Advice on Course Selection

Incoming ECE Freshmen

Course selection is done on the afternoon of summer registration.  The associate and assistant deans of the Engineering College Academic Deans’ Office will advise all freshmen during the summer; Departmental Advisors (including ECE) are normally not involved with course selection.  For the most part, course selection is very similar for all engineering students and the Deans’ Office has superior experience in working with freshman questions and problems.

You will use I-Start to plan your schedule and choose your most likely classes well ahead of your summer registration day.  Print out and bring your proposed schedule!  Advising will be done in Engineering Hall.  You will meet with a dean and then use campus computers to register for your courses.  Advisors will be available to help with course registration problems.

Preparing for Registration

You will be registering with a computer program known as UI Integrate Self Serve (UI2).  To efficiently register you must know the courses you want to take and the Course Registration Number (CRN) of the section you wish to take.  Here is a sample “Course Schedule” listing for one lecture session and one discussion sections of Math 221:

CRN

Type

Section

Time

Days

Location

46992  

lecture 

AL1 

09:00 AM - 09:50 AM 

MW

314 Altgeld Hall

46995  

discussion- recitation

AD2 

09:00 AM - 09:50 AM

TR

173 Altgeld Hall


It has a small group discussion section at 9 AM on Tuesday and Thursday in 173 Altgeld Hall and a lecture time of 9 AM on Monday and Wednesday in 314 Altgeld Hall.  This arrangement, a large lecture supplemented by smaller discussion sections, is not uncommon for introductory classes.  You must choose one of each.  Note that the AL lecture is linked to the AD discussions.  The CRN for both sections (46992, 46995) must be entered and registered together.

Bring your I-Start print-out to your advising session.  To be optimally prepared you should come with a list of possible alternative classes and weekly schedules complete with CRNs.  Be aware that you may not be able to get the sections you want, although we’d be surprised if you can’t get into 8 AM sections!

New openings for freshman courses are added throughout the summer registration schedule.  For these courses there is no advantage to coming in early June and no penalty for coming to the last sessions.

Calculus

The most important course for first term engineers is calculus.  It is very important to register in the correct course, which for most students is one of Math 220, 221, specific sections of 231, or 241.  Unfortunately, if you took an AP exam, you won’t know your scores yet and you’ll have to make your best guess as to which course is most appropriate, being conscious that you may have to change courses when you arrive for classes in August.

Our experience has shown that AP test scores are often overly optimistic as predictors of future performance.  It is imperative that you truly understand calculus.  It is quite possible to score well on AP tests even without such understanding.  Therefore, we advise caution when selecting your first calculus course.

Here are the University's AP rules:

Subject

AP Score

ACT Score

UIUC Course Proficiency hours

Placement

Calculus AB

1 or None

<28

None

Math 016 or 115

Calculus AB

1

≥28

None

Math 220

Calculus AB

2, 3

 

None

Math 221

Calculus AB

4, 5

 

Math 221, 4 hours

Math 231

Calculus BC

1,2

 

None

Math 221

Calculus BC

 3 with AB subscore of 1, 2, 3

 

None

Math 221

Caclulus BC

3 with AB subscore of 4, 5

 

Math 221, 4 hours

Math 231

Calculus BC

4

 

Math 221, 4 hours

Math 231, section reserved for engineering frosh

Calculus BC

5

 

Math 221 & Math 231, 7 hours

Math 241

Note that the Math Department offers an intensive refresher course in Pre-Calculus, Math 115, and one in Algebra and Trigonometry, Math 016, for students preparing to study Calculus.  A sound base in these subjects is important to understanding Calculus.  The Math Department will contact students who placed into Math 016 or 115 about a further test on the ALEKS system to measure improvement since the AP and ACT exams.

The Math Department has a web site at: http://www.math.uiuc.edu/~armstron/ with more information about high school credit, placement and proficiency exams.

During on-campus preregistration most students will consult the Engineering Advisors for their choice of calculus courses.  However, if you have taken calculus in high school but did not take the AP exam you will be referred to the Math Department for consultation before meeting with an Engineering Dean.

When you get the results of your AP exams, you must rearrange your courses to be sure you take each required course (e.g. change from Math 231 to 221 if you do more poorly than expected).  You will be able to do this by yourself – and you should do this -- using UI Integrate/Self-Service.  You should keep in mind that the normal deadline for adding a class, including changing from one Math course to another, is two weeks after the start of classes.  After that time you must consult the advising deans in 206 Engineering Hall to rearrange your schedule.

Rhetoric 105

This required course is essentially “freshman composition.”  A minority of our students enters with credit for the course.  Because most freshmen across campus must take it, we are able to accommodate half of the students in the Fall and half in the Spring semester.  Whether you take Rhet 105 in the Spring or Fall semester is determined by your student ID number, as you will have learned on I-Start.  The Summer Advisors will have a very limited ability to place “Spring” students in Rhet 105 during the Fall and will do so only if there are great difficulties in composing a good Fall schedule for the student.

ECE 110

This course is required of all ECE students.  Demand for this course is such that we expect that 60% of our ECE students will take the course in the Fall and 40% in the Spring.  Students who must take Rhet 105 in the Spring will have priority to take ECE 110 in the Fall.  Second priority will go to students who, largely because of AP credit, have difficulties in creating an appropriate class schedule for the Fall.  Be assured, however, that everyone will be able to take ECE 110 in either the Fall or Spring semester.

Students who are placed in Math 016, and take Math 016 in the fall, or even in the summer before Fall semester starts, absolutely should not be in ECE 110 in the fall.

Chemistry

Most ECE students take Chem 102/103 (lecture/lab) during their first term.  Many students enter with AP credit for Chem 102 and possibly Chem 104; the AP exam does not certify laboratory experience, hence credit is not given for Chem 103 or 105.  Although these students are not required to take Chem 103, they do not receive the one hour credit a student who takes the class would receive.  AP credit for Chem 104 counts as free elective hours.

Two ECE related areas requiring more chemistry are semiconductors (the physics of electronic devices, fabrication of chips, lasers, etc.) and bioengineering.  If you focus your studies in one of these areas, you will be likely to take more chemistry classes.  If you plan to take more chemistry and don’t have credit for the laboratories you should consult with the Chemistry Department (107 Chem Annex).

 

Physics

Normally engineering students do not begin their physics sequence until second term, after they have completed a term of calculus.  This is motivated both by the necessary intellectual prerequisite of calculus and by concern that some students are not ready for the pace of physics classes until after they have been on campus, taking college classes, for a semester.  Nonetheless, a number of stronger students with AP calculus credit take Physics 211 and do well.  If you have AP credit for Physics 211 and possibly Physics 212 consult with your Engineering Advisor as to when to take your next physics course.

Note that the Physics Department offers Physics 100, Thinking About Physics, a one hour class designed to improve problem solving skills before Physics 211 is taken.

Computer Science

ECE 190 is the first computer engineering course taken by ECE students.  It provides a bottom-up introduction to computer programming using the C programming language, with strong exposure to the operation of the underlying computer system.  AP credit for CS 125 does not give credit for ECE 190.  While there is no official prerequisite for ECE 190, it is recommended that students take ECE 110 before taking ECE 190.  ECE 190 is therefore not recommended first semester.  If you have a lot of AP credit (Rhet 105, Math, Physics) and have fewer choices of classes, you will take ECE 110.  ECE 190 can only be added to ECE 110 by the minority of students who not only have a lot of AP credit but who also have a digital logic background.

General Education Courses

All UIUC students must take a selection of general education courses covering the humanities & arts, social & behavioral sciences, western & non-western cultures, a foreign language, composition, natural sciences and quantitative reasoning.  The latter two are covered by Engineering course requirements. Most of the rest count toward the 18 hours of social sciences and humanities that Engineering students must take.

Freshmen who are looking for courses that “count” are advised to look over the vast selection of Gen. Ed. courses to find ones that interest them, either for Fall 2007 or for future semesters.  Be aware that the selection will be limited since upperclassmen have been able to enroll in these courses since April.  Do not give up hope; as freshmen are expected in some courses and spaces have been set aside for them.  You should come to campus prepared with a list of courses that interest you.  This will make searching much easier in case your first choices are no longer available.

We advise most students to take a Gen. Ed. or free elective course each semester whether they need it or not.  This is in sharp contrast to advice routinely given to students in other UIUC colleges – they are advised to “get all their Gen. Ed.s out of the way as soon as possible.”  Consider, however, that many Liberal Arts students have not decided on a major and need to sample more courses before deciding on one.  Engineering students have decided on a major or at least narrowed down their choices.  Even if you aren’t sure, your curriculum is still dominated by math and science classes; taking lots of Gen. Ed. courses is not important to your early academic career.  Also, we find that most students need a break from an otherwise all-technical program later in their undergraduate careers.

Students who took AP exams in history, English, political science, etc. should consult the AP credit list linked from I-Start.

Discovery Classes

The campus created the Discovery Class Program in order to give freshmen a much better chance to take a small class with a professor so that they could appreciate from the start the world of academia, as well as to explore their own intellectual interests.  These classes are restricted to freshmen, are taught by a regular faculty member, and have 20 or fewer students.  While some meet major course requirements, most are free electives.  There is a mixture of 1 hour classes and 3 hour classes.  Roughly 70 % of freshmen on campus take a Discovery Course either Fall or Spring semester.  Even if you have enough AP and proficiency credit to be classified as a sophomore, you are considered a freshman for purposes of registering for Discovery Courses.  There will be a pamphlet with your admissions materials and a complete list of Discovery Courses is online.   Look at all the department listings.  You never know where you might find something cool.  As with Gen. Ed. courses, prepare a list of interesting ones, as it is not possible to guarantee registration in any particular course.

ECE 110 fulfills many of the goals of the Discovery Program although it is a much larger course.  There are two lecture sections (3 hours per week) taught by ECE faculty and many laboratory sections (3 hours per week per student) taught by a mixture of graduate and undergraduate teaching assistants and supervised by a faculty member.  We strongly believe that our students get an excellent hands-on experience that communicates what it is like to be an Electrical Engineer or a Computer Engineer.  But take a Discovery Course anyway!

James Scholar Program

The James Scholar Program is offered to students with ACT composite scores of 33 (or SAT equivalents), or are in the top 1% of their high school graduating class.  This program offers our undergraduates an enriched academic experience.  They are given more opportunities for individual interaction with faculty members, they are offered special honors sections of courses, and they are given preference when registering for courses.  They must maintain a 3.5 GPA and must take at least one honors section of a course each of the first two years.  They must complete a contract of coursework their junior and senior years.  If you qualify you will be given information on enrolling during your summer orientation session.  See more information on ECE departmental James Scholar Program and on College of Engineering James Scholars rules.

General Advice

Take a modest load your first term.  See how well you do and either speed up or slow down depending on how you handle the workload, which is likely much greater than you have experienced in high school.  It is important to do well and “get your feet on the ground.”

The same advice applies to activities.  First term is a time to sample the thousands of activities available to you, from student organizations within ECE to campus-wide groups.  It is not time to become heavily involved in one, so that it jeopardizes your academics.  You’ll be better able to judge your time and capabilities in the spring.

“Sit in the front row and never look back.”  This quote (from a 1989 BS graduate in Engineering) captures the essence of how to deal with a large university.  The instructor will know who you are if you sit in the front row of a large lecture (and you will not fall asleep!).  The metaphor extends further:  if you want help, it can be found – go to office hours; see your advisor; if your advisor can’t help, find another one; study in study groups; look for tutoring hours.  If you want the extras which come with a big university, go get them:  leadership of organizations, guest lectures by famous faculty and public figures, research and projects outside the classroom.  The inverse also applies:  if you sit in the back row, do not come to office hours and don’t ask for help, you can have an anonymous four years here.

GO TO CLASS.  We know you can’t believe we’re telling you this, but it’s true:  many students who are having problems are not going to class.  Even if you are behind and embarrassed, go to class and find out what material is being covered.  It only gets worse once you start skipping class.

Remember that you are here to get an education, not just to take courses that fit in certain categories.  It’s okay to experiment and take a course that may end up as a free elective or not being used. For example, our students graduate with not only the required hours of “free electives” but also an average of 9 hours of courses not needed for graduation.

Enthusiasm!!  Enthusiasm will make your studies easier, your learning better, and your friendships longer lasting.

11/16/2007