Spring 2027

Advanced Computer Architecture II

Advanced Computer Architecture II covers parallel algorithms, vectorizing compilers, interconnection networks, MIMD machines, synchronization, data coherence, dataflow machines, and special purpose processors.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Joshua San Miguel3.7/5

Summary

1 / 5

Past student reviews · Joshua San Miguel

The workload involved reading papers and completing a semester-long project. While students found the paper readings challenging, they described the exams as straightforward or easy relative to the course content.

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades
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AB
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BC
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All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

Graduate/professional standing

  • Graduate/professional standing
COMPSCI/ECE 757

This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree
  • Graduate/professional standing

Professors

Spring 2027
Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 3.73/5 from 15 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

For this course: 5.0/5 raw quality · 2.4/5 difficulty · 7 reviews

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Past student reviews · Joshua San Miguel

Joshua San Miguel’s course required reading papers and a semester-long project, while his exams were described as fairly straightforward and a bit too easy relative to the content. The provided paper readings were considered interesting and challenging.

Joshua San Miguel’s lectures were easy to follow because he detailed mechanisms with analogies and did not cram too much into a single session. He also gave useful guidance on reading architecture papers efficiently.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Past student reviews · Mark Hill

Historical instructor Mark Hill was described as a world expert who taught with genuine care and enthusiasm. Students noted that although his handwriting was poor, he presented material in a clear and ordered fashion. He also drew on both industry and academic experience to share practical knowledge and helpful stories, rather than relying purely on theory, while maintaining a fun and approachable demeanor in class.

MARK D. HILL is recorded teaching in Spring 2008, Spring 2010, Spring 2012, Spring 2014, Spring 2016, Spring 2019. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Spring 2027

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 750
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 650

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
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Student experience

the class

Past student reviews · Joshua San Miguel

Joshua San Miguel taught an engaging course with clear lectures, useful analogies, and light humor. Students found his guidance on reading architecture papers particularly helpful for understanding complex mechanisms.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2024: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=42 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.70 GPA, 82.8% A/AB (n=64 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.95 GPA, 96.8% A/AB (n=31 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Joshua San Miguel

The workload involved reading papers and completing a semester-long project. While students found the paper readings challenging, they described the exams as straightforward or easy relative to the course content.

Past student reviews · Joshua San Miguel

Students described Joshua San Miguel as a dedicated and nice professor. One student noted the course was hard without prior architecture knowledge, while another found the concepts helpful for job interviews.

Topics

  • Parallel algorithms and vectorizing compilers
  • Interconnection networks and MIMD machines
  • Processor synchronization and data coherence
  • Dataflow machines and special purpose processors

Skills

  • Understanding parallel algorithms, interconnection networks, and MIMD machine architectures
  • Applying principles of parallelism detection and vectorizing compilers
  • Analyzing processor synchronization and data coherence mechanisms

Grades

Latest available · Spring 2026— not enough history to project Spring 2027.

average GPA
A / AB grades
letter grades
Instructor

Grade distribution · % of letter grades

A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

Grades over time

Through Spring 2026

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Spring 2026 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1280 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

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Selected offering source records
COMPSCI/ECE 757 · Spring 2027

Advanced Computer Architecture II

Recorded 2026-10-14
COMPSCI/ECE 757 · Spring 2027

Advanced Computer Architecture II

Recorded 2026-10-14
Raw records 
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    "offering_id": "1274:266:004330",
    "course_id": "COMPSCI/ECE 757",
    "course_uid": "course_fc83e4e7df45e1bca2dc3ff2",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "004330",
    "source_subject_id": "266",
    "title": "Advanced Computer Architecture II",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Occasionally"
  },
  {
    "run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:320:004330",
    "course_id": "COMPSCI/ECE 757",
    "course_uid": "course_fc83e4e7df45e1bca2dc3ff2",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "004330",
    "source_subject_id": "320",
    "title": "Advanced Computer Architecture II",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Occasionally"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
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Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-10-14

View the dataset on Hugging Face
Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1
Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "8230f3980b4a9dd0766002616e5b698bff7a7b49463bb6d03e52f59c709c01b3",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}