undesirable teaching style, dry sense of humor

boring... but a godsend after Pinkston... thorough

Intimidating, but a good prof all in all.

good teacher, a bit intimidating. Easy to talk to in office hours

Alot of work, but a very good teacher. very helpful and knowledgable

extremely good instructor

GREAT teacher, material difficult... great in office hours, and really knows material

very good professor, helpful, clear minded, almost always available when you need

tough material and lots of work, but he's one of the most helpful, nice professors i've ever had.

Good Prof. lots of work but you learn the material.

The best engineering professor I've ever had. Has a complete mastery of the course material, and a quick and agile mind. Promotes understanding with his Socratic approach to teaching. Fast paced, but very insightful. Labs are well designed too.

very clear but very hard

amazing prof..makes sure you learn every bit he teaches by asking quersetions to anyone in class anytime so you have to be prepared

Puvvada is a great professor. Very clear and comprehensive lectures. However, it was a little too hard for me, since I was only taking for a basic understanding (s/w guy)... So I often found myself in the parking lot listening to hip hop and copying the solutions before they were due ;). Not a very good idea though, coz the finals are hard.

Good teacher, helpfull. Usually his office is full of students, so if you need help better go early. The class itself is not hard.

I swear I will never forget anything I learned in these classes. Enormous volume of work, very repetitive. Exams are easy if you understand the HW. Labs are ridiculous in 454/457, those classes should be 4 units. Don't take them with 402 (as I learned)

He is a great teacher.

Puvaada is a crack up. He's a good teacher and focuses on teaching the basics but don't ever get up to go to the bathroom. Honestly. He will call on you just as you're moving toward the door. He thinks your trying to escape the lecture and won't believe you if you tell him you really have to pee. Other than that he's good. Undergrads will learn.

Unbelievable amount of work, he overloads you with the homework, don't even have time to undestand it, because the next homework is already due. For the labs you need to watch webcasts an hour each, and read 30-40 extra pages. The midterms are very hard, questions are design and nothing you ever seen before, take somebody else!!!!!!!!!!

He explains the martial very clearly. He cares very much about his students and he is always around. lots of homework and labs but very helpful assignments.

Prof. Puvvada is THE undergrad EE dept at USC. The most important core design classes are created and taught by him. You can tell they are created because the classnotes are in his handwriting! Very good prof. who is always there for his students. Highly recommend!

Great teacher.very helpful.Work load worth two courses. Once he teaches it will etch in your mind forever.And if u take EE457 under him it is almost as good as taking EE557 also as he covers the basic material and concepts better than they do in EE557

excellent teachning & best learning experience one can have.

Never ending stream of assignments and labs. Unbelievable course load, but extremely well managed. Ensures timely help and runs a structured and well oiled support machinery of TA's and Mentors and Graders and what not. Good course content, difficult exams(design questions).Elevates knowledge of Computer Architecture, irrespective of the grade.

The material was hard, the work load harder, and the exams possibly even harder yet (curveball design questions). Though I wanted to hate the the guy he was the most available prof in the world and I loearned more than I thought was possible. Overall an excellent professor that cares about the material and his students.

Puvvada is an amazing teacher. The course material was really hard, and homework and labs were almost never-ending. Yet the course is very well designed and everything just flows very nicely. Puvvada is very helpful and he really cares about the students. I highly recommend him for any course at USC.

Best professor I can think off. Amazing teaching capabilities, extremely dedicated & really helpful. I remember calling him even in night for help & always received his help. one simple Word for him . "BEST". People in industry gets surprised by his students due to the material he covers in his cour

good prof

Though you need to get used to his accent and terrible workload, he's still being one of the best teacher in my life. The lab is really really terrible, but if you know the concept clear, you'll be fine.

Gives a lot of work. Labs are pretty long. Expects a lot out of students and floods your mailbox with numerous emails. Posts a lot of material online and a study guide which makes studying for tests straightforward. Willing at almost literally any hour of the day or night to help students.

Professor Puvvada is one of the most caring professors at USC. He gives out his home phone number and is willing to help students in his private time. The lecture material and his accent are difficult to understand but he repeats his explanations. His exams are challenging but the curve and extra credit result in 60% of the class getting A's.

Puvvada's class was challenging, but he keeps it interesting with cool labs. I enjoyed the final project, which is open-ended and creative (we implemented Pacman using an FPGA). I worked pretty hard for an A-, but I felt his grading system was fair and the curve was generous. He is very willing to explain topics again.

Puvvada is one of the best professors that I've had in my undergrad years. I don't know why people hate him to be honest. I do admit his workload is a lot, but I think its needed to make sure you understand the material. Theres also A LOT of material to look over to prepare for exams. He lets you know whats going to be tested. No curve balls.

The best professor. Most helpful and puts in a lot of effort in producing study material for students to work on. The course load may be a tad high, but that is to make you understand perfectly the concepts in Comp architecture. Looking forward to EE 560.

Prof. Puvvada is the best teacher I've ever met. This course is a must, I think, for EE and CS students. Although the course is very difficult, about half can receive an A.

Awesome! You'll learn a lot!

Course load is extremly high, equivalent to two courses. However, staff and professor are really helpful.

Great professor overall, really cares about his students and wants them to do well. He even gives out his home phone number and goes over exam problems before the test starts. Class is difficult and comes with a massive workload but about half of the class gets A's.

Best Prof ever, legend of his field.

Professor Puvvada's course is really helpful if you are planning to work in the processor design companies. I am finding the 560 and 457 thought by him very helpful as I contribute to a company.

Very nice professor. Always replies Emails promptly~

He's a great man. He absolutely cares about his students, and he wants everyone to succeed. That being said, he's not just going to hand you an A. Pros: kind, helpful, genius, available nights and weekends (whenever you need him), very clear and methodical Cons: lengthy and numerous emails, long assignments, mandatory attendance, long lectures

A good professor. Has clear idea on the subject he teaches. Novel exam setter. The questions he comes up with are all design based. His slides are a little disorganized. Definitely looks out for his students. One of the highest taken class by international masters students.

Take his Course! You'l learn a lot. Brilliant professor. He knows what he's teaching. But be ready to spend time on Labs and Homework. Assignments are easy if you follow lectures and instructions. Professor takes attendance, but you don't feel like skipping classes. Subject is very interesting. CS402 Operating system is best combination.

1) Professor really cares about his students. He puts enormous amount of effort to teach the subject. 2) Expect lots of homework, exams are hard but manageable. 3) Processor gives more than 10 previous exam papers for practice. Even then hardly any question repeats. 4) One of the best professors in USC.

extremely helpful. lectures are very clear. goes over some homw work problems in class so you have better understanding.

extremely helpful. lectures are very clear. goes over some home work problems in class so you have better understanding. but he's very particular about attending lectures

The best!!. You'll learn a lot and end up getting good grades as well.

One of the best Profs at USC . He teaches at a very fast pace sometimes can be annoying . The course material is fantastic. Exams sometimes can be really tricky . There is a lot of work to be done in this course but at the end of the day its worth doing them .

You will not regret taking his class as you will end up learning much more. He is very good at explaining difficult concepts of computer architecture. His lectures are really fast paced and you might need to watch recorded lecture again in order to understand everything that was taught in the class.

Professor really cares about students and wants everyone to understand the concepts . His lectures are very clear and informative . Must take course .

The best prof at USC

One of the best Professors I've ever had

One of the best classes in the summer from a Hardware Designer's perspective! The course is design oriented and a mixture of Logic Design, RTL System Design, Computer Architecture and Embedded Systems. Highly recommended to take this course if you can't find any internships. EE599 is also a good option.

Amazing professor. Failed first test but went to every single office hours he had after and he was a big help. would go back to explain topics I didn't understand and took time to make sure I understood. Ended up acing second test. Definitely one of best professors I've taken besides Redekopp.

Amazing Professor,No words to describe, he is simply the GOD. one course under him you will learn a lot

The best professor that ever taught me.

He is the 'BEST' professors you will find. You should be really lucky to take classes under him. Taking his class is an experience you will never forget in your life and it would affect in a positive way. You will learn a lot in his course. He is very caring and takes lot of effort to make sure that you are doing good in his course.

He is one of the best professors I have ever had. He made me fall in love with Computer Architecture! One of the best courses offered at USC. If you're in Electrical Engineering, don't skip it.

EE101 isn't being offered anymore, but I highly recommend Gandhi. His lectures seem a big confusing at first, but he goes over each topic multiple times. There's a super generous curve, and the assessments are extremely similar to the practice tests he gives us at the beginning of the semester with 1-2 new problems. Very caring, kind and funny guy.

Great class. Great man. I learned so much.

The lectures have to much content to comprehend, be ready to devote some time for self-study. You end up learning a lot at the end of course. The professor is very dedicated and puts in a lot effort to create the labs and assignments. One of the best Computer Architecture courses offered on planet EARTH!!

Best Professor that I have encountered in my life. I d k why he gets flake here. You have to work hard in his class but he gives lot of A's. Comp Arch (EE457) is a difficult and u can't learn without practice. Take his class with other less course load classes. You have to watch his lectures 3 times (cuz of material coverd).

very very dedicated professor

First two weeks of the classes will make you think to drop the course. But get through them and believe me - it is going to be really awesome after that. Very interesting. Only negative point - you have to study this subject as if this is the only thing in your life in that semester. Heavy coursework.

The entry level of CPU architecture. This is a great course to learn how low-level software interacts with high-level hardware. You will have a solid and comprehensive understanding of how CPU, cache, and memory work together.

To be honest, he is a very conscientious professor and a super hard-working man. But his quiz and final last for 3 hours. That's the only Slots point.

Cares a lot about his students and their learning experience. You probably need some sort of passion for computer engineering to enjoy his courses, if you don't you will probably be frustrated by this class. If you do, you will find him to be the one of the best electrical engineering professors at USC. Btw 50% of his class gets at least an A-.

We all hear rumors about Prof. Puvvada: his accent, disorganized materials, mandatory attendance, and 3-hour exams, but really he's not bad. He's very patient and caring both in and out of class. Exams are curved in favor of students and past exam/solutions are available. More than half of the class gets A/A-. Not the best, but a solid professor.

Most dedicated Prof seen. Has more than 31 hours of office hours every week.

Brilliant professor! It's been more than 4 years since I took this course and it still has a lot of importance in my life. I keep going back to prof. puvvada's notes to clear up a lot of my doubts. He's available to answer all your questions, makes sure you understand the concepts right. Expect one of the 3 exams to be difficult. Overall, 5/5.

The best person to take this course with is Gandhi Puvvada. Hes amazing at what he does and makes sure you get your concepts right. I personally havent had a better teacher! Highly recommended.

Prof. Gandhi tends to get alot of criticism in his teaching style, but personally, I think he does a great job given the difficulty of the material itself. Digital Logic is sometimes tough to wrap your head around and Gandhi does a great job explaining the same concept in a multitude of ways, and repeating his explanations from time to time.

Professor Puvvada is an excellent Professor! He is very knowledgeable about the subject, and is clearly passionate about teaching. He will absolutely go out of his way to help students. You do need to attend lecture however, as his PowerPoint slides are not intended to be comprehensive and you need his lecture to fully understand the material.

The word is all around. He's not considerate, lectures are too loaded, too much homework and difficult tests. I felt the same at first. But once the midterm was over, to my surprise, I actually loved the subject. He was very understanding and kind in this covid19 situation. To me, he became one of the best professors I ever had. Very inspirational!

I loved Professor Puvvada. His teaching style takes some getting used to, but things become clear after you adapt. He is patient and explains the material very well. The exams are tough, but he makes his expectations clear and tells you exactly what you need to do to be successful. The class can be tough, but put in the work and you will be okay!

The class is lively and interesting. He is a respectable teacher. To pass the exam you must fully understand what is being said. His accent is very serious. Be sure to work strictly according to his plan, otherwise you will miss more and more content. Homework and experiments are not difficult, but very, very much. I almost give 70% of my time!

His courses should be required in USC EE undergraduate course plan. Learned so much in his course with well designed labs and hws. Warning: Exams are hard since it's a DESIGN course! But you never learn that much in any other EE course.

Professor Puvvada's teaching style takes a while to get used to, and he tends to repeat a lot of content during lectures, but I think his lectures are generally helpful. His homework and labs are pretty well-designed (although they are old-fashioned). He is very dedicated to teaching and is willing to put a lot of extra time to help students out.

This was one of the hardest classes I have taken, but it was one of my favorite classes. The design-based exams are difficult but really tested my knowledge and revealed how much I learned. Professor Puvvada is misunderstood but genuinely cares about his students. If you are diligent and work hard, you will be successful in this class.

Great professor, great curriculum, and great labs. Lecture is really dense with material, but overall he covers the material really well.

Prof. Gandhi is one of the best professors Ive had at USC. He truly cares about his students and offers an engaging and interesting class. Would definitively recommend taking class with him!

A professor with great passion in teaching.

Gandhi Puvvada is a very respectable Professor. He cares about his students, and he wants all of them to learn a lot from his course. All of the material is helpful for your interview, try your best, and you will never regret taking his class.

Make some preparation about Verilog HDL, and attend each class and review the material, then you will be fine. You can learn a lot from him, and he is a very experienced professor in Computer System Organization. Go take it, focus on his lecture and benefit from it.

The course is structured to the point where attendance is important. Pre-requisites include Digital Logic Design Basics, State Machines, Verilog HDL. Do not take this course if you are looking to coast through the semester. There will be labs and assignments on a weekly basis and Of course, it is highly informative and rewarding.

Knows what he's talking about. Will call you out in class if you aren't paying attention and can't hear very well without his hearing aids. I would want to take higher div courses with him though since I think lower div is a bit more removed from his specialty

Lecture heavy, need to keep up the pace with him and study every week. He holds a great teaching staff and sets up multiple office hours which really helps a lot. The coursework is well tailored and he teaches a lot of advanced topics which are helpful for interviews. Would take him again, it's so worth it!

Great professor! I know this class is extremely hard to follow if you are not putting in the majority of your time in this course. But personally, I feel if you want to become a micro-architect then this is the best course at USC. Advanced concepts are introduced in an amazing way that solidifies them in your mind for life. Highly recommended!

"First person first row" will get u back to the class from being distracted.

Pro. Puvvada is very generous in giving grade level. EE457 contains a lot of knowledge and is very heavy for graduate students who are not major in EE when undergraduate like me. There are lots of knowledge for those students to learn by themselves. However, Pro. Puvvada gave out very good self-study materials and videos, which are very useful.

I think he is a good professor who wants to teach everything for his students. However, I' m not able to digest every lecture in his class. It takes me maybe 5 hours or even longer to let me digest the lecture.

Porfessor Gandhi explains the concepts that we should understand with great details during lectures, and he often repeats what was covered in the pervious lecture as reviews so that we are ready for the new concepts that he is going to cover. the exams are easy too once you went though previous years of exam he gives and understand the concepts.

Very tough course. You have to watch lecture recording over and over again to understand the points and unfortunately there is no well-organized ppt. However if you learn this course well you are enough for most internship interviews (along with 477). People can be very controdictary on rating it but it's unavoidable if you wanna follow vlsi track

He is a bit disorganized in lecture but goes at a fast pace which I enjoy. In office hours he is exceptional and always provides clear and concise answers. He is a funny guy and loves for the class to participate in his Q/A environment. Yes you will have to rewatch lectures or spend time learning outside of class, but you are a student just do it.

The Best

tbh his class does feel a little bit like high school, he hates people on their phones and will cold call you if you arent paying attention. his lectures are a little confusing/boring but the whole class is like that. hes good at explaining hard topics and has a lot of office hours, which is why im rating him so high. go to oh and its an easy a

I love this man. He usually goes for the first person first row, but I got hit with a first person fifth row once and it was enough to make me pay attention for an extra 15 minutes that day. It's very easy to lose focus but it's not too bad.

The class can be challenging but it's manageable if you review the provided past exams for the midterm and final. Grinding a lot of these helped me. The exam grading is generous, so putting in some effort should make it easy to achieve a decent grade. I felt that he cares about his students success and their understanding of the material.

Some may hate him for their reasons but HE IS MY GOD.

Professor has an amazing understanding of the subject, and can explain all the concepts exceptionally well. Also, his work ethic is inspiring.

All hail lord Gandhi

better than redekopp in case you were wondering

gandhi puvvada's work ethic is inspring to all, he will email you at 12am and 4am, his dedication to his students is otherwordly.

I like Gandhi, he is a funny guy and very entertaining in class. The way he structured the course is very unique and forces you to really understand the concepts. He will give you loads of preparation material for the exams, but the work load can be tough at times especially at the start where he releases multiple deadlines in just the first month

Large gap from 354 to 457. Puvvada's teaching lacks formalism, but he makes up for this in a tremendous amount of support. You have to go through many pp + rewatch lectures in order to understand the tests. And if you want to understand the subject you'll have to study further. Tomasulo was extremely complicated and left me wanting more.

Most can't keep up. If you can keep up though, he may be the best professor you've ever had. The way he teaches computer architecture is genuinely so inspirational, you instantly get hooked. Also, if you get an A (or land in his above 100% section), you get special emails from him which comprise of industry opportunities from his former students.

Puvvada's lectures are great but his old age is definitely showing. He also has lots of practice problems that you can work on to make sure you understand the material. I took this class as a DEN remote student. He and his TA/CPs are accommodating to remote students and he responds to emails fairly quickly.

Makes you fall in love with hardware design. Helpful and accomodating to new design ideas. RTL filling gives a general idea of how multi stage pipelines work and you will learn much more if you actually go over the completed code once done. Professor is really, really engaging with VERY creative analogies and examples! Beware of 3rd row 2nd person!

The wise, all-knowing, one and only: ‘One Stroke Gandhi'

Can't really understand him, but he's honestly great.