uwloo

ECE 204Numerical Methods

Units
0.50
Faculty
Engineering
Subject
Electrical and Computer Engineering

When it runs

  1. F24
  2. W25
  3. S25
  4. F25
  5. W26
  6. S26
  7. F26
  8. W27
  9. S27

Ran in 5 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled, 3 lecture sections. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

Application of computational methods to engineering problems. Number systems, errors and error propagation. Roots of nonlinear equations. Introduction to numerical linear algebra. Interpolation and numerical integration. Introduction to numerical solutions of ordinary differential equations, optimization. Emphasis will be placed on algorithm development.

Prerequisites

Antirequisites

  • Complete all of the following
    • Not completed nor concurrently enrolled in any of the following:
      • AMATH342 - Computational Methods for Differential Equations (0.50)
      • CS370 - Numerical Computation (0.50)
      • CS371 - Introduction to Computational Mathematics (0.50)
      • MTE204 - Numerical Methods (0.50)
    • Not completed any of the following:

Leads to

No course lists it as a requisite.

Fall 2026 sections

Enrolment from UW Open Data, which can trail Quest by up to two days. Instructors and rooms: Schedule of Classes.
SectionClassEnrolledMeets
LEC 0014932128 / 155MWF 08:30–09:20
Sep 9 10:30–11:20
Sep 23 10:30–11:20
Oct 7 10:30–11:20
Oct 28 10:30–11:20
Nov 11 10:30–11:20
Nov 25 10:30–11:20
LAB 201503033 / 40Sep 18 13:30–16:20
Oct 2 13:30–16:20
Oct 23 13:30–16:20
Nov 13 13:30–16:20
Nov 27 13:30–16:20
LAB 202503138 / 40Sep 15 13:30–16:20
Sep 29 13:30–16:20
Oct 20 13:30–16:20
Nov 10 13:30–16:20
Nov 24 13:30–16:20
LAB 203503240 / 40Sep 16 13:30–16:20
Sep 30 13:30–16:20
Oct 21 13:30–16:20
Nov 11 13:30–16:20
Nov 25 13:30–16:20
LAB 204515617 / 32Sep 17 13:30–16:20
Oct 1 13:30–16:20
Oct 22 13:30–16:20
Nov 12 13:30–16:20
Nov 26 13:30–16:20
TUT 1014933128 / 155W 16:30–17:20

Winter 2027 sections

Enrolment from UW Open Data, which can trail Quest by up to two days. Instructors and rooms: Schedule of Classes.
SectionClassEnrolledMeets
LEC 0014794141 / 155MF 09:30–10:20
Jan 20 11:30–12:20
Feb 3 11:30–12:20
Feb 24 11:30–12:20
Mar 10 11:30–12:20
Mar 24 11:30–12:20
Apr 7 11:30–12:20
W 10:30–11:20
LEC 0024795114 / 145M 14:30–15:20
W 13:30–14:20
F 15:30–16:20
Jan 19 15:30–16:20
Feb 2 15:30–16:20
Feb 23 15:30–16:20
Mar 9 15:30–16:20
Mar 23 15:30–16:20
Apr 6 15:30–16:20
LEC 70119410 / 9999Online or by arrangement
LAB 201486538 / 40Jan 28 13:30–16:20
Feb 11 13:30–16:20
Mar 11 13:30–16:20
Mar 25 13:30–16:20
Apr 8 13:30–16:20
LAB 202486638 / 40Jan 25 13:30–16:20
Feb 8 13:30–16:20
Mar 8 13:30–16:20
Mar 22 13:30–16:20
Apr 5 13:30–16:20
LAB 203486738 / 40Jan 26 13:30–16:20
Feb 9 13:30–16:20
Mar 9 13:30–16:20
Mar 23 13:30–16:20
Apr 6 13:30–16:20
LAB 204513527 / 35Jan 27 13:30–16:20
Feb 10 13:30–16:20
Mar 10 13:30–16:20
Mar 24 13:30–16:20
Apr 7 13:30–16:20
LAB 205486832 / 40Jan 28 08:30–11:20
Feb 11 08:30–11:20
Mar 11 08:30–11:20
Mar 25 08:30–11:20
Apr 8 08:30–11:20
LAB 206486930 / 40Jan 25 08:30–11:20
Feb 8 08:30–11:20
Mar 8 08:30–11:20
Mar 22 08:30–11:20
Apr 5 08:30–11:20
LAB 207501530 / 40Jan 26 08:30–11:20
Feb 9 08:30–11:20
Mar 9 08:30–11:20
Mar 23 08:30–11:20
Apr 6 08:30–11:20
LAB 208510722 / 25Jan 27 08:30–11:20
Feb 10 08:30–11:20
Mar 10 08:30–11:20
Mar 24 08:30–11:20
Apr 7 08:30–11:20
TUT 1014796141 / 155W 16:30–17:20
TUT 1024797114 / 145M 15:30–16:20

Resources

Around the web

Found by uwloo’s link finder, which checks that each page names ECE 204.

Suggest a resource.

Reviewed on UW Flow

40% liked it41% easy36% useful

From 131 ratings and 35 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • Dogshit.

    Apr 2022 · didn’t like it · 8 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • 2 days to final and I have absolutely no idea what I've learned. Not posting answers to assignments while encouraging "working together" doesn't really work when I have no friends. Videos are fantastic if your roommate's been blasting music at 3am when you're on a triple shot but want to sleep - Guaranteed to bore the shit out of you after the first 3 seconds.
    Projects are more of ECE 150 projects than... whatever this course is supposed to be?

    Apr 2022 · didn’t like it · 7 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Worst course ever. No solutions to any practice problems. Shit videos. Shit projects. No MATLAB lmao. You legit wont learn anything if Douglas is teaching this course. Just give up tbh.

    Apr 2022 · didn’t like it · 6 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Ride the curve, you cant study this class when there are no solutions to any practice problems

    Apr 2022 · didn’t like it · 6 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • This should be optional

    Apr 2022 · didn’t like it · 6 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

47 posts and comments in 40 threads mention ECE 204, January 2013 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.

Fall 2023

For those of you who took ece 250 6 points, 11 comments

“What should I prepare? The only course I didn't do well on is ece 150 so I'm pretty afraid of what to expect. Any concepts or videos I should be aware of before starting?”

u/VerifiedECE: “… (Also I didn’t enjoy the courses like ECE 204 and ECE 240 and etc. …”

View on RedditRemove this

ECE 150 final 18 points, 6 comments

“I did every question, it was pretty light how was it for y’all?”

u/marmbars: “easiest shit of my life. ece? more like eze. give me something harder! (dwharder)”

u/dw42harder: “I'll try...remind me in ECE 204.”

View on RedditRemove this

Spring 2023

ECE 2A 3 points, 10 comments

“How bad is ece 2A compared to 1B? Any tips on how to survive the next term which is fall23 since I barely passed 1B. I just hope I wont end up being braindead when learning the new 2A content lol. …”

u/ece240amirite: “I was in this situation once, please fix your shit and make sure you at least try to develop a study ethic for 2A esp with 240”

u/Tight_Document_1513: “Who were your profs for 2A? Afaik, mine will be ECE240 - Christopher Wilson ECE204 - Ayman El Hag ECE222 - Andrew Morton ECE250 - Ladan Thavildari”

u/SirNinjaToast: “ECE240 - Levine ECE204 - Douglas Harder ECE222 - Gebotys ECE250 - Ladan”

View on RedditRemove this

ECE 602 with Oleg Michailovich 1 point, 14 comments

“Has anyone taken ECE602 Introduction to Optimization with Oleg Michailovich? It will help if you have taken any other course with him and can tell me a bit about the prof, Thanks.”

u/RandomDude_102: “… There also was this whole saga where he taught ECE 204 and barely interacted with the students, gave a massive project to complete near the end which no one could realistically complete. I'll add that reddit link later. …”

u/MisterRushB: “I think the the whole ECE204 thing was a one time thing. So basically there are only 39 students in a class of max 120 students. So it's kinda sus nobody enrolled in his class.”

View on RedditRemove this

Winter 2023

Worst Exams Taken 40 points, 15 comments

“With grades coming out and the recent exam crying threads, what were some of your worst exam stories? For me was leaving my Stat 440 exam half blank and left an hour early praying I passed Hopefully …”

u/amxnday: “my ece 204 midterm i left the entire exam blank and could only answer like 1 or 2 questions lul i got a 15% but still passed the course”

View on RedditRemove this

Fall 2022

Advice for ECE 2A 6 points, 5 comments

“I’ve heard alot about how hard the 2A term is. Just wanted some advice on the courses/ranking of them in difficulty. …”

u/MountainConcentrate9: “… ECE204: The easiest course you will ever take. Easy to score high marks on exams. I took this course in the first offering so things may have changed. General advice... Your study habits will begin to change. If you're not an organized person, you will be in a complete mess. …”

View on RedditRemove this

Spring 2022

Are there any CS and CE grads/4th years that could give some advice and dispel worries about the programs to an accepted individual? 0 points, 11 comments

“Hey everyone, my friend got into uw cs and ce this year, and I’m asking on behalf of him since he doesn’t use this platform. Ce was his first choice until cs surprised him. …”

u/TheAllAwesome: “Cs is easier and actually has less required math (although the math is “more rigorous”).”

u/TheAllAwesome: “… In CS, the 8 math courses that you take are: MATH 135,136,137,138,239 STAT 230,231 CS245 In CE, the 11 math courses that you take are: MATH 115,117,119 ECE 108,204,205,203,207,208,380,307 Count the courses and you see that CE students take more math. …”

View on RedditRemove this

Winter 2022

Fall 2021

the absolute state of ECE204 258 points, 58 comments

u/ycheckk: “… Up popped our new ECE204 website, a broken static HTML/CSS website. "Fair enough, we'll go back to the lectures." No lectures were given. The cohort began rationing their efforts towards where they truly mattered, Levine's 240 and Agnew's 222. …”

u/Nebel12345: “this post killed like 80% of my imposter syndrome thanks i am going to apply for full time lecturer positions now instead of thinking that i can't teach”

u/1000Ditto: “Kelbin teaching ece204 is more competent than Prof kekw”

u/Xierumeng: “30 seconds with a search engine: "ece 204 douglas harder" leads to this as the first result: https://ece.uwaterloo.ca/dwharder/nm/ A bit late now I guess.”

u/COCS2022: “So, how was the ECE 204 final exam?”

View on RedditRemove this

Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

Calendar versions

Undergraduate Calendar