Computer architecture education at the University of Illinois: current status and some thoughts

The University of Illinois has traditionally been a major center for computer architecture education and research in the nation. This short paper briefly describes the computer architecture curriculum at the University of Illinois and discusses a few ideas for improving the computer architecture education of our students. In particular, to improve the education of undergraduates, we suggest a higher emphasis on parallel architectures and programming, and the provision of practical experiences. For graduate students, we argue about the need to develop close links with industry and educate graduate students from other scientific and engineering disciplines.