New Jersey Institute of Technology
Ying Wu College of Computing
Computer Science Department

Introduction to Computability and Complexity­
CS-611 Syllabus

Instructor: Ioannis Koutis
Email: ikoutis+cs611@njit.edu
Course Time and Location: Tuesday and Thursday 1:00-2:20 (CKB 222)
Office Hours: Tuesday 12:00-1:00, Thursday: 12:00-1:00 and by appointment

Teaching Assistant: Zhihang Hu

Email: zh245+cs611@njit.edu

Course Management

All course activities will be managed on Canvas.

We will use Canvas to have informal and friendly conversations about topics related to the course, including assignments, problems, ideas, etc. You are encouraged to participate. Please be absolutely assured that any question or idea is welcome; even if you are afraid it may be silly, it can lead to interesting and beneficial discussions.

Description
The course will cover fundamental elements of computational complexity. Possible topics include:

- Computability
- Diagonalization
- NP and NP Completeness
- Parameterized Complexity
- Space Complexity
- Time Hierarchy
- Polynomial Hierarchy
- Randomized Computation
- Interactive Proofs
- Complexity of Counting
- Cryptography 

Resources 
 
Textbook: 
Introduction to the Theory of Computation, Michael Sipser
2nd edition, Cambridge University Press
ISBN-13: 978-0534950972
Alternative Sources:
Computational Complexity, by Christos Papadimitriou
Computational Complexity: A conceptual perspective, by Oded Goldreich
 

Additional material will be posted on Canvas.

Important Dates

Exam 1: February 25
Exam 2: March 31
Exam 3: TBA by registrar


March 15-22: Spring Break
May 5:  No class


FYI: The NJIT academic calendar for Spring 2020.


History of minor syllabus revisions:
01/16/20: current  

Coursework and Evaluation

Assignments [25%]. There will be 6-8 short assignments, of equal weight.
Exams [75%].  There will be 3 exams, each worth 25%.


Letter Grades.  The conversion of raw grades will be based on grouping the raw grades into clusters and then assigning a letter grade to each cluster. The letter grade assignment will be in accordance to the graduate grade legend (https://www.njit.edu/registrar/policies/grading.php).

Lateness Policy. Each student starts the semester with a total budget of 72 hours of combined delay. If the budget is exceeded, 2% will be subtracted from the delayed assignment for each hour of delay.

Course Policies

Email
Use of your NJIT email is strongly encouraged.

Mobile Devices
Please refrain from using them during the lecture.

Grading
Written work will be graded for conciseness and correctness. Use formal arguments. Be brief and to the point and write clearly. You may use material covered in class and appearing in the relevant notes without proof.

Grade Corrections
Check the marks in course work and report errors promptly. Please try and resolve any issue within one week of the mark notification. 

Absenteeism
If you miss a class, it’s up to you to make up for lost time. If you miss one exam you must contact the Dean of Students (DOS) within 2 working days from the day the reason for the absence is lifted with all necessary documentation. If DOS approves, your missing exam grade will be set equal to the average of the non-missing exam grades.


Collaboration and External Resources for Assignments
Some homework assignment problems will be challenging. You are advised to first try and solve all the problems on your own. For problems that persist, you are welcome to talk to the professor. You are also allowed to collaborate with your classmates and search for solutions online. But you should use such solutions only if you understand them completely (admitting that you don’t understand something is way better than copying things you don’t understand). Also make sure to give the appropriate credit and citation.


Incomplete
A grade of I (incomplete) is given in rare cases where work cannot be completed during the semester due to documented long-term illness or unexpected absence for other serious reasons. A student needs to be in good standing (i.e. passing the course before the absence) and receives a provisional I if there is no time to make up for the documented lost time; a letter (or email) with a timeline of what is needed to be done will be sent to the student. Note that for most cases an I would be resolved within few days, not months and not the following semester! Not showing up in the final will probably get you an F rather than an I.


Academic Integrity
Academic Integrity is the cornerstone of higher education and is central to the ideals of this course and the university. Cheating is strictly prohibited and devalues the degree that you are working on. As a member of the NJIT community, it is your responsibility to protect your educational investment by knowing and following the academic code of integrity policy that is found at:

http://www5.njit.edu/policies/sites/policies/files/academic-integrity-code.pdf.   

Please note that it is my professional obligation and responsibility to report any academic misconduct to the Dean of Students Office. Any student found in violation of the code by cheating, plagiarizing or using any online software inappropriately will result in disciplinary action. This may include a failing grade of F, and/or suspension or dismissal from the university. If you have any questions about the code of Academic Integrity, please contact the Dean of Students Office at dos@njit.edu