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ECE Registration

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⚡ Active Registration: Spring 2027

Urgent Schedule & Registration Changes

Scheduling Notes

  • ECE 331L is currently only taught in the Spring. If you are looking at ECE 532 or 539 as a senior level design class, you must plan to take ECE 331L no later than Junior Spring, which means taking ECE 230 no later than Junior Fall.

Machine Learning Concentration

  • ECE 480 is no longer offered. ECE 386 is the replacement if you have not previously taken ECE 480.
  • ECE 580 is no longer offered. Any Option 3 course can now also satisfy Option 2 if you have not previously taken ECE 580 (see https://ece.duke.edu/academics/undergrad/concentrations/ )

Active Stellic Advisories

  • ECE 534 / ECE 365: Stellic currently lists ECE 534 (Graduate Rainforest Engineering) as a Computer Engineering and Digital Systems concentration course — this is incorrect. Neither ECE 534 nor ECE 365 are concentration courses.
  • Area Course Lag: Stellic does not immediately reflect recently approved area courses.
  • Special Topics (495, 496, 590): Some must be manually mapped to areas, while others are miscategorized. Review degree progress carefully.

Spring 2027 Design Courses

Note: All design courses require the complete degree core (ECE 230, 250, 270, 280; COMPSCI 201; CHEM 101DL; MATH 353/356; PHYSICS 152; Statistics) taken prior to enrollment.

  • ECE 449 – Sensors and Sensor Interface Design
    • Prerequisites:: Core + one of (ECE 330L, 331L, 340L, or 350L)
  • ECE 458 – Engineering Software for Maintainability
    • Prerequisites: Core + one of (CS 307, CS 308, or ECE 351)
  • ECE 469 – Wearable and Ubiquitous Computing Systems Design
    • Prerequisites: Core + ECE 350L
  • ECE 487 – System Design for Machine Learning and Signal Processing
    • Prerequisites: Core + 2 SPC&C area of concentration classes
  • ECE 532 – Analog Integrated Circuit Design
    • Prerequisites: Core + one of (ECE 330L or ECE 331L)

📘 Degree Policies & Course Reference

General Design Course Policy

All design courses require the degree core:

  • ECE 230, 250, 270, and 280
  • MATH through differential equations (MATH 353 or 356)
  • Approved statistics course
  • PHYSICS 152 & CHEM 101DL
  • At least one 300-level prerequisite designated by the specific course
  • Rule: Prerequisites must be completed before taking the design course for it to count toward the requirement. No concurrent enrollment exceptions.

Physics

If you have AP Credit for Physics 1 and 2, you must take an approved Physics course at Duke.

    • If you take Physics 152 and take an approved upper-level Physics course, Physics 152 counts for Physics 2 and the approved upper-level Physics course counts for the ECE Extension Elective.
    • If you do not take Physics 152 but take an approved upper-level Physics course, that course counts in the Physics 2 spot and does not count for the ECE Extension Elective.

Non-ECE Owned & Cross-Listed Courses (Study Abroad & Transfer)

To receive study abroad credit for cross-listed courses owned by another department, you must apply directly to the home department. ECE abides by the home department's evaluation:

  • Submit via Global Education Course Approval.
  • Required materials: complete English syllabus, prerequisites, full schedule, assignment list, and typical student year.
ECE Course Owning / Primary Department Home Course Number
ECE 253 User Research Methods in HCC Computer Science COMPSCI 226
ECE 311D Thermal Physics Physics PHYSICS 363D
ECE 332 Intro to Condensed Matter Physics Physics PHYSICS 385
ECE 340L Optics and Photonics Physics PHYSICS 320L
ECE 353 Intro to Operating Systems Computer Science COMPSCI 310
ECE 356 Computer Network Architecture Computer Science COMPSCI 356
ECE 364 Performance and Technology Theater Studies THEATRST 364
ECE 366A Drones in Marine Biology Marine Science MARSCI 335A
ECE 382L Control of Dynamic Systems Mechanical Engineering ME 344L
ECE 386 Intro to Applied Machine Learning Computer Science COMPSCI 372
ECE 516 Database Systems Computer Science COMPSCI 516
ECE 541 Algorithms in Structural Bio & Biophysics Computer Science COMPSCI 541
ECE 552 Advanced Computer Architecture I Computer Science COMPSCI 550
ECE 557 Fault-Tolerant Computing Computer Science COMPSCI 557
ECE 558 Computer Networks & Distributed Systems Computer Science COMPSCI 514
ECE 583 Microelectromechanical Systems Mechanical Engineering ME 555
ECE 624 Quantum Information Theory Physics PHYSICS 624
ECE 652 Advanced Computer Architecture II Computer Science COMPSCI 650
ECE 656 Wireless Networks & Mobile Computing Computer Science COMPSCI 656
ECE 657 Advanced Computer Security Computer Science COMPSCI 657
ECE 682D Probabilistic Machine Learning Statistical Science STA 561D
ECE 687D Advanced Topics in Computer Systems Computer Science COMPSCI 687D

Approved Special Topics Area Electives

Historical and ongoing area assignments for ECE 495, 496, and 590:

Computer Engineering and Digital Systems (CEDS)
  • ECE 495/496 Software Engineering (F24, Sp25) — now permanent as ECE 351
  • ECE 590 Full-Stack IoT Systems (F23, S24) — now permanent as ECE 655
  • ECE 590 Cross-Platform Mobile Application Programming (F24, Sp25, F25, S26, F26, S27)
  • ECE 590 Conventional & Emerging Memory Systems (Sp20)
  • ECE 590 Emerging Memory and Computer Architecture (F17, Sp19)
  • ECE 590 Cyberphysical System Formal Methods (Sp17)
Signal Processing, Communications, and Controls (SPC&C)
  • ECE 495 Introduction to Robotics (F21) — now permanent as ECE 383
  • ECE 495 Introduction to Natural Language Processing (F24, F25)
  • ECE 590 The Fourier Transform and Applications (Sp23, Sp25, Sp27)
  • ECE 590 Neural Network Based Large Language Models (Sp24, Sp25, Sp26)
  • ECE 590 Brain Computer Interfaces (F26)
  • ECE 590 Robot Learning (F24)
Solid-State Devices and Integrated Circuits (SSDIC)
  • ECE 590 Analog Integrated Circuit Design (Sp25, Sp26)
  • ECE 590 Full Custom VLSI Design (F23, F24, F25, F26)
Engineering Physics (EP)
  • ECE 590 Quantum Engineering with Atoms (S25) — now permanent as ECE 522

Frequently Asked Questions

Can classes double-count for ECE and a second major or minor?
Generally, if a course satisfies requirements for two majors (such as ECE/CS 250D for an ECE and CS double major), it can count toward both. However, Trinity students majoring in CS who pursue an ECE minor cannot double-count major courses toward the minor, nor can they count ECE courses with substantially equivalent content. Review detailed rules on the ECE Minors Page.
Do seminar series courses count toward major requirements?
No. Seminars such as ECE 549 do not count toward ECE major requirements.
Do the Bass Connections classes count towards the SS/H / Liberal Arts requirements?
No - for students who matriculated before Fall of 2025, the BRAINSOC listing is not from an SS/H department. For students who matriculated after, the courses do not have Curriculum 2025 liberal arts codes.


🗄️ Semester Archives

[+] Fall 2026 Archive (Click to Expand)

Fall 2026 Clarifications

  • ECE 662: Remains a Computer Engineering Area Elective (and ML Concentration option 3/4/5).
  • ECE 386 / COMPSCI 372: Approved as an SPC&C Area Course and substitute for ECE 480 (AI/ML Certificate Option 1).
  • ECE 590 / ME 555: Robot Learning counts as an SPC&C Area class.

Fall 2026 Design Course Offerings

  • ECE 449 – Sensors and Sensor Interface Design (TuTh 10:05–11:20)
    • Pre-reqs: Core + one of (ECE 330L, 331L, 340L, or 350L)
  • ECE 459 – Introduction to Embedded Systems (TuTh 8:30–9:45)
    • Pre-reqs: Core + one of (ECE 350L, 331L, or 330L)
  • ECE 539 – CMOS VLSI Design Methodologies (TuTh 11:45–1:00)
    • Pre-reqs: Core + ECE 331L + ECE 350L

[+] Spring 2026 Archive (Click to Expand)

Spring 2026 Course Updates

  • CS 356 (ECE 356) was offered; CS 310 (ECE 353) was not.
  • ME 555 and CS 372 added as Option 5 courses for ML Concentration / Minor.
  • ECE 330 discontinued; ECE 331 offered S26 (next run: S27).
  • ECE 580 was not offered; students could substitute a second Requirement 3 course (ECE 682D, 685, ECE 590.09).

Spring 2026 Design Seat Allocation Caps

Due to 48 seniors requiring design completion, initial enrollment was restricted to 1 design course per student:

  • ECE 469 temporary cap set to 5 (20 absolute cap) to guarantee seats for 15 seniors needing only 469.

[+] Academic Year 2024–2025 Archive (Click to Expand)

Terminology Transition

  • Replaced "Concentration Areas" with "Approved Curricular Areas" (or "Areas") to eliminate confusion with transcriptable concentrations.
  • Software Engineering Concentration and Minor approved March 26, 2025.

Spring 2025 Logistics & Corrections

  • ECE 621 ran TueThu 1:25–2:40; ECE 623 was cancelled.
  • ECE 545 added MonWed 1:25–2:40.
  • Removed mistaken ECE 331L co-req on ECE 469 and removed erroneous "instructor consent" flags across ECE 590 sections.
  • ECE 350L lab durations corrected to 180 minutes.
  • Transitioned degree auditing from DukeHub Degree Progress to Stellic.
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