uwloo

ECE 313Digital Signal Processing

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 3 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: not on the schedule. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

Fourier representations in discrete and continuous time. Discrete Fourier transform and fast Fourier transform algorithms. Sampling theory. Sampling and quantization errors. Transform analysis of linear time-invariant systems. Filter design. Discrete Hilbert transform. Introduction to filter banks and discrete wavelet transform.

Prerequisites

Antirequisites

  • 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 001508898 / 144TW 13:00–14:20
Sep 22 16:00–17:20
Oct 20 16:00–17:20
Nov 10 16:00–17:20
Dec 1 16:00–17:20
TUT 101508998 / 144W 19:00–19:50

Reviewed on UW Flow

60% liked it58% easy56% useful

From 15 ratings and 7 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • Good course, learn about all Fourier stuffs

    Nov 2025 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • interesting class, study lecture and pset problems for exams.

    Oct 2025 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • memorize psets and go over lec problems, exams are moslty similar to pset but 1 question on the mditerm was exactyl from lec

    Apr 2025 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Course content (DT signals/systems, Z transforms, DTFT, DFT/FFT, filter design, and digital processing of analog signals) was interesting and gave a good foundation for future DSP work. Notes are well-written, but the theory/math isn't straightforward and may take time to understand. If you understand everything in the slides (including derivations) and do the assignments/sample questions, you'll be fine. The entire course weight is from the midterm and final (No other deliverables) so the workload's light.
    Also, it's a pretty cool complement to the controls courses I've taken in tron. There are a lot of similarities, but the differences make this course worth taking.

    Dec 2024 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Course must have changed since these last two reviews because as of 2023 there's no labs or assignments so the courseload is super light. Zhou Wang is a solid prof, who cares about actually explaining the content to those that show up to class. Assignments did well to prepare ya for the exams. Kinda slow of a class, would be nice if it had delved a bit more into actual applications

    Dec 2023 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

6 posts and comments in 5 threads mention ECE 313, December 2018 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 2024

ece 313 3 points, 0 comments

u/AdFar6976: “has anyone taken ece 313 with Zhou Wang? What's his exam like? Does he reuse questions? If you have any advice to pass his final exam, lmk”

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Spring 2023

ECE 3B TEs 9 points, 8 comments

u/NFLYoungGuy: “… There are also other things in the 3rd TE list: “One of ECE 313, ECE 320, ECE 331, ECE 351, ECE 356, ECE 358, ECE 360, ECE 373” The dilemma rn is between: databases -> easier content wise (for me at least) vs architechure -> more challenging but no paul ward. …”

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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/anonymousgoosetown: “Had him for ECE313 sometime in 2021 and it was a disaster. Completely disappeared for weeks at a time, the assignments were hardly related to the content, etc. Our midterm starting at noon was several hours late with poor communication. …”

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Fall 2021

the absolute state of ECE204 258 points, 58 comments

“The journey thus far: We began the course with some slow lectures - "It's okay, we'll use Harder's website!", the cohort thought. Harder's website was nowhere to be found - all material stripped. …”

u/pzezson: “Same story in ECE 313 kek”

u/LuffyAKAJoyboy: “Have Oleg for ECE313 this term. The guy did 4 extra/makeup lectures in the last 3 weeks of the course. He clearly struggles in delivery of course content at a proper pace. …”

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Fall 2018

OAT ORGO CHEM PREP :( 6 points, 7 comments

“Hey guys quick question for anyone who wrote the OAT, does CHEM 266 cover the entire organic chem section, or is there stuff we need to learn by ourselves. …”

u/skiiing2022v3: “Ffs just memorize a couple stop sign shaped chemicals, it’s not that hard... If you’re looking for a challenge try any of the courses listed under ECE Oh wait, you’re a Science student, yeah never …”

u/skiiing2022v3: “… For example, the field of optometry has to do with vision and optics so courses like ECE 106, ECE 150 (AI studies will help), ECE 313, ECE 373, ECE 375 are courses you should be looking into.”

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Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

Calendar versions

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