CMSC 520 Computer Architecture

Spring 2025

 

 

Instructor: Dr. Jeonghwa Lee

Office:  MCT 187

Office Hours:  MW 2:30pm - 3pm, 5pm - 6:30pm, T 12pm - 1pm, or by appointment

Phone: 717-477-1019

E-Mail: jlee@ship.edu

Class Website: http://www.cs.ship.edu/~jlee/teaching/spring2025/cmsc520

Class Time & Room:  W 6:30pm - 9:15pm, MCT263 

Textbook:

  William Stallings, Computer Organization and Architecture, 11E, ISBN: 0134101618 (Required).

 


Course Objectives:

This course covers the essentials of computer architecture from the standard von Neumann model to modern parallel architectural concepts. Topics include digital logic, processors, memories, I/O, and advanced topics. To gain a better understanding of these concepts, students will have programming assignments using C and MIPS assembly language with some emphasis on UNIX system programming.   


Attendance:

Attendance in this course is necessary to understand the material and is mandatory. If you must unavoidably miss a class, it is your responsibility to find out what was covered and what was assigned, and to get notes from a fellow student.

 


Homeworks, Projects, and Exams:

Assignments and projects will be announced in the class and also be posted on the class website (http://www.cs.ship.edu/~jlee/teaching/spring2025/cmsc520).
There will be two exams on March 5 and on April 30, 2025. April 30th exam will be a comprehensive exam.
No late homeworks and projects will be accepted. 

 


Grading Policy:

Midterm = 20%, Final = 30%, Projects and Homeworks = 30%, Labs and Quizzes = 20%.

Final grade will be computed as follows:
A : 92 -- 100 A- : 90 -- 91 B+ : 88 -- 89 B : 82 -- 87 B- : 80 -- 81 C : 70 -- 79 F : Below 70

 

Academic honesty:

PLAGIARISM and CHEATING are serious academic offenses. The University regulations pertaining to this matter can be found at Shippensburg University Policies on Plagiarism and Other Forms of Academic Dishonesty. Plagiarism and cheating will result in a score of zero on any test, assignment, or program.

 

Withdrawals:

To withdraw from a class or from the University, you must notify your academic dean's office. The deadline to withdraw without academic penalty (with grades of "W") is Tuesday, April 1, 2025. If you stop attending class but do not withdraw, you will remain registered and will receive a grade of "F" for the course. You will not receive refunds or adjustments to your account if you do not officially notify the University of your withdrawal. It is important to notify your dean's office in a timely way.

 

Tentative Course Outline:

  • Computer System
  • Arithmetic and Logic
  • The Central Procssing Unit
  • Memory Hierachy Design
  • Storage Systems
  • Parallel Organization

 

Title IX [https://www.ship.edu/about/offices/hr/title_ix_statement/]