The best aspects of this course included the exposure to multiple frameworks, the engaging lectures, and the interesting material. Some students felt that the set-up required for some of the assignments took an excessively long time. One suggestion was to include more coding problems in the assignments and fewer theory problems. Another suggestion was to make the lessons less about parallel technologies, but more about concepts in paral el computing. Prospective students are recommended to have some understanding of hardware architecture, caching hierarchy, and how memory is accessed by threads and processes to some extent, prior to enrol ing.

The highlights from this class were the broad but comprehensive overview of the topic, fun and useful projects, and the applied nature of the information. Most students felt strongly that what they were learning in the class was immediately applicable and very important. The worst aspects of the course were the disorganized lectures, unclear homework instructions, and the lack of communication from the instructor. Suggestions to improve the class included giving more detailed instruction for assignments, better organization of the class time and schedule, and better communication from the instructor and TA. Students interested in the class should have a background in programming languages, and the information is useful and interesting.

The best aspects of the course included the widely applicable material covered and the passionate, knowledgeable, and humorous professor. Many students commented that the assignments were thoughtfully designed and very useful for learning the material. However, many students agreed that the lectures were ineffective, disorganized, and left students il -equipped to complete the demanding homework assignments. Many students also felt that TA’s were unprofessional and rude. Suggestions for improvement included having an overal better planned course and making lecture slides more organized and intel igible. Prospective students should be self-motivated. Previous graduate students felt that this course was not an appropriate level of depth, rigor, or complexity for a graduate course.