uwloo

ECE 375Electromagnetic Fields and Waves

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

Maxwell's equations; plane waves; time-harmonic fields; waves at planar boundaries; boundary conditions; reflection and transmission; transmission lines; electric fields in matter; magnetic fields in matter.

Prerequisites

  • Complete all of the following
    • Must have completed the following:
      • ECE106 - Electricity and Magnetism (0.50)
    • Must have completed at least 1 of the following:
      • ECE206 - Advanced Calculus 2 for Electrical Engineers (0.50)
      • MATH212 - Advanced Calculus 2 for Electrical Engineers (0.50)
    • Students must be in level 3A or higher
    • Enrolled in H-Computer Engineering, or H-Electrical Engineering

Antirequisites

None listed.

Leads to

Reviewed on UW Flow

72% liked it29% easy91% useful

From 39 ratings and 5 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • The labs were alright, though you often will have to learn material that haven't been taught in class yet or figure things out as you go.
    I found lectures to be really unclear and a bit confusing to be honest. It was pretty hard to try and figure out what the main point was in lecture and you just end up having your notes gunked up with irrelevant derivations. It's probably better to read the textbook and just ask a bunch of questions to the TA (though that might not be as useful if your TA isn't as good as what we got this term).
    The psets were fairly easy, but don't really match what you're going to deal with in the midterm and final, where half the questions will be way more difficult…

    Feb 2025 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Definitely one of the hardest courses that i have taken but it is a interesting course that starts with transmission lines and s-parameters and then the 2nd half is all on Maxwell's equations and their various uses and applications. Interesting but Hard

    Jul 2023 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • The only course in 3A where I attended classes. Fun course with a decent overlap with 106

    Aug 2017 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • I liked the course a lot, though a lot was down to the way it was taught. The prof always delved into applications and linked the concepts to real life.

    Aug 2016 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • The course itself is not too hard if you read the slides BY YOURSELF. Starting with TL, then S-param, Maxwell, Propagation lastly reflection & transmission. Everything makes sense if you READ IT YOURSELF. The reason I don't like this course is because of the prof. Prof Majedi, he is a fun guy and love his RF area for sure. But he spend like half of each lecture talking about random stuff which are unrelated to his lecture. Also he did way too much advertising for this 477 class. I understand he wants people to like RF and study RF in 4th year but his way to introduce it is BAD. The other bad thing is he did not do review before he starts the course. So you will feel like 'wth is he talking…

    Aug 2014 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

21 posts and comments in 18 threads mention ECE 375, October 2016 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.

Spring 2021

ECE 373 for 4A TE 3 points, 3 comments

u/throw7369: “How hard is it? Is it doable without having done ECE 375 (i.e. no prior intro to smith chart and transmission lines)? Another option is doing ECE 474 in winter but I've heard that course is a lot harder.”

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Fall 2020

winter 2021 instructors seem to be rolling out 41 points, 28 comments

u/bandwag0n3r: “If anyone has had these professors, how good are they? 1B ECE next term. Thanks! ECE 106 - Hamed Majedi ECE 140 - Mohamed-Yahia Dabbagh ECE 124 - Otman Basir”

u/Plane_Razzmatazz_143: “I've had Prof Dabbagh for ECE 207 and Prof Majedi for ECE 375 so not for the courses you mentioned. However, I found both profs to be pretty solid. With Prof Majedi, he kept taking about 106 when I took 375 - he has a serious passion for this stuff so it should be fine. …”

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Winter 2020

1B is gonna see me again next year! 236 points, 24 comments

u/trashiguitar: “Real shit, ECE 106 is literally just vector calculus. I don't understand why we do ECE 106 before ECE 206, and for that matter, why CE won't do 206 at all but will do 106”

u/Frozen-Penis: “The nice part is we pretty much do ECE 106 all over again as a part of ECE 375 but it feels way easier because it's after taking ECE 206”

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Winter 2019

Anyone taken ECE 3A have tips and suggestions for survival? 3 points, 7 comments

u/guywhoknowsnoguys: “Pretty much the title - looking at course specific suggestions. ECE 375 \- Electromagnetic Fields and Waves ECE 316 \- Probability Theory and Statistics ECE 380 \- Analog Control Systems ECE 331 \- Electronic Devices TYSM!! :) :)”

u/bromdenki: “ECE 375 is pretty dope. It's the course in the EE curriculum I liked the most. ECE 331 is an absolute torture to get through. Just memorize how things are made and you should be good. …”

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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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ECE 375 and 331 notes/ textbooks 0 points, 3 comments

u/Annnnnnnnnne: “For anyone who was taken ECE 375 and 331, can you send me the notes? I heard both courses are hard. I am trying to find the notes and textbooks to study ahead. (there is nothing online :() Thanks!”

u/EzE_Sloth9: “don't worry, it's eaz”

u/Annnnnnnnnne: “LOL, I am actually more worried about 375 cause I did pretty bad on ECE 106 and I heard ECE 375 is an advanced version of ECE 106. Any suggestions? Btw if you have the notes, mind sending me both?”

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Winter 2018

ECE 106 and heartbreak 2 points, 9 comments

u/throwaymylif3: “… ECE 375 seems to be the upper-year version of ECE 106 (or atleast, the most related ece course to 106), so I wanted to check its course outline/syllabus but couldn't find it online (any 3A EEs have it, could you send pls) If anybody has any advice or suggestions for anything …”

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Fall 2017

ECE Advice 4 points, 14 comments

u/qhdhekdkdiduxyu: “… And looking at the courses down the line, such as Electromechanical Energy Conversion (ECE 260), Electromagnetic Fields and Waves (ECE 375) and a bunch of other EE courses, I just don’t feel I am competent enough in physics to succeed. …”

u/useless_amp: “… There are some future core courses that rely heavily on physics such as your EM courses (ECE 106, ECE 375), and materials and devices courses (ECE 209, 331). Most of the EE courses rely more on the EM, waves, quantum concepts as opposed to classical mechanics. …”

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How hard are the ece X60’s relative to other ece courses? 0 points, 5 comments

“title looking for advice. and what courses should i aim to do well in before i start ece260. currently in 1A”

u/tris_for_the_guys: “ECE 260 is a new course under the modified curriculum so I think your year will be the first to take it. It sounds similar to the existing ECE 361 though which isn't too difficult. …”

u/tris_for_the_guys: “Yeah there are a few concepts from 106 that re-appear (such as flux) but 106 was more integration-heavy than anything we've done in power courses so far. I didn't do too well in 106 but haven't found it an issue in ECE 375 or ECE 361 (both power).”

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Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

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