Math-Heavy EE Tracks at UF: Signal Processing, Communications, and Controls

To be complete!

This post is a reflection of my journey. The audience includes past me, and for anyone who is interested in the math side in ECE.

On choosing the “math-heavy” side of ECE

I went with signal processing, communication, and control theory. Not because of jobs or what is hot right now, but because I like the fundamentals. They feel like the root of everything else, which are the most important things. Everything else is built on top of this.

At UF, the control sequence is basically dead, so skip that. For communication, the path is undergraduate communication → random processes → digital communication or advanced courses. You can also do estimation and information theory.

I really liked undergraduate communication with Dr. John Shea. He is one of the best teachers in our ECE department, but I do not think he will teach this class in the near future.

As an undergraduate, you probably will not finish this whole sequence. If you want more, that is what graduate school is for. I ended up getting some excellent opportunities for graduate school to work with some of the best people in communication and information theory, which validated going deeper into this.

What you can actually do with this

Wireless systems, radar, signal analysis, machine learning, communications infrastructure, research. The fundamentals apply everywhere.

Richard Hamming talks about this in his lectures. Specific techniques have a short half-life. They become obsolete. But fundamental knowledge lasts. AI hardware changes every few years. Computer architecture is evolving. But the math underneath, the signal processing, the information theory, that does not expire the same way. You are not learning the hot framework of the moment. You are learning what actually matters.

Conclusion

So, if you are deciding between this and embedded/hardware or semiconductor, trust what interests you. I think you should not optimize for industry or employment. Pick what feels important and do what you like most.