CS 104c: Competitive Programming

• Fall 2025: 54445 (56)
• 25 Aug - 8 Dec 2025
• M 4 pm: RLP 0.128

Course Information

• Instructional Mode: Face-to-face

Instructors

Teaching Assistants

Welcome Message

• Sign in to Canvas and confirm your registration for the course. Check your grades regularly.
• Confirm that you can access Ed Discussion on Canvas to post class questions.
• If it involves something personal, like your grade, please make a private post on Ed Discussion.
• Sign up for a Codeforces account.
• Sign up for a GitLab account and clone the class repo to access the slides:
  • git clone https://gitlab.com/gpdowning-ut/cs104c.git
• Sign up for a CSES account.
• Sign up for a Zoom account. You must use your UT EID credentials. Ensure that you have the latest version of the app: 6.5.3

Communication

• Please use Ed Discussion for all of your communication with the staff.

Catalog Description

• Explores the algorithms needed to solve a given problem, reason about corner cases, and write correct implementations under time pressure.
• Focuses on skills useful for international programming competitions, whiteboard job interviews, and programming tasks that require quickly solving challenging problems with creative use of algorithms.

Overview of the Class

• prefix sums
• graphs, search
• shortest path
• binary search
• greedy algorithms
• DFS backtracking
• dynamic programming
• number theory
• string algorithms
• segment trees

Lectures Online

• This class is using the Lectures Online recording system. This system records the audio and video material presented in class for you to review after class. Links for the recordings will appear in the Lectures Online tab on the Canvas page for this class. You will find this tab along the left side of the navigation in Canvas.
• To review a recording, click on the Lectures Online navigation tab and follow the instructions on the page. You can learn more about how to use the Lectures Online system at http://sites.la.utexas.edu/lecturesonline/students/how-to-access-recordings/.
• You can find additional information about Lectures Online at https://sites.la.utexas.edu/lecturesonline/.

Pre-Requisites of the Course

• Computer Science 311 or 311H with a grade of at least C-, and registration or credit in Computer Science 314 or 314H with a grade of at least C-.

Software

• Canvas
• Codeforces
• CSES
• Ed Discussion
• GitLab
• Zoom

Grading Policy

• We expect each student to abide by the University of Texas Honor Code: "As a student of The University of Texas at Austin, I shall abide by the university's core values and uphold academic integrity." We permit discussing problem solutions with other students, asking others for conceptual help with a problem, looking online for tutorials explaining how to solve a problem, or getting help from a classmate debugging code you wrote. However, all code you turn in must be your own. The penalty for copying code (either from another student or the Internet) is an F in the course.
• We will compute your grade with an innovative approach called specifications grading.
• We will evaluate each assignment to see whether it meets the specifications.
• Here's the EMRN scale:

• The Canvas grade book uses a numerical scoring system, and therefore, we will map the EMRN scale onto a numerical scale:
  • E (2) [Excellent/Exemplary]
  • M (1) [Meets Expectations]
  • R / N (0) [Revision Needed / Not Assessable]

• In this class, an E (2) will not affect your final grade. Instead, it will just be a recognition that you went above and beyond what we expected.

Assignments

• Note: Over the last three weeks, makeups and resubmissions require a documented medical excuse or UT-related event.

Grades

• Note: Your course grade will depend on the number of assignments you complete with an M (1) or an E (2). It will then be the lowest grade in all assignment categories.

Generative Artificial Intelligence

• We permit using AI tools (such as ChatGPT), provided that you properly cite the AI-generated content.

Overview of all Major Course Requirements and Assignments

• 14 Codeforces
• 4 Contests
• 14 CSES
• 14 Find the Bugs on Canvas
• 13 Quizzes on Canvas

MOSS

• We will compare your programming assignments with MOSS.
• You may share design ideas with your fellow students. You may not share code in any way.

Canvas Assignments

• Schedule

Required Course Materials

• No required materials.

Recommended Course Materials

• Papers
• Resources

Final Exam Date and Time

• No final exam.

Class Canvas Site Weblink

• https://utexas.instructure.com/courses/1430331/

Notice of Academic Accommodations from Disability and Access (D & A)

• The university is committed to creating an accessible and inclusive learning environment consistent with university policy and federal and state law.
• Please let us know if you experience any barriers to learning so I can work with you to ensure you have equal opportunity to participate fully in this course.
• If you are a student with a disability or think you may have a disability and need accommodations, please get in touch with Disability and Access (D & A).
• If you have already registered with D & A, please deliver your Accommodation Letter to me as early as possible in the semester so we can discuss your approved accommodations and needs in this course.

University Policies and Resources for Students Canvas Page

• This Canvas page is a supplement to all UT syllabi and contains University policies and resources that you can refer to as you engage with and navigate your courses and the university.

Copyright © Glenn P. Downing, 2014-2025
Updated 13 Aug 2025