ECE-543
STATISTICAL OPTICS
Not in Fall 2026
Term
Overview
Feedback is mostly positive. The strongest signal is that teaching clarity stands out. Difficulty runs on the high side even without a single dominant complaint theme. Best for students who want a structured class rather than chaos. The sample is still thin, so treat this as directional rather than definitive.
DepartmentELEC&CMP
Terms offeredFall
Typical enrollment17–17
Semesters of data1
7.0
Hrs / week
12
Responses
17
Enrollment
71%
Response Rate
Evaluation Scores
Overall quality
Teaching, content, and experience combined.
4.3
Intellectually stimulating
Challenges students to think deeply.
4.2
Instructor effectiveness
Explains concepts and facilitates learning.
4.4
Difficulty
Higher means harder.
3.8
Feedback Analysis
Feedback Analysislow
Analysis based on student evaluations
Based on 40 comments across 1 sections
Feedback is mostly positive. The strongest signal is that teaching clarity stands out. Difficulty runs on the high side even without a single dominant complaint theme. Best for students who want a structured class rather than chaos. The sample is still thin, so treat this as directional rather than definitive.
Student Reports
How hard is the A?
A is doable but not automatic
The signal here is more do-the-work-and-you-should-be-fine than easy-A chatter. Students do not describe the A as automatic, but the evidence also does not paint grading as punishing.
Homework Load
Moderate homework load
Homework load looks moderate. The recurring signal is steady weekly work, but not a course that turns every assignment into a grind.
Lecture Load
Regular lecture load
Lectures matter here, but the evidence points to a fairly standard lecture burden rather than a course dominated by long or exceptionally dense lectures.
Strengths
• Teaching clarity stands out; students repeatedly say the material is explained clearly and effectively.
• Readings, films, or outside materials come up repeatedly as a real strength rather than filler.
• Students repeatedly say the course teaches something concrete, whether that is content mastery, research skill, or a strong foundation.
Tradeoffs
• Difficulty runs high even when comments do not settle on one dominant complaint.
Best fit for
Best for students who want a structured class rather than chaos.
Watch out for
• Most of the signal comes from a limited sample, so be careful about over-generalizing.
• A large share of the evidence comes from one instructor's version of the course, so this may not generalize cleanly.
Student Responses
Van cittert zernikie theorem, first order statistics of light, coherence
Fall 2024 · Gehm, Michael
Coherence properties, Wiener Kinchin Theorem, Van Cittert Zernike theorem
Fall 2024 · Gehm, Michael
Math behind random variables and processes, application of statistical methods to light sources, application of statistical methods to imaging systems
Fall 2024 · Gehm, Michael
1) I learnt how to tackle optics from a statistical/stochastic point of view. 2) Poisson impulse random processes 3) How to treat speckle
Fall 2024 · Gehm, Michael
We learned how to understand and evaluate non-deterministic optical systems related to general optical theory, thick scattering, and photodetection. All of this was through the lens of statistical and fourier optical theory.
Fall 2024 · Gehm, Michael
Rating History
Rating history
Error bars show \u00B11 std dev
| Term | Instructor | Overall | Difficulty | Hrs/wk | Enrolled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2024 | Gehm, Michael 4.0Rate My ProfessorsQuality4.0Difficulty3.6Would retake80%Based on 5 ratingsClick to view on RMP → | 4.3 | 3.8 | 7.0 | 17 |
Instructor
Gehm, MichaelELEC&CMP
Also teaches
ECE-270DL FIELDS AND WAVES3.7ECE-542 HOLOGRAPHY & COHERENT IMAGING5.0