Spring 2027

Electromagnetic Wave Transmission

Covers transmission lines, electromagnetic waves in waveguides/optics, and radiation/antennas using frequency-domain analysis and graphical/computer methods.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Zheng Liu

Summary

1 / 6

Past student reviews · John Booske

The course required watching online lectures in addition to attending class and completing daily quizzes.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Compute transmission line voltages, currents, impedances, and reflection coefficients in transient and harmonic circuits

  • Design matching networks utilizing a Smith chart

  • Compute reflection and transmission of plane waves at an interface

  • Use the Friis transmission equation for link budget analysis in antenna communication systems

  • Analyze TM and TE modes of circular and rectangular waveguides

Source: UW Guide

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

E C E 320, graduate/professional standing, or member of Engineering Guest Students

    • ECE 320
    • graduate/professional standing
    • member of Engineering Guest Students
    take one
ECE 420 used by

“Used by” includes alternatives; linked courses may have other requirements. This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree
  • Any of
    • ECE 320
    • graduate/professional standing
    • member of Engineering Guest Students

Professors

Spring 2027

No course-specific feedback yet.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

HAIHAN SUN is recorded teaching in Spring 2024, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

JOHN BOOSKE is recorded teaching in Spring 2007, Fall 2007. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

WILLIAM N. HITCHON is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Fall 2012. 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 / 450

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 · Haihan Sun

Students described a supportive instructor and found the final project engaging and manageable.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2023: 3.97 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=15 letter grades); Spring 2024: 3.50 GPA, 80.0% A/AB (n=15 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.94 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=25 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · John Booske

The course required watching online lectures in addition to attending class and completing daily quizzes.

Past student reviews · John Booske

One student noted that tests usually mimicked homework assignments and the instructor was helpful.

Topics

  • Transmission lines and RF/microwave circuit analysis
  • Electromagnetic waves, optical components, and waveguides
  • Radiation, dipole theory, and antenna characterization

Skills

  • Compute transmission line parameters and analyze RF/microwave circuits using graphical and computer methods.
  • Design matching networks using the Smith chart.
  • Analyze electromagnetic waves, including reflection/transmission at interfaces and optical component behavior.
  • Analyze TM and TE modes in conducting and dielectric waveguides.
  • Characterize antennas and perform link budget analysis using the Friis transmission equation.

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

Not enough comparable courses for Spring 2027 in UW–Madison.

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.

Download part 1
Selected offering source records
ECE 420 · Spring 2027

Electromagnetic Wave Transmission

Recorded 2026-10-14
Raw records 
[
  {
    "run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:320:006365",
    "course_id": "ECE 420",
    "course_uid": "course_4d4d57b6ea46d309f47ce81d",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "006365",
    "source_subject_id": "320",
    "title": "Electromagnetic Wave Transmission",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring"
  }
]
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": "a408ec7c128cc003106402d44e1dd61b6eeac93bcdc1905d9d70c9f04a53c245",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}