This document outlines the key topics of a course on modern control systems. It compares modern and classical control theories, describing modern control theory as applicable to nonlinear and time-varying systems using time-domain and frequency-domain approaches, while classical control theory is only applicable to linear time-invariant single-input single-output systems using frequency-domain approaches. It also describes open-loop and closed-loop control systems, and mathematical modeling of control systems using state-space representations. Examples of modeling mechanical and electrical systems are provided.