ECE 4750

For background, I'm a CS major who had no previous experience in signals or systems and hadn't touched complex numbers since 9th grade (the class is cross listed as a CS 4501 Special Topics). The material was very interesting and Professor Fletcher is quite kind, affording opportunities for partial/extra credit as needed. The final wasn't too hard and I think he curved it.

That being said, the homeworks are awful. Not because they are terribly hard, but because you are basically flying blind the entire time unless you go to office hours. For example, the typical homework has 3-4 questions each with 3-4 parts. You will usually have to download some audio file and then code up a system and run the audio signal through the system...but there's no way of knowing whether your audio output (and thus your system) is actually correct unless you go to office hours. (The same applies for any plots that you are asked to produce.) The grading also tends to be quite sluggish so be prepared for that. There are 4 quizzes each worth 6.25% of your grade and each one is fairly short (20 min time limit). This also means that there are only a few questions on each quiz, so take your time to make sure you're not making silly mistakes. (You also get 1 sheet of notes on quiz 1, 2 on quiz 2 ... 5 on the final!)

Overall, I think the material is worth learning about but I wouldn't take this class unless you are a frequent flyer at office hours or if there is a major overhaul to how homeworks are graded (e.g. autograder for the code parts).

Tom Fletcher is a great professor. He has a passion for digital signal processing and makes somewhat abstract concepts such as the Fourier or Z transform accessible. He's very humble and kind and welcomes questions no matter how basic they are! His explanations are very intuitive and his overall structure of the class makes it as pain free as possible. Homework assignments can be slightly lengthy and intimidating but they allow you to really understand what you're learning in class and there's always plenty of time to work on them. They also are very rewarding (imo, I found this class very interesting) since they're mostly practical (eg. re-pitching piano audio). Quizzes/Exams are designed to make sure you understand the concepts and not simply information dumping. The grading policies in this class are somewhat generous and an A is not super difficult at all. Highly recommend this class, well worth the time!