Michigan study guides, course by course
Michigan is a large public research university on the semester system, known for big curved intro courses, midterm-heavy grading, and a competitive CS and pre-med pipeline. Most intro STEM courses combine large lectures with discussion or lab sections, and exam averages in the 60s-70s before the curve are normal.
Michigan courses use a department abbreviation plus a number, e.g. EECS 183 or MATH 115. The 100-level is intro, 200-level is core, and EECS numbers in particular (183, 280, 281) form a well-known programming sequence.
Fennie is independent and not affiliated with University of Michigan.
Use Fennie at MichiganElectrical Engineering and Computer Science
EECS 183 — Elementary Programming Concepts
EECS 183 is Michigan's intro programming course for students with little or no coding experience, taught in C++ and Python. It's the standard entry point into the CS sequence for students who aren't ready to jump straight into EECS 280, and it ends with an open-ended final team project.
EECS 280 — Programming and Introductory Data Structures
EECS 280 is the second course in Michigan's CS sequence, covering C++ programming in depth: pointers, dynamic memory, container ADTs, polymorphism, and recursion. It's a prerequisite for nearly everything in the CS major and the course where Michigan students first hit serious multi-week projects.
EECS 281 — Data Structures and Algorithms
EECS 281 is Michigan's data structures and algorithms course and the gateway to upper-level CS — most 400-level EECS courses require it. It covers algorithm analysis, sorting, hashing, trees, graphs, and dynamic programming, with large C++ projects graded heavily on runtime performance.
EECS 203 — Discrete Mathematics
EECS 203 is the discrete math requirement for the CS major, covering logic, proofs, set theory, combinatorics, graphs, and an introduction to algorithm analysis. It's typically taken alongside EECS 280, and together they form the gateway pair into the Michigan CS core.
EECS 370 — Introduction to Computer Organization
EECS 370 covers how computers actually execute programs: assembly language, instruction set architecture, pipelining, caches, and virtual memory. It's a core requirement after EECS 280, with projects that include building a simulator and an assembler in C.
EECS 376 — Foundations of Computer Science
EECS 376 is Michigan's theory course, covering algorithm design and analysis, complexity, NP-completeness, computability, and an introduction to randomness and cryptography. It's a core CS requirement usually taken after 203 and 281, and it's proof-based throughout.
EECS 485 — Web Systems
EECS 485 is Michigan's project-heavy web development and distributed systems course: static and dynamic sites, REST APIs, client-side JavaScript, search engines, and a MapReduce project. It's a popular upper-level elective that shows up constantly in internship interviews.
Mathematics
MATH 115 — Calculus I
MATH 115 is Michigan's first-semester calculus course, covering limits, derivatives, and an introduction to integration, required across engineering, science, and economics tracks. It's taught in small sections but standardized across the department, with uniform team-written exams for everyone.
MATH 116 — Calculus II
MATH 116 covers integration techniques, applications of integrals, sequences and series, and Taylor series — the second course in Michigan's standardized calculus sequence. It feeds directly into engineering and physics requirements and uses the same uniform team-exam format as MATH 115.
MATH 214 — Applied Linear Algebra
MATH 214 is the applications-focused linear algebra course, covering systems of equations, matrix algebra, eigenvalues, orthogonality, and applications like least squares and dynamical systems. It's the standard linear algebra route for engineering students who don't need the proof-based MATH 217.
MATH 215 — Multivariable and Vector Calculus
MATH 215 covers calculus in three dimensions — partial derivatives, multiple integrals, and vector calculus through Green's, Stokes', and the Divergence theorems. It follows MATH 116 in the standard sequence and is required across engineering and physical science programs, with a computer lab component using MATLAB.
MATH 217 — Linear Algebra
MATH 217 is Michigan's proof-based linear algebra course — the same core material as MATH 214 plus rigorous proofs, abstract vector spaces, and linear transformations treated properly. It's required for the math major and is the standard transition course into theoretical upper-level mathematics.
Statistics
Chemistry
CHEM 130 — General Chemistry: Macroscopic Investigations and Reaction Principles
CHEM 130 is Michigan's general chemistry lecture course, the standard first chemistry class for pre-med, science, and engineering students. It covers stoichiometry, thermodynamics, equilibrium, acids and bases, and kinetics, usually taken alongside the CHEM 125/126 lab.
CHEM 210 — Structure and Reactivity I
CHEM 210 is Michigan's first organic chemistry course, unusual in that most students take it freshman year, straight after (or instead of) general chemistry. It covers structure, bonding, stereochemistry, and the foundational reaction mechanisms, and it's the most storied pre-med filter on campus.
CHEM 215 — Structure and Reactivity II
CHEM 215 continues organic chemistry from CHEM 210, covering carbonyl chemistry, aromatic systems, and the synthesis-oriented reactions that dominate the second semester. It's the standard next step for pre-med and chemistry-track students, usually paired with the CHEM 216 lab.
Physics
PHYSICS 140 — General Physics I
PHYSICS 140 is Michigan's calculus-based mechanics course for engineers and physical science majors, covering kinematics, Newton's laws, energy, momentum, rotation, and oscillations. It's typically taken in the first year alongside calculus, with a separate lab (PHYSICS 141).
PHYSICS 240 — General Physics II
PHYSICS 240 is the second calculus-based physics course for engineers and physical science majors, covering electricity and magnetism: fields, potential, circuits, magnetism, and induction. It follows PHYSICS 140 and keeps the same multiple-choice, no-partial-credit exam format, with the lab as a separate course (241).
Biology
BIOLOGY 171 — Introductory Biology: Ecology and Evolution
BIOLOGY 171 is the first course in Michigan's introductory biology sequence, covering evolution, ecology, and biodiversity, and it's a staple of the pre-med and biology-major first year. It pairs with BIOLOGY 172 (molecular and cellular) to complete the intro bio requirement.
BIOLOGY 172 — Introductory Biology: Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental
BIOLOGY 172 is the molecular and cellular half of Michigan's introductory biology sequence, covering biochemistry foundations, cell biology, genetics, gene expression, and development. With BIOLOGY 171 it completes the intro bio requirement for majors and the pre-health track.
Economics
ECON 101 — Principles of Economics I
ECON 101 is Michigan's introductory microeconomics course — supply and demand, consumer and producer theory, market structures, and welfare analysis. It's required for the economics major, the Ross pre-admit path, and counts toward several distribution requirements, so the lectures are enormous.
ECON 102 — Principles of Economics II
ECON 102 is Michigan's introductory macroeconomics course — GDP, inflation, unemployment, monetary and fiscal policy, growth, and international basics. It follows ECON 101 for econ majors and Ross hopefuls, in the same large-lecture, curved multiple-choice format.
ECON 401 — Intermediate Microeconomic Theory
ECON 401 is the calculus-based intermediate micro course required for the economics major — consumer theory, producer theory, equilibrium, and market failure, built with real optimization math. It's the course where the major's analytical bar gets set, and a common admissions checkpoint for econ-adjacent programs.
Engineering
Psychology
Studying at Michigan?
Upload your course materials and Fennie generates Daily Plans paced to your deadlines — plus chat, flashcards, and quizzes built from your own courses.
Get started free