IITM BS Control Engineering (EE3102): Syllabus and Tips

Control Engineering (EE3102) is a 4 credit theory course in the IITM BS Electronic Systems programme. The Sep 2025 syllabus lists it at the diploma level, but the ES handbook lists it as a compulsory degree level core course. It builds on Signals and Systems (EE2101). The syllabus names Prof. Ramkrishna Pasumarthy and Prof. Chinthaka, Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Madras, as instructors.

Three problems in the official documents

1. The code EE3102 is used twice. The syllabus gives EE3102 to two different courses: Control Engineering and Embedded Linux and FPGAs. The handbook gives Embedded Linux and FPGAs a different code, EE4101. On the portal, check the course name, not only the code.

2. The level is unclear. The syllabus puts Control Engineering in its diploma list. Both handbook course tables put it at the degree level. The handbook's own study plans place it early too: the fastest plan has it in Term 4, next to diploma courses. The handbook also says you can register for degree courses only after finishing the whole diploma. Ask support whether you can take it before your diploma is done.

3. The prerequisite rule is unclear. The handbook's main table makes Signals and Systems a prerequisite (pass it first). The prerequisite section makes it a corequisite (same term or earlier). Passing it first is the safe choice. See ES course prerequisites.

What the syllabus lists

This is where the syllabus entry goes wrong. Its objectives and its six modules describe sensor experiments, not control theory:

• Modules 1 and 2: temperature sensing with an RTD and a thermistor, and making the thermistor output linear with a circuit or with code.
• Modules 3 and 4: a PPG circuit that picks up the pulse using red light, sends the data to a PC, filters it and estimates heart rate.
• Module 5: detecting walking and stair climbing from phone accelerometer data.
• Module 6: a microcontroller circuit that measures capacitance and works as a touch switch.

These read like a sensor lab list and overlap with the Sensors and Applications Lab. Only the two textbooks are about control: "Modern Control Engineering" by Katsuhiko Ogata, and "Feedback Control of Dynamic Systems" by Franklin, Powell and Emami-Naeini. So the Sep 2025 document does not give a reliable topic list for this course. Check the course page on the student portal, or ask support, for the real week plan.

How the course is assessed

The syllabus says nothing about grading for this course. The handbook's general pattern for ES courses is weekly online assignments, two in-person quizzes and an in-person end term exam, with details in each course's grading document. The 4-0-0-4 pattern has no practical part, and neither handbook table lists a lab for this course.

Where it counts

The handbook lists Control Engineering among the degree level core courses, so every ES student needs it for the BS degree. It is not part of any minor. Its ideas come back in Electronic Product Design, whose last module covers PID control and DC motor control designed with root locus.

Who finds it hard and how to prepare

Both textbooks rest on Laplace transforms, transfer functions, poles and zeros, and Bode plots. Students who rushed through the last weeks of Signals and Systems feel this most, because that is where Laplace transforms and Bode plots are taught.

• Revise the Laplace transform weeks of Signals and Systems until you can find a step response by hand.
• Practise drawing pole-zero plots and Bode plots for simple first and second order systems.
• Plot step responses in Python or MATLAB and change one parameter at a time. Seeing a system overshoot or settle builds intuition fast.
• Read the opening chapters of one of the two textbooks before the term.

What to take before and after

Before: Signals and Systems. After: Electronic Product Design and Power Management for Electronic Systems, which both use feedback loops. The ES study plans show where it sits in each suggested plan.

Common questions

Is Control Engineering a diploma or a degree course?

The syllabus says diploma. Both handbook tables say degree core. Until the programme clears this up, ask support which level it counts toward in your case.

Why does the syllabus show sensor experiments for a control course?

It looks like a copy error in the Sep 2025 document. The textbooks listed are standard control books, so expect control theory. The portal course page is the better guide.

Which course is EE3102 on my registration page?

In the syllabus, EE3102 is both Control Engineering and Embedded Linux and FPGAs. The handbook uses EE3102 only for Control Engineering. Both are 4 credits, so read the course name before you pay.

Is there a lab with Control Engineering?

No lab is listed. The credit pattern 4-0-0-4 has no practical part, and neither handbook table pairs a lab with it.