# Hardest courses in Electrical and Computer Engineering | UW–Madison

[View on UW Courses](https://uwcourses.com/departments/ECE/hardest?term=1274)

## Dataset

### search projection

#### version

1

#### terms

* 1274
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* 1264
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* 1254
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* 1244
* 1242
* 1234
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### revision

fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf

### repository

twangodev/uwcourses

### schema version

6

### importer version

10

### projection id

25a5e1495a940a130efa223858e76f52294bba73a112cecf25208173491bd201

### observed at

2026-10-14T17:50:09.728220+00:00

### built at

2026-10-19T18:58:33.786556+00:00

### courses

8929

### current instructors

3758

### limited

false

### terms

* 1274
* 1272
* 1264
* 1262
* 1254
* 1252
* 1244
* 1242
* 1234
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* 1194
* 1192
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* 1172
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* 1072

### term

1274

### departments

| subject   | count |
| --------- | ----- |
| AAE       | 90    |
| ABT       | 20    |
| ACCTIS    | 36    |
| ACTSCI    | 14    |
| AFAERO    | 10    |
| AFRICAN   | 87    |
| AFROAMER  | 70    |
| AGROECOL  | 21    |
| AMERIND   | 54    |
| ANAT\&PHY | 7     |
| ANATOMY   | 2     |
| ANESTHES  | 8     |
| ANSCI     | 53    |
| ANTHRO    | 93    |
| ART       | 124   |
| ARTED     | 10    |
| ARTHIST   | 121   |
| ASIALANG  | 129   |
| ASIAN     | 109   |
| ASIANAM   | 28    |
| ASTRON    | 38    |
| ATMOCN    | 70    |
| BIOCHEM   | 52    |
| BIOCORE   | 10    |
| BIOLOGY   | 14    |
| BIOMDSCI  | 18    |
| BME       | 66    |
| BMI       | 41    |
| BMOLCHEM  | 10    |
| BOTANY    | 68    |
| BSE       | 44    |
| C\&ESOC   | 73    |
| CBE       | 48    |
| CHEM      | 101   |
| CHICLA    | 51    |
| CIVENGR   | 131   |
| CLASSICS  | 47    |
| CNP       | 11    |
| CNSRSCI   | 49    |
| COMARTS   | 137   |
| COMPBIO   | 15    |
| COMPLIT   | 10    |
| COMPSCI   | 138   |
| COUNPSY   | 78    |
| CRB       | 14    |
| CS\&D     | 71    |
| CSCS      | 39    |
| CURRIC    | 193   |
| DANCE     | 93    |
| DERM      | 8     |
| DS        | 88    |
| DYSCI     | 33    |
| ECE       | 155   |
| ECON      | 144   |
| EDPOL     | 115   |
| EDPSYCH   | 97    |
| ELPA      | 71    |
| EMA       | 52    |
| EMERMED   | 17    |
| ENGL      | 205   |
| ENTOM     | 39    |
| ENVIRST   | 149   |
| EP        | 15    |
| EPD       | 65    |
| ESL       | 15    |
| F\&WECOL  | 60    |
| FAMMED    | 21    |
| FINANCE   | 50    |
| FOLKLORE  | 38    |
| FOODSCI   | 43    |
| FRENCH    | 62    |
| GEN\&WS   | 144   |
| GENBUS    | 72    |
| GENECSLR  | 17    |
| GENETICS  | 60    |
| GEOG      | 112   |
| GEOSCI    | 83    |
| GERMAN    | 84    |
| GLE       | 47    |
| GNS       | 39    |
| GREEK     | 27    |
| HDFS      | 43    |
| HEBR-BIB  | 13    |
| HEBR-MOD  | 10    |
| HISTORY   | 232   |
| HISTSCI   | 54    |
| HONCOL    | 13    |
| ILS       | 43    |
| INFOSYS   | 9     |
| INTEGART  | 7     |
| INTEGSCI  | 22    |
| INTER-AG  | 18    |
| INTER-HE  | 11    |
| INTER-LS  | 21    |
| INTEREGR  | 16    |
| INTLBUS   | 21    |
| INTLST    | 52    |
| ISYE      | 82    |
| ITALIAN   | 55    |
| JEWISH    | 56    |
| JOURN     | 87    |
| KINES     | 127   |
| LACIS     | 26    |
| LANDARC   | 61    |
| LATIN     | 24    |
| LAW       | 118   |
| LEGALST   | 48    |
| LINGUIS   | 35    |
| LIS       | 90    |
| LITTRANS  | 79    |
| LSC       | 52    |
| M\&ENVTOX | 7     |
| MARKETNG  | 65    |
| MATH      | 152   |
| MDGENET   | 8     |
| ME        | 132   |
| MEDHIST   | 41    |
| MEDICINE  | 59    |
| MEDIEVAL  | 32    |
| MEDPHYS   | 39    |
| MEDSC-M   | 29    |
| MEDSC-V   | 45    |
| MHR       | 68    |
| MICROBIO  | 45    |
| MILSCI    | 16    |
| MM\&I     | 22    |
| MOLBIOL   | 6     |
| MS\&E     | 60    |
| MUSIC     | 164   |
| MUSPERF   | 125   |
| NAVSCI    | 20    |
| NE        | 44    |
| NEURODPT  | 11    |
| NEUROL    | 7     |
| NEURSURG  | 5     |
| NTP       | 11    |
| NURSING   | 112   |
| NUTRSCI   | 64    |
| OBS\&GYN  | 18    |
| OCCTHER   | 39    |
| ONCOLOGY  | 13    |
| OPHTHALM  | 5     |
| OTM       | 44    |
| PATH      | 34    |
| PATH-BIO  | 29    |
| PEDIAT    | 27    |
| PHARMACY  | 36    |
| PHILOS    | 76    |
| PHMCOL-M  | 10    |
| PHMPRAC   | 41    |
| PHMSCI    | 58    |
| PHYASST   | 38    |
| PHYSICS   | 88    |
| PHYSIOL   | 3     |
| PHYTHER   | 37    |
| PLANTSCI  | 53    |
| PLPATH    | 37    |
| POLISCI   | 197   |
| POPHLTH   | 54    |
| PORTUG    | 33    |
| PSYCH     | 102   |
| PSYCHIAT  | 21    |
| PUBAFFR   | 54    |
| PUBLHLTH  | 23    |
| RADIOL    | 11    |
| REALEST   | 41    |
| RELIGST   | 90    |
| RHABMED   | 9     |
| RMI       | 24    |
| RP\&SE    | 101   |
| S\&APHM   | 16    |
| SCANDST   | 73    |
| SLAVIC    | 90    |
| SOC       | 145   |
| SOCWORK   | 87    |
| SOILSCI   | 46    |
| SPANISH   | 81    |
| SRMED     | 21    |
| STAT      | 91    |
| STDYABRD  | 52    |
| STS       | 8     |
| SURGERY   | 24    |
| SURGSCI   | 33    |
| THEATRE   | 88    |
| URBRPL    | 60    |
| UROLOGY   | 6     |
| ZOOLOGY   | 90    |

### designations

| family                 | value                                  | label                                                        |
| ---------------------- | -------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ |
| breadth                | biological-science                     | Breadth - Biological Science                                 |
| breadth                | biological-science-or-social-science   | Breadth - Biological Science or Social Science               |
| breadth                | humanities                             | Breadth - Humanities                                         |
| breadth                | humanities-or-natural-science          | Breadth - Humanities or Natural Science                      |
| breadth                | humanities-or-social-science           | Breadth - Humanities or Social Science                       |
| breadth                | literature                             | Breadth - Literature                                         |
| breadth                | natural-science                        | Breadth - Natural Science                                    |
| breadth                | physical-science                       | Breadth - Physical Science                                   |
| breadth                | social-science                         | Breadth - Social Science                                     |
| breadth                | social-science-or-natural-science      | Breadth - Social Science or Natural Science                  |
| catalog-level          | advanced                               | Level - Advanced                                             |
| catalog-level          | elementary                             | Level - Elementary                                           |
| catalog-level          | intermediate                           | Level - Intermediate                                         |
| communication          | a                                      | Comm QR - Communication A                                    |
| communication          | b                                      | Comm QR - Communication B                                    |
| core-gened             | civics-and-perspectives                | Core GenEd - Civics & Perspectives                           |
| core-gened             | communication-and-literacy             | Core GenEd - Communication & Literacy                        |
| core-gened             | humanities-and-arts                    | Core GenEd - Humanities & Arts                               |
| core-gened             | mathematics-and-quantitative-reasoning | Core GenEd - Mathematics & Quantitative Reasoning            |
| core-gened             | natural-science-and-wellness           | Core GenEd - Natural Science & Wellness                      |
| core-gened             | natural-science-and-wellness-lab       | Core GenEd - Natural Science & Wellness + Lab                |
| core-gened             | social-and-behavioral-science          | Core GenEd - Social & Behavioral Science                     |
| ethnic-studies         | yes                                    | Ethnic St - Ethnic Studies                                   |
| frgn-lang              | 1st-semester-language                  | Frgn Lang - 1st semester language                            |
| frgn-lang              | 2nd-semester-language                  | Frgn Lang - 2nd semester language                            |
| frgn-lang              | 3rd-semester-language                  | Frgn Lang - 3rd semester language                            |
| frgn-lang              | 4th-semester-language                  | Frgn Lang - 4th semester language                            |
| frgn-lang              | 5th-semester-language                  | Frgn Lang - 5th + semester language                          |
| graduate-credit        | yes                                    | Grad 50% - Counts toward 50% graduate coursework requirement |
| honors                 | accelerated-honors                     | Honors - Accelerated Honors (!)                              |
| honors                 | honors-only-courses-h                  | Honors - Honors Only Courses (H)                             |
| honors                 | honors-optional                        | Honors - Honors Optional (%)                                 |
| liberal-arts           | l-and-s-liberal-arts-and-science       | L\&S Credit - L\&S Liberal Arts and Science                  |
| quantitative-reasoning | a                                      | Comm QR - Quantitative Reasoning A                           |
| quantitative-reasoning | b                                      | Comm QR - Quantitative Reasoning B                           |
| workplace              | workplace-experience                   | Workplace - Workplace Experience                             |

### deployed at

2026-10-21T15:26:46.388253+00:00

### site commit

daa1fadde432744ba417ff2b9999b11224ddd967

## subject

ECE

## collection

hardest

## results

### total

47

### page

1

### q



### term

1274

### availability

offered

### filters

#### term

1274

#### ranking

hardest

#### subject

ECE

### kind

course

### items

```json
[
  {
    "course_uid": "course_ab2f16c586da4b0250af474f",
    "course_id": "ECE 376",
    "title": "ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "gpa": 3.129,
    "badges": [
      {
        "id": "grade-outcomes",
        "tag": "lower-grades",
        "label": "Lower grades",
        "tone": "negative",
        "evidence": "Spring 2026 · latest released grades before Spring 2027: 2.98 GPA across 48 letter grades, versus 3.58 for Electrical and Computer Engineering (45 courses). Requires a difference of at least 0.20 and 30 letter grades. Historical outcomes, not predicted difficulty.",
        "sources": [
          {
            "label": "Grade history and sources",
            "href": "/courses/ECE_376#grades"
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "description": "Covers DC and AC circuit analysis, including nodal/mesh methods, Thevenin/Norton equivalents, op-amp circuits, transient response, phasors, and power characterization.",
    "discovery": {
      "term": "1274",
      "offered": true,
      "history": {
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        "topShare": 44.50261780104712,
        "firstTerm": "1232",
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      },
      "instructors": [
        {
          "course_uid": "course_ab2f16c586da4b0250af474f",
          "uid": "instructor_db04d27cb341b5105aeec78c",
          "name": "Steven Fredette",
          "quality": 3.2795967902482346,
          "quality_count": 20,
          "instructor_url": "/instructors/STEVEN_FREDETTE"
        }
      ],
      "instructorHistory": null,
      "courseComparison": null,
      "claim": {
        "text": "Weekly homework was frequent, and in-class exercises were difficult to finish. Exams were online, fill-in-the-blank, and offered no partial credit.",
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    "course_id": "COMPSCI/ECE 354",
    "title": "MACHINE ORGANIZATION AND PROGRAMMING",
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    "badges": [
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        "tag": "rated-teacher",
        "label": "Highly rated instructor",
        "tone": "positive",
        "evidence": "Spring 2027: Hina Mahmood (4.27/5 adjusted; 47 ratings). At least one assigned instructor qualifies. This describes instructor reviews across courses, not a course rating.",
        "sources": [
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        "id": "grade-outcomes",
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        "label": "Lower grades",
        "tone": "negative",
        "evidence": "Spring 2026 · latest released grades before Spring 2027: 3.13 GPA across 618 letter grades, versus 3.58 for Electrical and Computer Engineering (45 courses). Requires a difference of at least 0.20 and 30 letter grades. Historical outcomes, not predicted difficulty.",
        "sources": [
          {
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    "description": "Machine Organization and Programming introduces computer system structures and C programming, focusing on low-level performance impacts like virtual memory, caching, and assembly.",
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        "text": "Projects were lengthy and required students to start early, while exams were fair and mostly theoretical.",
        "evidence_scope": "past_student_reviews",
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    "course_id": "COMPSCI/ECE/MATH 435",
    "title": "INTRODUCTION TO CRYPTOGRAPHY",
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        "evidence": "Spring 2026 · latest released grades before Spring 2027: 3.15 GPA across 84 letter grades, versus 3.58 for Electrical and Computer Engineering (45 courses). Requires a difference of at least 0.20 and 30 letter grades. Historical outcomes, not predicted difficulty.",
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            "href": "/courses/COMPSCI_ECE_MATH_435#grades"
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    "description": "Introduction to cryptography covering secure transmission of digital information, distinguishing perfect from computational security, and introducing technical aspects.",
    "discovery": {
      "term": "1274",
      "offered": true,
      "history": {
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      "claim": {
        "text": "Homeworks were difficult but interesting to work through, while exams were reported to be easier than the homework assignments.",
        "evidence_scope": "past_student_reviews",
        "citations": [
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            "source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/125529",
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  {
    "course_uid": "course_e4907bcab45d27b295e30076",
    "course_id": "ECE 230",
    "title": "CIRCUIT ANALYSIS",
    "credits_min": 4,
    "credits_max": 4,
    "gpa": 3.074,
    "badges": [],
    "description": "Circuit Analysis covers DC and AC circuit theory, including resistive networks, op amps, transient responses, phasors, power, and transformers.",
    "discovery": {
      "term": "1274",
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      "history": {
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        "topShare": 57.497781721384214,
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          "instructor_url": "/instructors/STEVEN_FREDETTE"
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        "text": "The flipped format required studying before class, and the material demanded a mix of memorization and application that could stack up quickly if you fell behind.",
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