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The solar photovoltaics (PV) industry has created the fastest growing job market in the US demanding highly skilled engineers. Modeling and simulation of solar cells and design of solar photovoltaic systems are highly marketable skills desired by the industry. Simulation tools provide a robust platform to build models and help students to analyze the behavior and performance of the devices and systems. This paper discusses on the MATLAB-Simulink based simulation exercises integrated within a renewable energy course in undergraduate Electrical Engineering curriculum. The simulation exercises include building single diode equivalent circuit model of a solar cell and analysis of the simulated current-voltage (I-V) and power-voltage (P-V) curves using MATLAB scripts and Simulink graphical simulation environment. Students then study the effect of solar irradiance, temperature, series and shunt resistances on the resulting photovoltaic parameters, such as open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current, fill factor, and efficiency of the cell. By interconnecting multiple cells in series, students designed PV modules. Finally, students studied the effect of partial shading in series connected modules and learned the utility of bypass diodes. Successful integration of the simulation exercises could substantially help to optimize the student learning outcome. The impact of the simulation exercises and learning outcome were measured by pre- and post-exercise tests and student perceptions via student feedback. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]