Analog Electronic Circuits · Electrical Engineering
1 Problem Set / Week, late homeworks not accepted as solutions were posted immediately. 1 Midterm 1 Design Project 1 Final
1 midterm, 1 final, assignments and project
7 Homework assignments worth 10% each, 2 of which get dropped if they are the lowest out of 7, 2 rage-baiting tests worth 10% which there is an in class and at home forgiveness (aka test corrections after getting annihilated on the in class), 6 pointless and gruesome extra credit labs worth 10% (addition to that 2 worthless extra credit assignments), one traumatizing OTA project worth 30%, and a soul crushing final worth 40%. Advice: if you have other classes going on and they need to be prioritized and you have a worthless Analog assignment due that same day, respectfully forget about that Analog assignment.
The class was NOT impossible. It was challenging, and I probably would not have done well if I didn't have a study group, but it was certainly doable, especially if you did the homework. Though the professor can be intimidating at times (he responds to questions with "what?"), he is very helpful if you talk to him and go to his office hours. Additionally, he provided the notes for the entire class on the first day, so you didn't have to worry about constantly taking notes and could focus on the lecture itself. He also made videos of the lectures available to members of the class. Despite this, I would strongly recommend you attend class - it really does help. Also, I was in the class that had the 42 average midterm. The professor offered to use your final grade in place of your midterm grade if you did better on the final, so he's not out to get you. The simulations on the homework can be painful if you don't understand how to do them. Take the time to read though the documentation on the simulator early on - it will save you time in the long run.
One of the best classes I have taken at Columbia so far. I studied under him for analog electronic circuits. The manner in which he navigates through various concepts intuitively is amazing. At the same time, he also makes you think and interact during the class. I used to look forward to this lecture every week. I strongly recommend taking any course he is teaching.
If baited was a person, it’s hands down Armagan Dascurcu. Wonderful things were said about this class in previous years. But of course in fall 2025 A.PK. (aka After Peter Kinget), all roads lead to Rome of yet another messy electrical engineering course. The department winning by so much I can’t even count at this point. This was by far one of the most back-breaking courses I’ve ever took at Columbia. It’s to the point that I feel so bad for anyone who wants to specialize in this course. Problem 1 is that it’s a 2hr class. Now that might not be a problem for some folks but trust me it’s a problem here. The thing with Analog is that it is crucial to get the basics down early into the semester because the concepts diabolically build off of each other; from Two-port networks to OTAs. The other thing about analog is that it takes a lot of time to master the concepts so that being said, with homeworks, tests, test corrections, and etc., a lot of extensions were given because of the sheer amount and annoyance of work that was given from this class mixed with other classes. The tests were even worse. Tell me how in an hour and 30 minute time span am I to both finish the test then take screenshots to do the take-home corrections. In class was hands down doable in the age of Peter Kinget but that’s Peter Kinget. Did I fail to mention that this class wasn’t supposed to have a lab? Oh ri…
There are 12 problem sets, one of which 3/4 of our class copied solutions directly and was discovered by the TA. A time consuming but doable project, midterm, and final.
2 midterms and a final. Psets that aren't graded, but you'd best do them and redo all the examples from class if you want to understand the material. Lots of study time required.
Two words to describe this class: mission impossible. Surprised there are not already reviews of this class from the previous "victims" who took the course. Even the syllabus states: "this is not a class you can do last minute studying to pass a test." Key word "pass." This is an exaggeration, but it's easy to worry when you don't understand any of the material going into any test. The average on the midterm was 42, definitely not a confidence booster going into a final with potentially harder material. Not to take anything away from the actual material, which I'm sure is extremely important, don't take it unless you're a grad student and you know what you are doing. Even if you satisfy both of those requirements, tread lightly.
Absolutely amazing class. Although very challenging. Shahriar is an absolutely amazing professor, he's a great lecturer and cares about his students actually learning the material. That said, there is a lot of material to learn in this class, which covers transitor-level amps and feedback. Most of the learning curve is building a familiarity and intuition with the material, and so it takes a ton of time. Even if it seems simple when he goes through an example in class (he makes it look ridiculously easy) you need to put in time outside of class. Right at the beginning Shahriar told the class that we needed to put in 20-30 hours a week in this class, and when we didn't believe him we all failed the midterm. So put it the time. He was nice enough to weigh the second midterm and final more than the first, I don't think anyone actually failed the class although there were more than a few who dropped out. Altogether, an amazing class that simply takes a lot of work, taught by a an absolutely amazing prof. Shahriar also has a video blog (thesignalpath.com) that has a few gems in it. He's great, one of the best professors I've ever had.