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I did EE in Canada and numerical methods were definitely taught in 2nd year of undergrad. Why wouldn't it be?

by dron57 6y ago

dataflow 6y ago
I said possibly EE, not necessarily. Depends what you mean by "taught" and on what the program itself focuses on. In EE/CS programs you'd be taking half CS courses at least in the beginning, for example. And those EE courses' focuses are often on DSP and digital control rather than (say) simulating analog circuits. If by "taught" you mean "can be taken at that level", then sure, these are such undergrad courses in the US too, and they don't have particularly long prereq chains either, so a 2nd year student could take them if they actually wanted to. But it's not customary, and if by "taught" you mean required as part of the curriculum, it may not be depending on the school. The reasons are varied; again, lack of interest from CS-leaning folks on both sides is one such reason, as is the fact that the world has gone digital and they tend to focus more on linear algebra/DSP/etc. rather than ODEs and PDEs. In general few undergraduate students who aren't forced to take numerical methods in undergrad will do so. And I'm not saying this is a good or a bad thing or trying to justify it, just explaining how it is and what some of their rationales are.
- BeetleB 6y ago
  > In EE/CS programs you'd be taking half CS courses at least in the beginning, for example. Not sure if you'll see my reply, but in the US this is generally not true for EE. If you're CompE, perhaps. In my EE undergrad, you were required to take only one CS course. It was otherwise heavier on math and circuits/electronics. By the end of the 2nd year, you'd have had two circuits courses, and have taken ODEs, and 3 semesters of calculus. Even the junior year is focused on electronics, E&M and motors - although you can start taking other electives (digital signal processing, etc). But numerical methods was not required for us. It was a senior level elective.
  - dataflow 6y ago
    I should've probably written EECS rather than EE/CS, that's why I was talking about. Not {EE or CS}.

I did EE in Canada and numerical methods were definitely taught in 2nd year of undergrad. Why wouldn't it be?

by dron57 6y ago

I did EE in Canada and numerical methods were definitely taught in 2nd year of undergrad. Why wouldn't it be?

I said possibly EE, not necessarily. Depends what you mean by "taught" and on what the program itself focuses on. In EE/CS programs you'd be taking half CS courses at least in the beginning, for example. And those EE courses' focuses are often on DSP and digital control rather than (say) simulating analog circuits. If by "taught" you mean "can be taken at that level", then sure, these are such undergrad courses in the US too, and they don't have particularly long prereq chains either, so a 2nd year student could take them if they actually wanted to. But it's not customary, and if by "taught" you mean required as part of the curriculum, it may not be depending on the school. The reasons are varied; again, lack of interest from CS-leaning folks on both sides is one such reason, as is the fact that the world has gone digital and they tend to focus more on linear algebra/DSP/etc. rather than ODEs and PDEs. In general few undergraduate students who aren't forced to take numerical methods in undergrad will do so. And I'm not saying this is a good or a bad thing or trying to justify it, just explaining how it is and what some of their rationales are.

BeetleB 6y ago
> In EE/CS programs you'd be taking half CS courses at least in the beginning, for example. Not sure if you'll see my reply, but in the US this is generally not true for EE. If you're CompE, perhaps. In my EE undergrad, you were required to take only one CS course. It was otherwise heavier on math and circuits/electronics. By the end of the 2nd year, you'd have had two circuits courses, and have taken ODEs, and 3 semesters of calculus. Even the junior year is focused on electronics, E&M and motors - although you can start taking other electives (digital signal processing, etc). But numerical methods was not required for us. It was a senior level elective.
- dataflow 6y ago
  I should've probably written EECS rather than EE/CS, that's why I was talking about. Not {EE or CS}.