Class Syllabus

The general format of the course consists of some regular lectures, problem sets, labs, and exams.

Grading Policy

• Grades will be posted on Canvas.
• Problem Set 0 (Self-Assessment): 5%
• Participation: 10%
• Midterm Exam: 20%
• Final Exam: 20%
• Laboratory Assignments: 45%
Grades will be assigned two ways:
• >90 [A], >80 [B], >70 [C], >60 [D], ≤60 [E]. This course will use +/- grading.
• Curved according to the class median. Here your relative score is what really matters, rather than the objective scores above.

Missed Class / Absence Policy

Students must contact the instructors prior to missing an exam to schedule a makeup exam. Makeup exams will only be scheduled following an exam in cases of documented emergencies.

Excused absences for classes will be given without penalty to the grade in the case of (1) a university-sanctioned event [ACD 304-02]; (2) religious holidays [ACD 304-04]; a list of religious holidays can be found here; (3) work performed in the line-of-duty according [SSM 201-18]. Students who request an excused absence must follow the policy/procedure guidelines. Excused absences do not relieve students of responsibility for any part of the course work required during the period of absence.

Late Submission Policy

Problem sets or laboratory assignments or course project submitted after the due date/time are considered late and will not be graded. Late submissions will only be graded in cases of documented emergencies.

Faculty Recording of Class Sessions

Class sessions may be recorded, and recordings provided to enrolled students, instructors, or instructional support personnel. Recordings of all class sessions will be posted in Canvas for enrolled students to access for reviewing course materials. If you have concerns about being recorded, please contact instructors.

The contents of this course, including lectures and other instructional materials, are copyrighted materials. Students may not share outside the class, including uploading, selling, or distributing course content or notes taken during the conduct of the course. Any recording of class sessions is authorized only for the use of students enrolled in this course during their enrollment in this course. Recordings and excerpts of recordings may not be distributed to others. (See ACD 304–06, “Commercial Note Taking Services”, and ABOR Policy 5-308 F.14 for more information.)

Wi-Fi and Technology Requirements

You must have access to Wi-Fi that allows you to properly complete all course assignments, exams, and other requirements.

Policy Regarding Expected Student Behavior

Students in this class are expected to acknowledge and embrace the FSE student professionalism expectations located at: https://engineering.asu.edu/professionalism/.

Generative AI

Generative AI is a technology that can often be useful in helping students learn the theories and concepts in this course. However, unless explicitly allowed by your instructor, the use of generative AI tools to complete any portion of a course assignment or exam will be considered academic dishonesty and a violation of the ASU Academic Integrity Policy. Students confirmed to be engaging in non-allowable use of generative AI will be sanctioned according to the academic integrity policy and FSE sanctioning guidelines.

Academic Integrity / Plagiarism

Discussion of course material and collaboration with other students is encouraged but each student must write/type and submit his/her own solution. Your essays, code and proofs (if applicable) should never contain sections which are identical to the submission of another student, past or present. Submitted work must be entirely that of the student(s) whose name(s) appear(s) on the submission and not solicited in any way from others. Violation of these policies can result in automatic failure of the course.

All students are expected to adhere to the ASU Student Honor Code and the ASU academic integrity policy, which can be found at https://provost.asu.edu/academic-integrity/policy. Students are responsible for reviewing this policy and understanding each of the areas in which academic dishonesty can occur. If you have taken this course before, you may not reuse or submit any part of your previous assignments without the express written permission from the instructors.

All student academic integrity violations are reported to the Fulton Schools of Engineering Academic Integrity Office (AIO). Withdrawing from this course will not absolve you of responsibility for an academic integrity violation and any sanctions that are applied. The AIO maintains a record of all violations and has access to academic integrity violations committed in all other ASU college/schools.

Student Copyright Responsibilities

You must refrain from uploading to this course shell, discussion board, website used by the course instructor, or any other course forum, material that is not your own original work, unless you first comply with all applicable copyright laws. Course instructors reserve the right to delete materials from the course shell on the grounds of suspected copyright infringement.

Policy Against Threatening Behavior

Students, faculty, staff, and other individuals do not have an unqualified right of access to university grounds, property, or services (see SSM 104-02). Interfering with the peaceful conduct of university-related business or activities or remaining on campus grounds after a request to leave may be considered a crime. All incidents and allegations of violent or threatening conduct by an ASU student (whether on- or off-campus) must be reported to the ASU Police Department (ASU PD) and the Office of the Dean of Students.

Disability Accommodations

Suitable accommodations are made for students having disabilities. Students needing accommodation must register with the ASU Student Accessibility and Inclusive Learning Services office and provide documentation of that registration to the Lead-Instructor. Students should communicate the need for an accommodation in enough time for it to be properly arranged. See ACD 304-08 Classroom and Testing Accommodations for Students with Disabilities.

Harassment and Sexual Discrimination

Arizona State University is committed to providing an environment free of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation for the entire university community, including all students, faculty members, staff employees, and guests. ASU expressly prohibits discrimination, harassment, and retaliation by employees, students, contractors, or agents of the university based on any protected status: race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and genetic information.

Title IX is a federal law that provides that no person be excluded on the basis of sex from participation in, be denied benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity. Both Title IX and university policy make clear that sexual violence and harassment based on sex is prohibited. An individual who believes they have been subjected to sexual violence or harassed on the basis of sex can seek support, including counseling and academic support, from the university. If you or someone you know has been harassed on the basis of sex or sexually assaulted, you can find information and resources at https://sexualviolenceprevention.asu.edu/faqs.

As a mandated reporter, the instructional team is obligated to report any information they become aware of regarding alleged acts of sexual discrimination, including sexual violence and dating violence. ASU Counseling Services, https://eoss.asu.edu/counseling, is available if you wish to discuss any concerns confidentially and privately. ASU online students may access 360 Life Services, https://goto.asuonline.asu.edu/success/online-resources.html.

Photo Requirement

Arizona State University requires each enrolled student and university employee to have on file with ASU a current photo that meets ASU's requirements (your "Photo"). ASU uses your Photo to identify you, as necessary, to provide you educational and related services as an enrolled student at ASU. If you do not have an acceptable Photo on file with ASU, or if you do not consent to the use of your photo, access to ASU resources, including access to course material or grades (online or in person), may be negatively affected, withheld, or denied.

Tentative Schedule

Tuesday	Thursday
(Semester begins Thu, Aug 20)	Aug 20 - Module R1 Course Introduction; A Brief History of Computer Architecture Self-Assessment (Pset 0) out M. Kinsy
Aug 25 - Module R2 Review: Computer Organization & Assembly Language M. Kinsy	Aug 27 - Module R3 & R4 Review: RISC-V ISA and Assembly Programming Self-Assessment DUE Laboratory 1 out M. Kinsy
Sep 01 - Module 1 Influence of Technology and Software on ISA Design M. Kinsy	Sep 03 - Module 1 Instruction Set Architecture Design: RISC vs. CISC vs. VLIW M. Kinsy
Sep 08 - Module 2 Single-Cycle Processor Design I M. Kinsy	Sep 10 - Module 2 Single-Cycle Processor Design II M. Kinsy Laboratory 1 DUE Laboratory 2 out
Sep 15 - Module 3 Multi-Cycle Processor Design I M. Kinsy	Sep 17 - Module 3 Multi-Cycle Processor Design II Problem Set 1 out M. Kinsy
Sep 22 - Module 3 Pipelined Processor Design I M. Kinsy	Sep 24 - Module 3 Pipelined Processor Design II M. Kinsy
Sep 29 - Module 3 Pipeline Hazards: Structural, Data, and Control M. Kinsy	Oct 01 - Module 3 Data Forwarding and Hazard Resolution Problem Set 1 DUE Laboratory 2 DUE M. Kinsy
Oct 06 Midterm Review M. Kinsy	Oct 08 - E01 Midterm M. Kinsy
Oct 13 Fall Break - No Class	Oct 15 - Module 4 Branch Prediction Laboratory 3 out
Oct 20 - Module 4 Prefetching M. Kinsy	Oct 22 - Module 5 Out-of-Order Execution Problem Set 2 out M. Kinsy
Oct 27 - Module 6 Memory Hierarchy Fundamentals M. Kinsy	Oct 29 - Module 6 Cache Design I: Principles and Policies M. Kinsy Laboratory 3 DUE Laboratory 4 out
Nov 03 - Module 6 Cache Design II: Advanced Cache Operations M. Kinsy	Nov 05 - Module 7 Virtual Memory Problem Set 2 DUE M. Kinsy
Nov 10 - Module 8 Instruction-Level Parallelism - VLIW M. Kinsy	Nov 12 - Module 8 Thread-Level Parallelism M. Kinsy Laboratory 4 DUE Laboratory 5 (CUDA) out
Nov 17 - Module 9 GPU Architecture I: The SIMT Execution Model M. Kinsy	Nov 19 - Module 9 GPU Architecture II: GPU Memory Hierarchy M. Kinsy
Nov 24 - Module 9 CUDA Programming I: Programming Model and Kernels M. Kinsy	Nov 26 Thanksgiving Holiday - No Class
Dec 01 - Module 9 CUDA Programming II: Optimization Techniques Laboratory 5 DUE M. Kinsy	Dec 03 Final Exam Review M. Kinsy
Dec 07 - Dec 12 Final Examinations (exact date/time per ASU Final Exam Schedule)