOUR VIRTUAL MACHINE AFTER THIS SEMESTER
    • You will need it for other classes later on
  • Probably the most bullshit exams I have ever taken
    • He literally puts the most random and specific things ever
    • Only tip is to use the practice exam and really know whats going on with your code
    • His lectures are so terrible, he does not take the class seriously and says the most outlandish things ever, he’s laughing at how brutal his class is most of the time
    • You can go to lecture and right down the weirdest things he comes out with
    • “Homework Assignments aren’t meant for you to learn, but for you to suffer.”
  • Work with a group but try to write everything from scratch by yourself first, this will help for exams which are largely to do with bugs you would run into or random things you would encounter while doing the projects

ECE 331

  • Computer Architecture, you learn how computer chips work
  • If you are interested in chip design, you should love this class, if you don’t, look somewhere else
  • Very fair class
  • Two projects with Assembly
  • Very fair exams which are similar to the practice exams
  • Gummeson is a really nice guy, if you have any concerns, go to his office hour

ECE 371

  • You either love or hate Security Engineering
  • You learn about cryptography, how computers and software make their information and operations secure
  • Not many schools offer things like this, very unique opportunity
  • Burleson is a very famous researcher in the field
    • Because so, he doesn’t seem to care about this class and gives all his work to the TAs
    • I like to say that when you go to class and see the slides for the first time, so is Burleson
  • Labs are hard, get ready for some long days in DooDoo Hall (which is literally a shipping container with computers in it)
    • If you are interested in these labs, take ECE 332 next semester
  • Homeworks are easy
  • Exams are reasonable

Junior Year Writing Engineering 351

  • Go onto rate my professor and find the best one
  • Please do not take honors, this semester will be so hard if you do that to yourself
  • Most engineers cannot write or public speak, its why they are engineers
  • So if you can not read off of your phone during a presentation and write at a 10th grade level, you should get an easy A here
  • You can also opt to take this next semester instead

ECE 301

  • A 1 credit seminar where they try to show you what you can do with your major
  • A different Professor comes in once a week and lectures about a feild of study
  • Throwaway class really, can be useful if you don’t know what you’re interested in
  • My issue is that the professors only really talk about what people do research in
  • Most presenters are boring as hell

:snowflake: Junior Year Winter Break Tips

  • You should be continuing your Summer internship search if you have not found one already. Go all out and pull all the strings you have.

 

 

:warning: You are now entering the territory where you pick your own classes and take a design project each semester

 

:arrow_double_down: Design Projects

 

Junior Design Project

  • Second Semester Junior Year
  • Basically ECE 231 but you write reports like you would for Senior Design Project and things get very low level
  • Write easy testing requirements for yourself when the time comes

Senior Design Project

  • All of Senior Year
    • Only Engineering major that has this
  • Start finding people to work with early on
  • Have a bunch of ideas ready
  • Ask a professor you like to be your advisor ASAP during rising Senior summer
  • Every SDP group literally thought of an object and put smart in front of it like smart fish bowl, smart garden, smart shoes etc
  • My group got roped into a project that was harder than it should be

:twisted_rightwards_arrows: Electives:

:bulb: Note: A * indicates that I heard about it but didn’t take myself

:white_check_mark: Easy:

ECE 325

  • Second easiest class in ECE
  • Computer Networking (how computers across the world communicate)
  • I found it interesting
  • Easy homework and exams
  • A Must take for Comp E’s  

ECE 597SD

  • Embedded System Designs
  • If you liked JDP, take this class
  • No Exams
  • Only homework is to review a paper and answer questions on it
  • Projects were to read a paper and give a presentation about it
  • Like in Junior Year Writing, most engineers cannot public speak, so if you can talk, you should be golden
  • Project was pretty cool, you are given equipment and a unique research question to replicate; I embedded information over sound  

ECE 597LP

  • Low Power Embedded Systems
  • Basically 597SD but with a low power focus and its easier
  • Taught by Gummeson who is really nice
  • No Exams

 

:large_orange_diamond: Medium:

ECE 332

  • Only projects and a final exam
  • 1 lecture a month that is brutally 3 hours long
  • Need to go to lecture for the exam, there are no recordings or notes
  • Very easy until the final project (no one finished that, everyone brute forced the solutions to trick the TAs) and the final exam (super specific and random things that relate to the class)
  • An easy B+  

ECE 597AA

  • Artificial Intelligence in Wireless Based Networks
  • Super easy until the final project which was ridiculously hard, no one finished it
  • No way you could understand that material, it was super dense
  • Homework and Midterm Presentation was the same format at ECE 597SD
  • No Exam  

CS 383

  • Computer Science’s Artificial Intelligence class
  • Lots of cool but hard projects
  • Great to know how AI works, higher level CS stuff
  • Lots of information  

ECE 397Q

  • Quantum Computing
  • Interesting class so far, the professor is boring at teaching and is excited whenever you ask questions
  • Make sure you take with some friends
  • Presentation for a Midterm
  • Python Projects for Lab
  • Weekly Homework assignments that are similar to the class notes  

ECE 244*

  • Had an EE friend say it was challenging but not the end of the world
  • Don’t know why you would ever want to take a Physics class as a Comp E  

CS 403*

  • Intro to Robotics
  • Basically physics, not much to do with building robots  

CS 446*

  • Search Engines
  • Roommate had a tough time    

:red_circle: Hard:

ECE 588

  • VLSI
  • One of the hardest and most infamously brutal courses
  • Professor who made the class said not to take it, it’s too difficult
  • Must take if you’re interested in chip design  

ECE 559

  • Continuation of ECE 588  

ECE 341

  • Algorithms
  • The other infamously brutal course
  • Don’t do this to yourself please  

CS 311

  • Same as ECE 341  

ECE 310*

  • I know EE’s who die Junior year first semester because of this class  

ECE 311*

  • Same as ECE 310  

ECE 570

  • More Irwin from ECE 322, DO NOT DO THIS TO YOURSELF  

ECE 500 level Machine Learning *

  • People say this was a lot of work and to not take  

No idea:

I don’t know people who have bothered taking these or I can’t recall what they said about it  

  • ECE 315*
  • ECE 333*
  • ECE 334*
  • ECE 544*
  • ECE 547*
  • ECE 564*
  • ECE 565*
  • ECE 565*
  • ECE 571*
  • ECE 572*
  • ECE 580*