Weights of course components as a percentage of the final grade:

• Test 1: 25%
• Test 2: 25%
• Survey paper: 25%
• Course project: 25%

For dates, see the Course Schedule page.

Due to the technical nature of the material in this course, in-class tests will be given to verify the students' understanding. Tests will be open book, and will have an in-class and take-home component.

Students will submit paper surveying recent research on a topic of their choice. Students are required to submit a proposal several weeks before the paper's due date, giving the desired topic and a brief outline of the paper contents. The final paper is expected to be 10-12 pages long (12 pt, 1.5 spaced), with 15-20 references.

The survey paper grade is broken down as follows:

• Technical quality: 50%
• Selection of references: 40%
• Writing quality: 10%

Students will be required to implement a contemporary channel coding system and verify its operation in computer simulation, as assigned by the instructor. Students may write their computer simulation in Java, MATLAB, C, or C++; other languages may be used with the prior approval of the instructor. Students will be required to submit their source code, plots of error performance, and a brief report outlining their method and conclusions.

The project grade is broken down as follows:

• Technical quality and correctness: 70%
• Quality of report and plots: 10%
• Quality of source code (readability, comments, etc.): 20%