CPSC490 - Student Directed Seminars

Problem Solving in Computer Science

Internet Application Development

Jan - Apr 2007

Introduction

Are you interested in algorithms, but find the theory a bit dry? Do you want a chance to actually implement the algorithms instead of just learning about them? Try CPSC 490! This student directed seminar -- coordinated by 2 members of the ACM programming team -- will give you a chance to learn the fundamental algorithms, and then apply them to actual programming problems (if you are thinking of interviewing with Microsoft or Google, this is exactly the kind of thing you want to be able to do).

The class counts as a regular 400-level CPSC course. A time has not yet been chosen for the course: once students have registered, a time will be selected that fits everyone's schedule. CPSC 320 is a pre-requisite for this course.

Course Proposal

A tentative course proposal is available here. Note that the goal of the proposal is to give an idea for the "spirit" of the course. The details in the proposal, such as the mark breakdown and the topics covered, may change. Since CPSC 490 is a student-directed seminar, students in the class will get a chance during the first week of the classes to propose changes to the details of the course.

People

Andrew RothbartCoordinatorrothbart...AT...gmail...com
Igor OstrovskyCoordinatorigor...AT...interchange...ubc...ca
Dr. Patrice BellevilleFaculty Supervisor 

Student Directed Seminars

From the UBC website on student-directed seminars:
Student Directed Seminars is a student-driven program that puts you in charge of your education. Within a framework designed by a student-initiator / coordinator, class participants will define the direction of the course, learning with and from one another through individual and group projects.
For more information,see http://leap.ubc.ca/get_ahead/student_directed_seminars/

Registration

To apply for registration into the course, please send an email to cs490@ugrad.cs.ubc.ca.

Links

CPSC 490, spring 2006
CPSC 490, spring 2005
TopCoder - weekly online algorithmic programming contests, open to anyone.
ACM UVA Problem List - a list of ~2000 algorithmic problems with an automated judge.
Sphere Online Problem List - another list of programming problems