Recommend me some courses to take

[TecHNooB]

Taking any and all opinions! State why you feel the course is important. I will locate the equivalent for my university.

 

[Cogman]

Important.. IDK. But by far the funnest class I've taken was Computer Architecture. Talking about how modern microprocessors work is just fascinating to me.

 

[esun]

I'd basically recommend going for the highest level classes you can take in any given area.

For example, if you've taken all the undergraduate circuit classes, go for a graduate level class. Or if you haven't taken all the undergraduate ones, take the one that is most advanced that you've met the prereqs for. Something like RF circuit design is typically a senior-level EE course in circuits.

There might be some project-focused courses you can take which I'd highly recommend. We had a course with a very large FPGA design project that was very popular. In the RF course we had to design and build filters and LNAs using discrete components. There was also a project course which had students build a NATCAR car (I didn't take this class myself but know people that did).

If you're not as much into circuit design and are in, for example, device design or solid-state physics, communications, or signal processing, most likely you won't have a big project course to take (or at least not as big as some of the circuit projects), but you can still just take the most advanced courses available in those areas.

BTW, the reason I recommend project courses is because they teach you far more useful things than courses that are mostly theory based. Employers will ask you about the projects you list on your resume and will be interested in the tools you've used. If you've never used Verilog/VHDL for a big project, if you've never programmed a microcontroller, if you aren't familiar with Cadence and Xilinx tools, you'll be at a disadvantage compared to others.

 

[Born2bwire]

This really depends on your area of specialization. By senior year you should be working towards a set of classes that will give you a core background in a certain area. This is not absolutely necessary but it will help a lot if you want to work in a specific industry, career, or study in gradute school.

 

[TecHNooB]

Originally posted by: Born2bwire
This really depends on your area of specialization. By senior year you should be working towards a set of classes that will give you a core background in a certain area. This is not absolutely necessary but it will help a lot if you want to work in a specific industry, career, or study in gradute school.

Yea... I have a hard time deciding on this. Right now, I'm signed up for...

E&M (Required) 3cr
Java/C++ OOP (Not necessary but I feel I need this) 3cr
Semiconductor Physics (Apparently it's a dumb class but a pre-req to some goodies) 3cr
Digital Signal Processing (Not sure I need this but I killed intro signal processing last sem) 4cr
General Elective 3cr
Engineering Seminar 1cr

It's recommended that you don't take more than 4 ECE courses per semester unless you want a real headache.

The only reason I'm taking semiconductor physics is because it's a pre-req to integrated circuits engineering which could possibly just be mosfets on paper again. Not sure this is worth taking but it might be.

I would also like to take a course on motors (I guess robots have to move right? lol), ASIC, and microprocessor architecture.

The motors course has a lab component which generally takes a while. The ASIC course also has a lab component. I may have to take both of these in the spring at the same time I'm taking senior design. The microprocessor is a CmpE course but I wanna do cool shit like microprocessor design. They make a dual core in that course ~_~ albeit it's only simulator but w/e.

So my main issue is... I just wanna take the classes where they make cool shit but that may not be the right way to go about things. I'm not interested in what any employer wants though, I wanna learn cool shit 🙁

 

[William Gaatjes]

Originally posted by: TecHNooB
Taking any and all opinions! State why you feel the course is important. I will locate the equivalent for my university.

Everything you have a natural talent for and like to do ...

And i mean this in a serious way.

If you are i assume going to work for 3/4 of your life like the most of us, you might as well choose a study about something you like, never get bored of and makes you see your work as a hobby. That way work is fun. At least that is my phylosophy about work.
Or if you already did, choose a study the augment your knowledge about what you like the most to make life easy.


A girlfriend or a wife (or a boyfriend or husband) is or can be a hobby too, i know 🙂

 

[RedArmy]

It sucks you don't have a Senior Lab where you work on a project for the entire school year. We got to experience it in a little way in Junior lab last semester and while it was a lot of work, we learned A LOT about pretty much everything and it was mostly all hands-on (minus writing a boat-load of reports). This upcoming year we spend the first semester getting our project, working out all the requirements and specs and what not, and then the following semester we build, test, and present it to the Engineering department.

I'm a CoE Major so my courses may differ from yours but my schedule for the last school year and this upcoming semester is/was:

Junior Year Fall Semester:
Signals and Systems
Electronics I
Digital Systems Design
ECE Seminar II
Discrete Mathematics

Junior Year Spring Semester:
Computer Architecture
Computer Communications and Networking (Still need to take this)
Design Lab
General Education Elective

Senior Year Fall Semester:
Senior Project I
Technical Elective 1
Operating Systems
General Education Elective

 

[TecHNooB]

Originally posted by: RedArmy
It sucks you don't have a Senior Lab where you work on a project for the entire school year. We got to experience it in a little way in Junior lab last semester and while it was a lot of work, we learned A LOT about pretty much everything and it was mostly all hands-on (minus writing a boat-load of reports). This upcoming year we spend the first semester getting our project, working out all the requirements and specs and what not, and then the following semester we build, test, and present it to the Engineering department.

I'm a CoE Major so my courses may differ from yours but my schedule for the last school year and this upcoming semester is/was:

Junior Year Fall Semester:
Signals and Systems
Electronics I
Digital Systems Design
ECE Seminar II
Discrete Mathematics

Junior Year Spring Semester:
Computer Architecture
Computer Communications and Networking (Still need to take this)
Design Lab
General Education Elective

Senior Year Fall Semester:
Senior Project I
Technical Elective 1
Operating Systems
General Education Elective

I could be taking labs but my schedule is already full. Might take the ASIC lab. Having a hard time figuring out how I'm going to take all the courses im interested in before I graduate ~_~ There's 2 options.

Option 1: Take an extra semester. Apparently, this idea is completely stupid.
Option 2: put myself through additioanl torture and take more classes.

 

[Born2bwire]

Originally posted by: TecHNooB

Originally posted by: Born2bwire
This really depends on your area of specialization. By senior year you should be working towards a set of classes that will give you a core background in a certain area. This is not absolutely necessary but it will help a lot if you want to work in a specific industry, career, or study in gradute school.

Yea... I have a hard time deciding on this. Right now, I'm signed up for...

E&M (Required) 3cr
Java/C++ OOP (Not necessary but I feel I need this) 3cr
Semiconductor Physics (Apparently it's a dumb class but a pre-req to some goodies) 3cr
Digital Signal Processing (Not sure I need this but I killed intro signal processing last sem) 4cr
General Elective 3cr
Engineering Seminar 1cr

It's recommended that you don't take more than 4 ECE courses per semester unless you want a real headache.

The only reason I'm taking semiconductor physics is because it's a pre-req to integrated circuits engineering which could possibly just be mosfets on paper again. Not sure this is worth taking but it might be.

I would also like to take a course on motors (I guess robots have to move right? lol), ASIC, and microprocessor architecture.

The motors course has a lab component which generally takes a while. The ASIC course also has a lab component. I may have to take both of these in the spring at the same time I'm taking senior design. The microprocessor is a CmpE course but I wanna do cool shit like microprocessor design. They make a dual core in that course ~_~ albeit it's only simulator but w/e.

So my main issue is... I just wanna take the classes where they make cool shit but that may not be the right way to go about things. I'm not interested in what any employer wants though, I wanna learn cool shit 🙁

I've taken all those classes. I would recommend of course any E&M class but that is my own personal bias. DSP is very useful because the mathematics and tools that you learn can be applied to a large variety of problems. Optimization problems arise in many areas outside of DSP but the means to solve them are very close to the methods used in signal processing. You will just get a general background in the undergrad DSP, the graduate level DSP is very useful too.

Solid state physics is not just MOSFET's on paper, it is talking about the quantum mechanical model for semiconductor behavior. It is very useful to take because the idea of band structure will pop up in any discussion of crystals.

If you are interested in robots, take a signals and controls course. That will cover the mathematics behind control theory, the idea of taking an input and using that to help achieve a desired output. Like taking in the rotation of a wheel via a magnetic sensor and using that as feedback to control the speed of movement. This also will mesh with signal processing too as the filters and feedback controls are another aspect of the toolkit in DSP.

 

[CP5670]

If you are interested in robots, take a signals and controls course. That will cover the mathematics behind control theory, the idea of taking an input and using that to help achieve a desired output. Like taking in the rotation of a wheel via a magnetic sensor and using that as feedback to control the speed of movement. This also will mesh with signal processing too as the filters and feedback controls are another aspect of the toolkit in DSP.

I'm not actually an EE (more of a math student working on EE problems), but if you're simply looking to learn something interesting, these areas will certainly fit the bill. :thumbsup:

 

[MoMeanMugs]

Controls courses are fun, but the ones I took were out of date. A class on antenna theory would highly useful, even if you want to design high-frequency circuits. A telecommunications course would be fun, if you enjoy math and signal analysis. I would say take what you are going to have the most fun doing. Most employers are still going to look at you as a dumb college kid when you graduate. 😉

 

[KIAman]

My favorite class for CS was Ethical Hacking or Artificial Intelligence.

EE... I would most likely choose something dealing with robotics or automation. Fun times.

 

[Modelworks]

Take something that every EE isn't taking. I have seen many people hired faster because they had taken courses that every EE hasn't been taking. A friend had some courses in anatomy and biology. Just 3 courses. When you go to work at places like medical equipment producers, they can get an EE just about anywhere, but an EE who knows the difference between a blood vessel and a nerve is a harder find. Not saying take biology, but try to think of things that also interest you but might make you standout from everyone else who is only thinking about electricity related items. Maybe something related to how humans interact with machines on a psychological level, etc.

Another big one is languages. If you can speak multiple languages as an EE you are much more in demand . When at Sandia we often had to collaborate with foreign companies and people that can speak the language get the bonuses.

 

[armstrda]

Badminton was an awesome class.

 

[TecHNooB]

Bleh, I might end up settling with this schedule. This semester is going to blow hard 🙁 Also TA for a microcontrollers lab (aka, assembly programming).
Really wanted to replace that ME270 with a nice and easy econ course but the econ department is a PITA.

ECE 30500 West Lafayette UG Semiconductor Devices

3.000
ECE 31100 West Lafayette UG Elec & Magnetic Fields

3.000
ECE 40000 West Lafayette UG Elec Engr Undergrd Sem

1.000
ECE 43800 West Lafayette UG Dig Sig Proc With Appl

4.000
ECE 46200 West Lafayette UG Obj Or Prog C++ & Java

3.000
ME 27000 West Lafayette UG Basic Mechanics I

3.000

 

[theeedude]

Something in the arts or humanities.

 

[chorb]

Like its been said, try to get into a senior design class if they're offered. Often you get to choose what you work on (ie. design circuits, write code, combine the two) and it makes for some interesting learning experiences that will apply to the real work place if you plan to go that route.

 

[TecHNooB]

Originally posted by: chorb
Like its been said, try to get into a senior design class if they're offered. Often you get to choose what you work on (ie. design circuits, write code, combine the two) and it makes for some interesting learning experiences that will apply to the real work place if you plan to go that route.

Taking senior design next semester 🙂

 

[Isura]

What do you like? Can't go wrong taking a pure math course. Probability theory/measure theory, and statistical analysis comes in handy in basically every technical field. Don't take the vanilla EE option, but a real math course in those topics.

 

[Isura]

Algorithms course is great too. Programming is so important!

 

[TecHNooB]

Originally posted by: Isura
What do you like? Can't go wrong taking a pure math course. Probability theory/measure theory, and statistical analysis comes in handy in basically every technical field. Don't take the vanilla EE option, but a real math course in those topics.

Not a fan of pure math. The math courses at Purdue are taught extremely poorly. More memorization than logic. Diff Eq was the worst offender and my instructor was the head of the math department! Math taught by the ECE department > math department.

Originally posted by: Isura
Algorithms course is great too. Programming is so important!

Agree with this 🙂

 

[CP5670]

Originally posted by: Isura
What do you like? Can't go wrong taking a pure math course. Probability theory/measure theory, and statistical analysis comes in handy in basically every technical field. Don't take the vanilla EE option, but a real math course in those topics.

I generally agree with this, but there are some topics that are essentially mathematical but are only covered by EE departments. It's rare to find courses in signal processing or control theory from a math point of view, although there are books on those subjects.

 

[greenbean]

semiconductors is a good intro for device physics, all EEs should have an intro of this nature. Elec&Mag fields is a must, and you should have already taken it. DSP is good.


Drop the programming course, programming is a very basic tool that you should be teaching yourself. You're an EE, so get K&R C programming lang, read it cover to cover, learn how the two brilliant gentlemen that wrote it think, then move on to something OO.

Mechanics is interesting, but you should have already taken it, dynamics would be more appropriate at your level. EEs need to be jacks of all trades.

Pick up a Power or RF class instead of the programming if you can. And if you're thinking to move on to a masters, then take an advanced applied math class like stochastics and statistics. Seriously, challenge yourself, expand your perspective. EE is one of the hardest majors you can take because you have to stretch yourself in so many ways.

Also important if you want to be a world ruling EE: take some kind of system theory class within engineering or applied mathmatics; might be more of a masters thing on your schedule, but highly advisable.

 

[Rudy Toody]

If you can't swim, take a swimming class. It may save your life. And you will have more recreational choices for your days off.

 

[CountZero]

Does your school require you to specialize in something? I'd highly recommend taking as many courses in whatever you want to specialize in as possible. From my experience it was much harder to get a job as a jack of all trades master of none than it was when I had a very focused goal.

I'm going to counter someone above and say that for me programming classes have been extremely helpful. But I work in computer architecture/ASIC land, if you want to do EM stuff maybe it isn't so useful.

As to classes I'd recommend:
Computer Architecture
Any and all VLSI classes
At least one robotics class
Semiconductor Optics
AI
Algorithms/Data Structures
Some advanced physics or math classes.
I took a few Astronomy classes that were very interesting.