CMSC 173 · Syllabus
Machine Learning
Fundamentals of machine learning algorithms and applications
This syllabus is not final. It is a working outline and will change
before the term settles — the topic sequence below is indicative, and grading,
deadlines and course policies are still being finalised. Anything here may be revised
and announced in class. Do not treat it as the official course document.
Topics by week
| Week | Topic | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction to Machine Learning | slides |
| 2 | Parameter Estimation | slides |
| 3 | Linear Regression | slides |
| 4 | Regularization | slides |
| 5 | Exploratory Data Analysis | slides |
| 6 | Model Selection | slides |
| 7 | Cross Validation | slides |
| 8 | PCA | slides |
| 9 | Logistic Regression | slides |
| 10 | Classification | slides |
| 11 | Kernel Methods | slides |
| 12 | Clustering | slides |
| 13 | Neural Networks | slides |
| 14 | Advanced Neural Networks | slides |
Labs
| Week | Lab | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Welcome Lab: What You Already Have | Colab |
| 2 | Parameter Estimation & the Bias–Variance Tradeoff | Colab |
| 3 | Linear Regression: Gradient Descent from Scratch | Colab |
| 4 | Regularization: Ridge, Lasso & Choosing Lambda | Colab |
| 5 | Exploratory Data Analysis with pandas | Colab |
| 6 | Model Selection & Evaluation: Metrics & ROC | Colab |
| 7 | Cross-Validation & Hyperparameter Tuning | Colab |
| 8 | PCA from Scratch: Eigenvectors & Scree Plots | Colab |
| 9 | Logistic Regression from Scratch | Colab |
| 10 | Classification: KNN, Naive Bayes & Decision Trees | Colab |
| 11 | Kernel Methods & Support Vector Machines | Colab |
| 12 | Clustering: K-Means from Scratch | Colab |
| 13 | Neural Networks: A 2-Layer Net from Scratch | Colab |
| 14 | Under the Hood of Modern AI: Convolution & Attention | Colab |
Assessment
Not finalised. The weighting of labs, project and any exams will be confirmed and announced before it affects any submitted work.
Course policies
Attendance, late work, academic integrity and use of AI tools are still being finalised for this term.
Where things live
| Slides & materials | This portal — they stay up all term |
| Course introduction | Welcome deck |
| Lab notebooks | njpinton/cmsc173-labs |
| Submitting labs | Sign in with your student number, then upload from the lab page |