Circuit Analysis · Electrical Engineering
Homework 20% Midterm 1 20% Midterm 2 20% Final 40% This semester, he let us have our best midterm score be 40% of the grade. Their were 12 psets, which would take a fairly long time to do. But the grading on them was generous. Only 1 point off out of 3 if you totally get the problem wrong as long as you gave a good reasonable attempt. To read the notes, do the practice problems, and do the homeworks every week I probably spent about 9 hours on this class. Studying for the midterms was less intimidating, because the problems are more conceptual and easier than the homeworks.
Yannis gives a super comprehensive set of notes that he and Zukowski have written up. Those are super helpful and definetely helped clear up a lot of concepts I was confused about in Intro to EE. I loved the examples in the notes. And I always felt like the homeworks were easier than the examples in the notes. And in turn, the midterm problems were easier than the homework questions. A lot of people went in-person to class, but I personally felt like he couldn't go as in depth during lecture. And I felt like I had to read the notes afterwards anyways (which I was happy to do). So I stopped going to class about half way. All in all, this was my favorite class this semester and definetely clears up a lot of stuff as an EE major.
He is a good professor, makes sure there are some kind of office hours almost everyday and accessible lectures. Basically Intro to EE but the proper one (but boring because of the repeated content).
12 problem sets worth 20%. Most of them were really easy and similar type of questions usually show up on the exam. 2 quizzes worth 20% each (both really easy if you understood the concepts tested on the homework). final worth 40% (A bit harder than the midterms but still easy if you understood the concepts).
Weekly problem sets from the textbook with the lowest two dropped 20% Two quizzes, each worth 20% A final worth 40%
Disclaimer: I took the class in fall 2019 and got an A+ Yannis is probably the best EE teacher in the department. His notes provided on the first day of class are both intuitive and concise. Even through going to class isn't really necessary I'd recommend going because his explanations are definitely worth it. He's also a really nice guy and offered to drop one of the midterms if you did significantly better on one. In all, if yannis is teaching this class again I'd definitely recommend you take it. A piece of advice, no matter how easy you think this class is definitely read his notes. He has a habit of asking concept related questions about things he mentioned in the notes.
The class is, as to be expected, about circuit analysis with a focus on problem solving rather than the theory behind it. It gives a broad grounding to various methods to approach and solve circuits such as node-voltage, mesh, phasors, and AC. There is a very comprehensive and accessible textbook written by Zukowski himself provided for free along with the course. Zukowski, though a little dry sometimes is a very to the point lecturer, and does a good job explaining everything. He would always go through a few example problems in class which solidified the content. Because of the large amount of practice provided, I came away from this class with a very solid foundation for future EE courses.
Not sure if this is particularly useful, because Tsividis might not teach this class again, but: 20%: weekly psets - challenging and pretty time-consuming, but very comprehensive/useful 40%: 2 fair midterms (20% each) 40%: final (difficult, but also fair)
Weekly homework (includes problems from his textbook, with some components that are to be done individually and others you can collaborate on with classmates): 20% Quizzes: 2 worth 20% each Final exam: 40%
Professor Tsividis is probably the best professor I've had at Columbia, including outside of the EE department (which is pretty exciting, considering that Electrical Engineering is generally not a field known for professor teaching ability). Apparently Tsividis has enough seniority in the EE department at Columbia (fun fact: he's the author of the lab manual for Intro to EE) to pretty much teach whatever he wants, whenever he wants, which is why our class ended up with him instead of Zukowski for Circuit Analysis (Fall 2013). Tsividis is an excellent lecturer, and going to class was incredibly useful (which, sadly, can't really be said of the other EE classes I've taken at Columbia). He explained new concepts multiple times and in several different ways to really consummate the class's understanding of the course material. His lessons were succinct, straight-forward, and taught through a combination of theory and examples. The concepts that I had failed to fully grasp in Intro to EE (op amp circuits, mutual inductance, etc.) became extremely clear through his explanations. Although perhaps not as personable as Vallancourt or Zukowski, Tsividis really cared about whether or not we were truly learning the material, and showed it by often asking in lecture if we had any questions and emphasizing coming in to office hours for additional help if necessary. Overall, this course was…