| CPSC 327 | Data Structures and Algorithms | Spring 2026 |
Readings are listed on the schedule page on the day when they will be discussed in class. "ADM" refers to the textbook (The Algorithm Design Manual). Readings are the first introduction for most material — it often takes more than one encounter to fully absorb something, and class time is more effective if it can be used to fill in the gaps and answer questions about things you have already started to think about. You are encouraged to complete the assigned reading before class to identify the main ideas and note questions, and then revisit the reading after class to more fully understand the material.
Dates for things in light gray are for planning purposes and are subject to change.
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Week 1: 1/21-1/23Topics: course introduction; analysis of algorithms |
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| Wed |
Materials from class:
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introductory survey (on Canvas) |
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| Fri |
Reading:
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Week 2: 1/26-1/30Topics: analysis of algorithms; standard ADTs and basic data structures |
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| Mon |
Reading:
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| Wed |
Reading:
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homework 1 due Wed 2/4 in class |
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| Fri |
Reading:
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Week 3: 2/2-2/6Topics: ADTs and implementations: containers (lists, stacks, queues), lookup (dictionaries); data structures: binary trees, BSTs, and balanced BSTs |
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| Mon |
Reading:
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| Wed |
Reading:
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homework 2 due Wed 2/11 in class |
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| Fri |
Reading:
Materials from class:
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Week 4: 2/9-2/13Topics: ADTs and implementations: lookup (dictionaries), priority queues; data structures: balanced BSTs, hashtables, heaps |
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| Mon |
Reading:
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| Wed |
Reading:
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homework 3 due Wed 2/18 in class |
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| Fri |
Reading:
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Week 5: 2/16-2/20Topics: ADTs and implementations: sets; fundamental algorithms and techniques: sorting, searching, selection, hashing; data structure toolkit wrapup |
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| Mon |
Reading:
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| Wed |
Reading:
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homework 4 due Wed 2/25 in class |
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| Fri |
Reading:
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Week 6: 2/23-2/27Topics: graphs and graph algorithms: terminology, ADT and implementation, traversal (BFS) |
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| Mon |
Reading:
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programming assignment Graph ADT due Mon 3/9 in class |
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| Wed |
Reading:
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homework 5 due Wed 3/4 in class |
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| lab session Thu 4-5pm |
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| Fri |
exam
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revise-and-resubmit for hw1 due Fri 2/27 comments on hw1 |
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Week 7: 3/2-3/6Topics: graph algorithms: DFS and DFS-based algorithms, minimum spanning trees, shortest paths |
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| Mon |
Reading:
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| Wed |
Reading:
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homework 6 due Wed 3/11 in class |
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| Fri |
Reading:
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Week 8: 3/9-3/13Topics: graph algorithms: network flows, bipartite matching, other algorithms; developing algorithms: modeling |
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| Mon |
Reading:
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Graph ADT interviews | ||
| Wed |
Reading:
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homework 7 due Wed 3/25 in class |
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| Fri | Materials from class: | |||
Spring Break: 3/14-3/22 |
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Week 9: 3/23-3/27Topics: developing algorithms: control-flow paradigms |
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| Mon |
Reading:
Materials from class:
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programming assignment Dijkstra's algorithm due Wed 4/1 in class |
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| Wed |
Reading:
Materials from class:
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| lab session Thu 4-5pm |
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| Fri |
exam
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homework 8 #4 due Fri 4/3 in class #1-3 due Wed 4/8 in class |
revise-and-resubmit for hw2 due Fri 3/27 comments on hw2 |
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Week 10: 3/30-4/3Topics: developing algorithms: solution construction paradigms (decomposition, series of choices), algorithm paradigms (divide-and-conquer, greedy) |
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| Mon |
Reading:
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| Wed |
Materials from class:
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homework 9 due Wed 4/8 in class |
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| Dijkstra interviews | ||||
| Fri |
Reading:
Materials from class:
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programming assignment Ski-O due Wed 4/15 in class |
revise-and-resubmit for hw3, hw4, hw5 #3-4 due Fri 4/3 comments on hw3, comments on hw4, comments on hw5 |
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Week 11: 4/6-4/10Topics: series of choices: greedy, backtracking |
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| Mon |
Materials from class:
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| lab session Tue 4-5pm |
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| Wed |
Materials from class:
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homework 10 due Wed 4/15 in class |
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| Fri |
Reading:
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revise-and-resubmit for hw8 #4 due Fri 4/10 comments on hw8 |
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Week 12: 4/13-4/17Topics: series of choices: backtracking, branch and bound, dynamic programming |
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| Mon |
Materials from class:
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| Wed |
Reading:
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homework 11 due Wed 4/22 |
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| Ski-O interviews | ||||
| Fri |
Reading:
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Week 13: 4/20-4/24Topics: dynamic programming |
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| Mon |
Materials from class:
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programming assignment Time-O due Mon 5/4 in class |
revise-and-resubmit for hw5 #1-2, hw6, hw7 due Mon 4/20 comments on hw5, comments on hw6, comments on hw7 |
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| Wed | HWS Day (no class) | homework 12 due Mon 5/4 |
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| Fri |
exam
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Week 14: 4/27-5/1Topics: dynamic programming; reductions; complexity |
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| Mon |
Materials from class:
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| lab session Tue 4-5pm |
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| Wed |
Reading:
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| Fri |
Reading:
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homework 13 due Mon 5/4 |
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Week 15: 5/4Topics: dealing with NP-complete problems; wrapup |
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| Mon |
Reading:
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Time-O interviews | ||
Reading Period: 5/5-5/7 |
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| Tue |
office hours: 12:30-3:30pm
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| Wed | office hours: 1-4pm | |||
| Thu | ||||
Exams: 5/8-5/11 |
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| Fri | office hours: 11am-2pm | |||
| Sat | ||||
| Sun | office hours: 11am-2pm | |||
| Mon |
exam 8:30-11:30am, Gulick 201
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end of semester deadline no work accepted after 11:30am |
revise-and-resubmit for hw8 #1-3, hw9, graph ADT, dijkstra, ski-o due Mon 5/11 8:30am for programs, please name your resubmit with the form origname_resub comments on hw8, comments on hw9, comments on graph ADT, comments on dijkstra, comments on ski-o |
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