EECS Undergraduate Notes 2007-2008
Department of Electrical Engineering
and Computer Sciences
University of California, Berkeley
For comments and questions, please contact:
Jo Bullock (jbullock@eecs)
Copyright © 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 by the Regents of the University of California. Permission to copy in whole or in part is granted, providing that the source and copyright are indicated. The EECS Undergraduate Notes is updated each fall. You may obtain copies from the Center for Student Affairs in 205 Cory Hall. You can also view or download the PDF version of the notes.
These notes are an informal guide and supplement to UC Berkeley's General Catalog and the Announcement of the College of Engineering. They are intended to help you design a program of study that meets your individual needs and interests while satisfying all requirements for graduation.
As you consider your choice of courses in your major, I urge you to think about acquiring an education for a career rather than only for your first job. One goal of your education is to equip yourself to continue to learn on the job. After a few years in your first position, you may wish to become a supervisor, a department head, or eventually the director of a company. As a supervisor, you will need to guide the work of several engineers and, in this capacity, you will need to coordinate the work of your group with other groups, negotiate specifications, write reports, offer performance evaluations, and so on. Even in purely technical positions, you'll need to be able present convincing proposals or present results to others. For all these tasks both an understanding of people and an ability to communicate are essential.
Avoid over-specialization. Any career you are likely to pursue in engineering or computer science will require an ability to work in more than one area. While narrow specialization may prove an asset in your first years after graduation, it may be a detriment to you later on. A carefully constructed academic program will help you to avoid this pitfall. Include as many as possible of the department's core courses in your program of study. We've included several sample programs in this booklet to give you some ideas.
Above all, despite all the exertion and long nights ahead of you, I hope you will remember that engineering is an absorbing, creative, and altogether human activity. In the three decades I have been involved in it as a student and practitioner, I have never been bored, and I'm sure you won't either.
Paul Hilfinger
Vice Chair for Undergraduate Matters
June, 2007