Textbook and Resources

Recommended Textbook Introduction to Algorithms by Cormen, Leiserson, Rivest, and Stein (CLRS). (The 4th edition has just come out, but it’s fine to get an older/used edition!) Relevant chapters will be listed alongside lecture topics on the course website. You do not need to read the textbooks ahead of lecture; they are most useful as reference materials or for looking up new examples
LaTex Resources We'll ask you to typeset all of your homeworks, preferably in LaTeX. Start with the links below, and we recommend using overleaf.com to create your files.

Gradescope

Sign up for our Gradescope page: https://www.gradescope.com/courses/1020809.

We'll use Gradescope for all homeworks and APPs. You should be automatically signed up, but make sure you're all set before the first deadline! Any questions about gradescope, post on Piazza and let us know how we can help.

Piazza

Sign up for our Piazza page: https://piazza.com/northeastern/summer2025/cs3000.

Piazza is here for you to ask clarifying questions on homework assignments, which the course staff is happy to answer. You should also feel free to jump into questions from others and engage in conversation.

Because this is a theory course, and solutions sometimes rely on one particular, specific insight, we have a few rules governing our CS3000 Piazza page:

  • You may not post solutions to problems.
  • You may not post a single, simple insight that enabled you to solve a problem (e.g., “Use Cantor’s diagonalization”), but you may post general approaches (e.g., “I thought this homework problem related to the class discussion on infinite binary sequences”).
  • You must be respectful of and courteous towards your fellow students and the teaching staff.
Violations of these rules will result in our closing the Piazza page.

We'll also use Piazza to post course announcements, so make sure your email settings are turned on!

Office Hours

Office hours are a great place to get clarification on concepts and have conversations with TAs and professors. Instructor and TA office hours are listed on the course home page.

It’ll be important that you come to office hours having already made an attempt on the homework. We will be happy to help guide you on concepts and provide clarification. We do not provide you with answers to problems, and we do not confirm that your solution is correct.

Inclusive Classroom

We believe that diversity and inclusiveness are essential to excellence in academic discourse and innovation. In this class, the perspective of people of all races, ethnicities, gender expressions and gender identities, religions, sexual orientations, disabilities, socioeconomic backgrounds, and nationalities will be respected and viewed as a resource and benefit throughout the semester. Suggestions to further diversify class materials and assignments are encouraged.

If any course meetings conflict with your religious events, please do not hesitate to reach out to Laney to make alternative arrangements.

Lecture Questions

We invite everyone to raise their hands to ask and answer questions during class, and to engage in discussion with classmates. However, we know it’s not always the easiest thing to speak up in a big classroom, or to clarify your thoughts in real time.

Therefore, you can also ask Laney questions directly via the Lecture Question form, which will be available on paper before, during, and after each lecture.

To create and preserve a classroom atmosphere that optimizes teaching and learning, all participants share a responsibility in creating a civil and non-disruptive forum for the discussion of ideas. This includes all ways you interact with classmates and course staff -- in lectures, office hours, Piazza, etc.

Name and Pronoun Usage

As this course includes some discussion, it is vitally important for us to create an educational environment of inclusion and mutual respect. This includes the ability for all students to have their chosen gender pronoun(s) and chosen name affirmed. If the class roster does not align with your name and/or pronouns, please inform Laney of the necessary changes.

Late/Attendance Policy

CS3000 is an in-person class, and attendance is expected. However, we don’t take attendance and we don't want or expect anyone to come to class when they're sick. We'll post the lecture notes from each day, along with short-take videos, that you can use to catch up on any missed material.

These short-take videos were pre-recorded. We do not record lectures in CS3000. If you need to miss class/recitation, then you should:

  • Watch the videos and read the notes posted from the missed lecture.
  • Complete and submit the APP for that day, if applicable, and work on the recitation problems on your own.
  • Stop by Laney's or a TA's office hours to make sure you're caught up and feeling confident on the material.
  • There is no need to notify us about missing class.
These short-take videos, plus the notes from class, are meant to be helpful for days when you need to miss class, but they will definitely NOT be an identical experience! They should suffice when you miss a class or two due to illness or emergency, but we do not recommend using them as a substitute for regular participation in the in-person lecture.

You must be present in-person for scheduled exams. Make sure you familiarize yourself with the schedule so that you don’t miss the exams.

Evaluation

  • Homework (5): 35%
  • APPs (8 total; 3 dropped): 20%
  • Exams (2): 45%

Letter Grades

Your final grade for CS3000 will use the following breakpoints when we convert from letter to number grades. We use natural rounding to get these whole numbers, e.g., 96.5 becomes a 97 but 96.4 becomes 96. All homeworks are equally weighted, regardless of the number of points allocated.
A
94 - 100
A-
90 - 93
B+
87 - 89
B
83 - 86
B-
80 - 82
C+
77 - 79
C
73 - 76
C-
70 - 72
D
60 - 69
F
59 and below

Homework

All homework solutions must be typed (preferably in LaTeX). We will provide the source files for the HW assignments to help you get started. Our first recitation will include a tutorial on LaTeX, and there are some useful links at the top of this page.

It is encouraged that you work with your classmates on the homework problems. If you do collaborate, you must write all solutions by yourself, in your own words; you are also strictly forbidden from sharing any written solutions. You must list all of your collaborators on your submission.

You'll have an opportunity to resubmit one homework for a new grade at the end of the semester (details below).

Homeworks will be scored and returned to you, on Gradescope. After getting your homework back, you have the option to file a regrade request. under one of the following categories:

  • Clarity -- you’re not sure why points were taken off, even though you’ve read the rubric and your grader’s comments.
  • Mistake -- your grader mistakenly took points off.
When filing a regrade request, specify which category the request belongs in. You’ll receive a response, and possibly an updated score, from your grader. After that, if you still have concerns or questions about your grade, email laneys@northeastern.edu.

Late Policy - Homework

Homeworks are due at 9pm eastern on the due date, unless otherwise noted. You may submit homeworks up to 48 hours late for no penalty, but your submission will not be graded right away if it is submitted late. The summer semester goes by quickly, and to ensure we grade homeworks in a timely manner, we will prioritize those submitted by the deadline.

If you ask for an extension beyond the 48 hours, I’ll remind you that this policy exists for those weeks when you have an issue like illness, busy-ness, family issues, etc.; no one is entitled to additional extensions except under extraordinary circumstances that go far beyond these common issues. If something very serious is going on, I’m going to be worried about you but won’t grant any extensions unless I hear directly from WeCare or a similar source.

It’s better to submit something than nothing! Even if your homework is incomplete, if that late deadline is approaching, submit whatever you have. We give partial credit, and it’s better to have that than a zero.

Second-Chance Homework

There is also one second-chance deadline this semester, which you can use to resubmit ONE previous homework. Homework solutions will not be released because of this policy, but we will go over all relevant homeworks at the recitation meetings preceding the exams.
  • Second-Chance Deadline: June 18th, 2025 at 9pm eastern. You can use this second-chance homework to resubmit one of homeworks 1-5 for a new grade.

Recitations

The recitation for this class, CS3001, has two meetings per week, but we will use only the Tuesday meeting for a practice problem set. This problem set will help you clarify your thinking around recent lecture material and prepare for the upcoming homework. It will not be graded.

Thursday recitations will be fun algo-practice sessions, led by our TAs! We'll announce on Piazza each week what the theme will be and who your TA lead will be. These Thursday times will be excellent preparation for your co-op and job interviews.

Algorithm Practice Problems (APPs)

APPs will be assigned towards the end of roughly two lectures each week. You'll put together a solution to a short problem that we'll all use in the following lecture. We'll have time set aside to do these in class, or you can submit on your own.

APPs will be graded on completeness. They must be submitted by 11:30am (just before lecture) on the due date.

Late Policy - APPs

APPs are not accepted late, but we drop 3 of them (out of 8 total).

Exams

There are two exams during the semester, and they will be administered in-person, during class. Exam dates are:

  • Thursday, May 22nd
  • Thursday, June 12th
For each exam, you may bring one 8.5x11-inch paper as a cheat sheet, with anything written or typed on it (one side only). You will submit this cheat sheet along with your exam, and you will not be permitted to use any other materials or notes during the exams.

If you have a DAS accommodation for exams, make sure arrange to take the exams in the DAS office. Make sure you set this time up at least a week ahead of the scheduled exams to guarantee the time and space you need.

Extra-Credit Exam Problem

We will use the last day of class (June 18th) to offer an optional short, one-problem exam for anyone who wants to take it. Your score on this problem can earn up to 3 extra-credit points that will be added to your average for the semester. The problem on the exam will come from material at the end of the semester (i.e., material that has not been covered on a homework or a previous exam). No cheat sheets are permitted for this XC exam problem.

If you are not using the optional XC exam problem, then your last day of class is June 17th.

Late Policy - Exams

We expect everyone to be present for scheduled exams. In the case of an unforeseeable, unavoidable emergency that causes you to miss an exam, reach out to Laney directly before the exam date. I can’t guarantee we’ll be able to reschedule, but the earlier you reach out the better. If you reach out after the exam date, we won’t be able to reschedule.

Academic Integrity

Exams are solo endeavours; no books, notes, phones, or other devices are permitted other than the 8.5x11-inch cheat sheet.

On the other hand, homeworks and APPs can be collaborative. We expect that you might study with friends and work out solutions to problems together, but you must write up your own solutions, in your own words. Copying solutions from a classmate or online source is a violation of our academic integrity policy and will result in a 0 on the assignment and a report filed with OSCCR.

Here are some concrete guidelines.

  • Never look at someone else's homework solutions. Otherwise you might turn in overly similar work.
  • If you produce a solution together, don't simply copy it down afterwards. You must, on your own, write your own solution in your own words.
  • If someone or something explains an answer to you, do not write down their exact words; instead, on your own write up your solution afterwards.
If you collaborate with (or get help from) any other student, then write their name on the the first page of your assignment at the top.

Violation of this policy has consequences both within the course and through the university’s OSCCR office. For a first violation, you will receive a zero on the assignment. For a second violation, you will receive a failing grading in CS3000. All violations will be reported to OSCCR: http://www.northeastern.edu/osccr/academic-integrity

Student Services

If you require support during the course due to a disability please ensure that you are already registered with the University’s Disability Access Services, and contact Laney to coordinate any support needed during the course.

Title IX makes it clear that violence and harassment based on sex and gender are Civil Rights offenses subject to the same kinds of accountability and the same kinds of support applied to offenses against other protected categories such as race, national origin, etc. If you or someone you know has been harassed or assaulted, you can find the appropriate resources here: Northeastern OUEC.