Switched-mode power supplies (SMPS) are becoming an essential part of many electronic systems as the industry drives toward miniaturization and energy efficiency. However, practical SMPS design courses are seldom offered. In this paper, a generalized MATLAB/SIMULINK modeling technique is first presented. A proposed practical SMPS design course at Lunghua University, Taiwan, which incorporates this technique, is then described. In order to validate the correctness of the proposed modeling technique, four prototype SMPS are provided in this paper. These prototype circuits also serve as the laboratory section of the proposed course. The main objective of the course is to teach final-year undergraduate students and first-year Master's students how to design an SMPS in real life. The positive response from students indicates that the proposed technique is useful for SMPS design courses. (Contains 3 tables and 28 figures.)