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Advanced Theoretical Computer Science (COMP90057)
Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
For information about the University’s phased return to campus and in-person activity in Winter and Semester 2, please refer to the on-campus subjects page.
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable(opens in new window)
Contact information
Semester 2
Please refer to the LMS for up-to-date subject information, including assessment and participation requirements, for subjects being offered in 2020.
Overview
Availability | Semester 2 |
---|---|
Fees | Look up fees |
AIMS
At the heart of theoretical computer science are questions of both philosophical and practical importance. What does it mean for a problem to be solvable by computer? What are the limits of computability? Which types of problems can be solved efficiently? What are our options in the face of intractability? This subject covers such questions in the content of a wide-ranging exploration of the nexus between logic, complexity and algorithms, and examines many important (and sometimes surprising) results about the nature of computing.
INDICATIVE CONTENT
- Turing machines
- The Church-Turing Thesis
- Decidable languages
- Reducability
- Time Complexity: The classes P and NP, NP-complete problems
- Space complexity: including sub-linear space
- Circuit complexity
- Approximation algorithms
- Probabilistic complexity classes
- Additional topics may include descriptive complexity, interactive proofs, communication complexity, complexity as applied to cryptography
- Space complexity, including sub-linear space
- Finite state automata, pushdown automata, regular languages, context-free languages to the Recommended Background Knowledge.
Example of assignment
- Proving the equivalence of a variant of a standard machine to the original version
- Describing an NP-hardness reduction
- Designing an approximation algorithm for an NP-hard problem.
Intended learning outcomes
INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES (ILO)
On completion of this subject the student is expected to:
- Design, manipulate, and reason about Turing machines
- Account for the inherent complexity of many computational problems of practical importance
- Conduct formal reasoning about machines, circuits, problems and algorithms, including reduction-based proof
- Design approximation algorithms for intractable problems
- Apply complexity arguments to related fundamental computational problems, such as randomized computations, interactive proof systems and cryptographic pseudorandom generators
Generic skills
On completion of this subject, students should have developed the following skills:
- Ability to apply knowledge of science and engineering fundamentals
- Ability to communicate effectively, with the engineering team and with the community at large
- Capacity for lifelong learning and professional development
- Profound respect for truth and intellectual integrity, and for the ethics of scholarship.
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
Code | Name | Teaching period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
COMP30026 | Models of Computation | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
OR Equivalent
(COMP20004 Discrete Structures prior to 2014)
Or
Entry into the MC-IT 100 point program
OR
Admission into the Master of Computer Science (MC-CS) or Master of Science (Computer Science) (MC-SCICMP)
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
433-330 Theory of Computation
COMP30025 COMP30021
Recommended background knowledge
Proficiency in discrete mathematics and propositional logic.
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Assessment
Due to the impact of COVID-19, assessment may differ from that published in the Handbook. Students are reminded to check the subject assessment requirements published in the subject outline on the LMS
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Three individual assignments involving mathematical proof and possibly some programming, requiring approximately 35 - 40 hours of work in total, due in weeks 4, 7 and 11
| From Week 4 to Week 11 | 30% |
Written examination
| End of semester | 70% |
Additional details
Hurdle Requirement: To pass the subject, students must obtain at least:
- 15/30 in the assignments
- 35/70 on the examination.
Assessment addresses all Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Dates & times
- Semester 2
Principal coordinator Tony Wirth Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours 48 hours Total time commitment 200 hours Teaching period 3 August 2020 to 1 November 2020 Last self-enrol date 14 August 2020 Census date 21 September 2020 Last date to withdraw without fail 16 October 2020 Assessment period ends 27 November 2020 Semester 2 contact information
Time commitment details
200 hours
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
Michael Sipser, "Introduction to the Theory of Computation", 3rd Edition.
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
Type Name Course Master of Science (Computer Science) Course Master of Data Science Course Doctor of Philosophy - Engineering Course Ph.D.- Engineering Course Master of Philosophy - Engineering Specialisation (formal) Spatial Specialisation (formal) Computing Specialisation (formal) Distributed Computing Specialisation (formal) Software with Business Specialisation (formal) Software - Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
Additional information for this subject
Subject coordinator approval required
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
This subject is available to students studying at the University from eligible overseas institutions on exchange and study abroad. Students are required to satisfy any listed requirements, such as pre- and co-requisites, for enrolment in the subject.
Last updated: 3 November 2022