Semiconductors, Spanish Minor, 6 Semesters
I am in my final semester as an EE major in Spring 2024, and plan on continuing to get my MS in the fall. I have been heavily involved in research, which takes up most of my time outside of classes. I have a Spanish minor because I came in with lots of credit via AP classes, so it was very easy to get. You probably will not be able to replicate this schedule because of the credits I came in with, so I would use my schedule to try to gauge what courseload works well with research.
Features of this Schedule
- Tack on an extra semester if you did not come in with all the math courses completed
- Lots of research credit, so there is room for another class or two if you do not do research
- Spanish Minor + Chancellor's Scholar
Schedule
AP Credits and Proficiency Tests
| Course Name | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| MATH220 - Calculus | 5 |
| MATH231 - Calculus II | 3 |
| MATH241 - Calculus III | 4 |
| MATH286 - Intro to Diff Eq Plus | 4 |
| MATH415 - Applied Linear Algebra | 3 |
| PHYS211 - University Physics: Mechanics | 4 |
| PHYS212 - University Physics: Electricity & Magnetism | 4 |
| CS101 - Intro Computing: Engrg & Sci | 3 |
| GEOG104 - Social and Cultural Geography | 4 |
| ECON103 - Macroeconomic Principles | 3 |
| PS101 - Intro to US Gov & Pol | 3 |
| RHET105 - Writing and Research | 4 |
| SPAN200 - Readings in Hispanic Texts | 3 |
| SPAN204 - Advanced Spanish Grammer in Context | 3 |
| HIST141 - Western Civilization to 1660 | 3 |
| MUS133 - Intro to World Music | 3 |
| Total | 56 |
One of the defining features of my schedule is I did not have to take any math courses in college, I was able to get college credit for courses I took in high school. MATH286 and MATH415 do not technically satisfy the requirements for MATH285 and MATH257, but I was able to get an override. I also did not technically need to take as many gen eds as I did because I came in with so much credit (from AP classes and a few community college courses), but I had to take some as part of the Campus Honors Program to maintain my early registration benefit.
1st Semester, Freshman Year, Fall 2021
| Course Name | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| ECE110 - Introduction to Electronics | 3 |
| ENG100 - Engineering Orientation | 0 |
| CHEM102 - General Chemistry I | 3 |
| CHEM103 - General Chemistry Lab I | 1 |
| ASTR210 - Introduction to Astrophysics | 3 |
| ARCH199 - Undergraduate Open Seminar | 3 |
| CHP199 - Honors Uncommon Reads | 1 |
| SPAN228 - Spanish Composition | 3 |
| Total | 17 |
There is nothing too interesting about my first semester in terms of courses. Coming in with a lot of credit meant there were not any open seats in classes I would have ideally liked to take. I used that extra time to adjust to college life, and get started in research. I actually joined a few RSOs and even the 110/120 honors lab before joining my research group, which I ended up liking a lot more.
Tips:
- Party hard, you're free!
- Try new things
2nd Semester, Freshman Year, Spring 2022
| Course Name | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| ECE120 - Introduction to Computing | 4 |
| ECE210 - Analog Signal Processing | 4 |
| PHYS213 - University Physics: Thermal Physics | 2 |
| PHYS214 - University Physics: Quantum Physics | 2 |
| ASTR350 - Big Bang, Black Holes, and the End of the Universe | 3 |
| SPAN308 - Spanish in the United States | 3 |
| Total | 18 |
I definitely recommend the 2nd semester combo of ECE120 and ECE210 for EE majors if you have the prerequisites. You open up a lot more classes for your sophomore year the quicker you get through ECE210.
Tips:
- ECE210 knocks a lots of people down, do not let it scare you.
Summer 2022
| Course Name | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| ECE220 - Computer Systems & Programming | 4 |
| Total | 4 |
I did not have an internship over my first summer, so I took ECE220. It is significantly less work over the summer, but as an EE I do not think I lost anything because of it.
3rd Semester, Sophomore Year, Fall 2022
| Course Name | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| ECE310 - Digital Signal Processing | 3 |
| ECE311 - Digital Signal Processing Lab | 1 |
| ECE329 - Fields and Waves I | 3 |
| ECE340 - Semiconductor Electronics | 3 |
| ECE396 - Honors Project | 2 |
| ECE200 - Seminar | 0 |
| ENG199 - Undergraduate Research Seminar | 1 |
| LER199 - Immigration & Race: The Evolution of Legal Equality | 3 |
| SPAN252 - Intro to Hispanic Linguistics | |
| Total | 19 |
Anyone that wants to go into the semiconductor field should try to take ECE329 and ECE340 ASAP. They open the door to almost every semiconductor/EM class offered.
I took ECE200 due to the requirement for James Scholars, but realized I got overlapping benefits from the Campus Honors program, so I stopped taking it the next year.
I probably worked about 10-15 hours per week on research activites, so factor that into the time commitment for the courses.
The only reason I had to overload was because I was required to take ENG199 for my research, but it was a weekly seminar course so the workload was non-existent.
Tips:
4th Semester, Sophomore Year, Spring 2023
| Course Name | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| ECE313 - Probability with Engineering Applications | 3 |
| ECE314 - Probability in Engineering Lab | 1 |
| ECE350 - Fields and Waves II | 3 |
| ECE441 - Physics & Modeling of Semiconductor Devices | 3 |
| ECE396 - Honors Project | 2 |
| CLCV133 - Archaeology of Israel | 3 |
| SPAN307 - Bilingualism | 3 |
| Total | 18 |
In retrospect, this was probably my easiest semester. ECE313 if fairly infamous because of how different the content is from any of the other ECE classes, but I found it not as difficult as I expected.
I highly recommend ECE441 for anyone that wants to go into semiconductors. Think of it as ECE340 part II.
Tips:
- Take ECE314, (again) if you have any Python experience it is quite easy.
5th Semester, Junior/Senior Year, Fall 2023
| Course Name | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| ECE342 - Electronic Circuits | 3 |
| ECE343 - Electronic Circuits Lab | 1 |
| ECE385 - Digital Systems Lab | 3 |
| ECE444 - IC Device Theory & Fabrication | 4 |
| ECE496 - Senior Research Project | 2 |
| CHP395 - Transitional Justice | 3 |
| Total | 16 |
I found ECE385 to be not relevant for what I want to do. It is a difficult class that takes a lot of time, but it is not hard to get a good grade in. I recommend EE majors stick to a very simple final project, your time is better spent elsewhere. Advisors are also pushing people to take this class closer to ECE120. For the EE majors who do not benefit from this class, I would say to take this class whenever you want. Knowledge from ECE120 only makes a big difference for the first real lab (technically Lab 2).
I am torn about whether to recommend ECE444. Some of the lectures were useful, the lab was not relevant for modern day semiconductors (because all the equipment and techniques are decades old), but I know some companies like to see cleanroom experience. If you can get cleanroom experience through some other means (internship, research) I would try to get the lectures slides from someone else and skip taking the class.
Tips:
- Start labs for ECE385 very early.
- Take ECE343, it is minimal work and satisfies the hardware lab requirement.
6th Semester, Junior/Senior Year, Spring 2024
| Course Name | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| ECE483 - Analog IC Design | 3 |
| ECE490 - Intro to Optimization | 4 |
| PHYS486 - Quantum Physics I | 4 |
| ECE499 - Senior Thesis | 2 |
| Total | 13 |