Acquiring competence in areas of mathematics that are especially relevant to computer science and have applications in various fields, from programming to analysis of algorithms to network design.
At the end of the course, the successful student:
Autumn semester 2023, 16 weeks, 2 days per week, 2 hours per day.
The course "Mathematics for Computer Science" follows the lines of the course of the same name taught at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It is aimed at Master students of the School of Information Technology.
The course covers a series of topics from logic, set theory, discrete mathematics, and theory of computation, chosen from the first half of the textbook. Among these:
The language of the course is English.
The course gives 6 ECTS credits.
Students who have the course in their study plan must declare it in ÕIS (Õppeinfosüsteem, Student Information System) by the deadlines set in the academic calendar.
Calculus and algebra, first-year level. Previous exposure to programming is recommened for better understanding of the content of Lectures 6, 7, and 8. Basic combinatorics and probability are a useful addition.
Some introductory textbooks are:
Each week will include:
At the end of each week, a self-evaluation test will be uploaded on Moodle. These tests are not graded and are meant to let the students estimate their understanding of the discussed topics.
For each classroom hour the students must take into account at least one and a half hour of personal study. Ideally, the students will, in this order:
The students are warmly encouraged to take handwritten notes during the lectures and the exercise sessions.
Lecture slides and solutions to exercises will be uploaded on the course web page by noon of the following day.
The first editions of the course had classroom assignments,
where only handwritten notes were allowed.
However, there
was no restriction on the contents of said notes: they could,
for example, include solutions of exercises.
The policy was
then that, if one of the test exercises had already been solved
(for example, at home) then the student was allowed to copy
their solution from the notes to the test paper. However,
copying the solution to a wrong exercise gave zero points for
the task.
Textbook:
Additional references:
The continuous assessment consists of two parts:
Each midterm test is worth 15 points. As the final exam is worth
60 points, an outstanding performance at the midterms gives a
little extra credit for the final score.
To be admitted to the final exam, a student must have obtained a
minimum of 7 points during each one of the three tests, for a
total of 21 of 45 points.
The group work is entirely voluntary, and worth up to 10 points of extra credit.
The students will solve exercises including, but not limited to,
problem solving and multiple choice questions.
The test is given online. It will remain available for a limited
time; a single attempt is allowed, which ends a fixed time after
its start.
Students caught cheating at a test will receive 0 points for the
test, be deferred to the disciplinary department, and get a 10
points penalty on their score for the final exam.
The students will present their solution of a more complex
problem than those discussed in the midterm tests.
Groups can consist of a number of members variable from 1 to
4. The contribution of each member must be acknowledged and
listed in the returned assignment.
The work can be started between the tenth and the fourteenth
week of the course. The subject can be chosen between those
discussed from the sixth week of the course until the one when
the work starts. For example, a group starting on the twelfth
week can discuss topics from chapter 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10.
The deadline for submission is after fourteen days from the
assignment of the problem.
Students caught cheating at the group work will receive 0 points
for the test, be deferred to the disciplinary department, and
get a 10 points penalty on their score for the final exam.
The final exam will take place at the end of the semester and count for up to 60 points of the final score. Three dates will be arranged. Tentatively:
To be admitted to the final exam, a student must have obtained
at least 7 points at each one of the three tests.
Students are allowed one retake. In this case, the last returned
assignment will determine the final grade.
Taking the final exam is required for the final grade. Students
who obtain 51 or more points from the midterm tests and the
group work but don’t take the final exam, will receive a
"no show" grade. See also the section "Final
grade".
The students will solve exercises including, but not limited to,
problem solving and multiple choice questions.
The exam is given online. It will remain available for a limited
time; a single attempt per session is allowed, which ends a
fixed time after its start.
The students can retake the exam once; in this case, the final
grade is determined by the last assignment returned.
Students caught cheating at the final exam will receive a final
grade of 0 for the course and will be deferred to the
disciplinary department.
From 5 (maximum) down to 0 (minimum).
The total score from the midterm tests, final exam, and voluntary group work is converted into the final grade according to the following conversion table:
| Grade | Judgement | Score | Interpretation |
| 5 | Excellent | 91% or more | The student commands the subject. |
| 4 | Very good | 81%-90% | The student has a good grasp on the subject, with some small mistakes or imprecisions. |
| 3 | Good | 71%-80% | The student understands most of the subject, but there are some evident major issues. |
| 2 | Satisfactory | 61%-70% | The student manages the bulk of the subject, but also shows serious lacks or misunderstandings. |
| 1 | Poor | 51%-60% | The student achieved the bare minimum. Maybe the approach to the course was flawed. |
| 0 | Fail | 50% or less | At the end of the course the student did not display an appreciable knowledge of the subject. |
Last update: 5 September 2023.