Education in computer science and computer engineering starts with computer architecture

At The University of Michigan, the first required course in both the Computer Science curriculum and the Computer Engineering curriculum starts with the basics of computer architecture. This change in the curriculum started in Fall semester, 1995, after years of frustration with the results of the first course, which conventional wisdom dictates ought to be a high level language programming course. This paper describes the contents of this first course, The paper also includes some observations, having taught the course twice (Fall, 1995, Winter, 1996).