Spring 2027

Introduction to Computer Architecture

Introduction to Computer Architecture covers processor design, instruction sets, control structures, memory management, caches, and I/O structures.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Setareh Behroozi3.8/5

Summary

1 / 6

Past student reviews · Setareh Behroozi

The course was described as extremely hard, particularly for undergraduates, with one student noting it made their brain hurt. TAs and the professor went the extra mile to break down difficult concepts.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Use standard performance metrics to compare performance of different digital systems

  • Design a pipelined data path for a RISC (reduced instruction set computer) instruction set and identify concepts of data dependence, pipelined hazards and out of order execution

  • Design basic data and control cache subsystems and be able to operate basic memory systems

  • Design a pipelined RISC micro-processor system with data cache using computer aided design tool and validate the correctness of the design using logic simulation

Source: UW Guide 1 UW Guide 2

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/​COMP SCI 352 and E C E/​COMP SCI 354) or graduate/professional standing

COMPSCI/ECE 552 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

Professors

Spring 2027
Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 3.83/5 from 40 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 · 4.0/5 difficulty · 4 reviews

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

Past student reviews · Setareh Behroozi

Setareh Behroozi teaches a tough course that students found interesting and supported by her approachable teaching style. She graded fairly and stayed after class to explain challenging concepts, while also checking on student well-being.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2024: 3.55 GPA, 78.0% A/AB (n=82 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.63 GPA, 82.7% A/AB (n=104 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.67 GPA, 84.4% A/AB (n=90 letter grades).

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Past student reviews · Matthew Sinclair

Matthew Sinclair taught the course in Spring 2023. A student described it as an insane amount of work for a three-credit class. They noted that Sinclair provided problems and explanations that forced students to learn and understand the content. The student also reported that he answered Piazza posts at 1 a.m. and genuinely cared about every student in the class.

ERIC HOFFMAN is recorded teaching in Spring 2014. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

KARTHIKEYAN SANKARALINGAM is recorded teaching in Spring 2008, Spring 2009, Spring 2011, Spring 2013, Spring 2016, Spring 2017, Fall 2020. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MATT SINCLAIR is recorded teaching in Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Spring 2022, Spring 2023. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MIKKO LIPASTI is recorded teaching in Fall 2010, Spring 2018. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

SETAREH BEHROOZI is recorded teaching in Spring 2024, Spring 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

SWAMIT TANNU is recorded teaching in Fall 2021, Fall 2022, Fall 2024. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

YU HU is recorded teaching in Fall 2008, Fall 2009, Fall 2011, Fall 2012, Fall 2013, Fall 2014, Fall 2015, Fall 2016, Fall 2017. 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 / 1100
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 1100

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 · Setareh Behroozi

Setareh Behroozi teaches an intensive and difficult course that students found interesting and fun. She is known for being approachable and willing to stay after class to explain challenging concepts.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.63 GPA, 82.7% A/AB (n=104 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.26 GPA, 58.5% A/AB (n=82 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.67 GPA, 84.4% A/AB (n=90 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Setareh Behroozi

The course was described as extremely hard, particularly for undergraduates, with one student noting it made their brain hurt. TAs and the professor went the extra mile to break down difficult concepts.

Past student reviews · Setareh Behroozi

Students appreciated that Setareh Behroozi believed no question was bad and checked to ensure understanding. She was described as caring, patient, and extremely approachable, often staying after class to help.

Topics

  • Processor and instruction set design
  • Memory management and caching
  • Interrupts and I/O structures

Skills

  • Designing pipelined RISC data paths and identifying hazards
  • Designing cache subsystems and operating memory systems
  • Validating designs using logic simulation tools

Grades

Historical instructor

Spring 2027 · Projected

Before grades are released

– average GPA

Approximate 80% prediction interval

About this estimate

The course’s semester-average GPA, not an individual student’s grade. The center uses 5 same-season terms, weighted toward recent results.

The range uses the finite-sample 80th-percentile rank of absolute errors from earlier same-season forecasts. Each forecast uses only records from earlier terms. At least four forecasts are required; bounds are rounded outward and limited to 0–4. This is an empirical estimate: changing instructors or grading policies can reduce its coverage.

8 earlier forecasts · 0.19 GPA average error.

Grades over time

Through Spring 2027

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 552 · Spring 2027

Introduction to Computer Architecture

Recorded 2026-10-14
COMPSCI/ECE 552 · Spring 2027

Introduction to Computer Architecture

Recorded 2026-10-14
Raw records 
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    "offering_id": "1274:266:004284",
    "course_id": "COMPSCI/ECE 552",
    "course_uid": "course_45a9d9a05cba4d5b592ac7a3",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "004284",
    "source_subject_id": "266",
    "title": "Introduction to Computer Architecture",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring"
  },
  {
    "run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
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    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:320:004284",
    "course_id": "COMPSCI/ECE 552",
    "course_uid": "course_45a9d9a05cba4d5b592ac7a3",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "004284",
    "source_subject_id": "320",
    "title": "Introduction to Computer Architecture",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring"
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]
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": "08562aa703a48e326a29937a848765081e7365a23f3a11b00ea1090073600b7e",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}