EAS 503#

Welcome to EAS503! EAS503 is a course taught in the Department of Engineering & Applied Sciences at the University at Buffalo

Course Information#

Course Name: Programming and Database Fundamentals for Data Scientists

Course Number: EAS 503

Level: Graduate

Credits: 3

Prerequisite: None

Description: This course introduces students to computer science fundamentals for building basic data science applications. The course has two parts. The first part covers the fundamentals of programming with Python and Python libraries for data manipulation, visualization, and machine learning. The second part covers database design and use of databases in applications.

Registration: Students interested in enrolling outside of the Engineering Science MS Data Science program should fill out a force registration request: https://academics.eng.buffalo.edu/

Course Content#

Matott Section#

  • Quizzes (14) - 20 %

  • Programming Assignments (10) - 40 %

  • Mini-Projects (2) - 30 %

  • Group Project (1) - 10%

Zia Section#

  • Quizzes (*24) - 20 %

  • Programming Assignments (10) - 40 %

  • Mini-Projects (2) - 30 %

  • Group Project (1) - 10%

Course Resources#

  • This website will host the course notes

  • Github (https://github.com/mkzia/eas503) for hosting lecture Jupyter notebooks

  • UB Learns will be used for distributing programming assignments’ description, forming groups for projects, submitting the final project report, and managing course grades

  • Kritik will be used for quizzes

  • GradeScope will be used to submit programming assignments and mini-projects

  • Piazza will be used for:

    • course announcements and updates

    • asking the instructor and TA questions

    • communicating with fellow classmates

    • posting links to lecture and solution recordings (see pinned post)

    • posting latest instructor and TA office hours (see pinned posts)

    • showing the latest quizzes and assignment deadlines (see pinned post)

Preparation for the first class#

  • Ensure you can access EAS503 course page on UB Learns

  • Ensure you can log into Gradescope

  • Ensure you can log into Kritik and pay the fee ($24)

  • Ensure you can log into Piazza

  • Install Anaconda (https://www.anaconda.com/products/individual)

  • Install Microsoft Visual Studio Code

An invitation to gain access to Gradescope and Piazza will be sent couple of days before the first lecture.

Note

This website will be updated frequently throughout the semester.

Academic Integrity#

Warning

Academic integrity is a fundamental university value. Through the honest completion of academic work, students sustain the integrity of the university while facilitating the university’s imperative for the transmission of knowledge and culture based upon the generation of new and innovative ideas. The UB graduate academic integrity policy is available at https://www.buffalo.edu/grad/succeed/current-students/policy-library.html#academic-integrity.

The sharing or posting of material related to EAS 503, and requests for help or answers on any electronic tool, such as Chegg, Stack Overflow, and Course Hero, is considered a violation of the academic integrity policy. Consequences of violating the academic integrity policy may range from zero points to expulsion from the university, depending on the seriousness of the violation.

The following are the academic integrity policies for this course:

  1. If multiple students submit the same homework solution then the involved parties will earn zero points for the common solution(s).

  2. If we can positively identify a student who has uploaded material to any online resource, that student will earn an automatic failure in the course.

  3. All students who are positively identified as viewing the solution for any length of time will receive a score of zero for the problem(s) viewed. All Academic Integrity violations will be reported to the Office of Academic Integrity. Multiple violations of the Academic Integrity policy will result in an escalation of the imposed sanction.

Follow good cyber-security practices. Do not provide physical or electronic access to your computer or accounts! If another student gains or is provided access to your computer or on-line account and they violate the Academic Integrity Policy, you will be held responsible!

Example 1: Student A has been positively identified as posting a homework question to Chegg, Stack Overflow, Course Hero. That student will earn an “F” in the course and be reported to the University.

Example 2: Students B and C are working on code for a homework together. Student B finished the code but Student C is stuck and does not know how to proceed. Student B let’s Student C look (either in person or electronically) at their code, which Student C then uses to complete the problem. Both Student B and Student C will earn a zero on the entire homework and be reported to the University.

Example 3: Students D and E are working on code for a homework together. Student D finished the code but Student E is stuck and does not know how to proceed. Students D and E verbally discuss the code but do not view each other’s code and Student D does not tell the code that Student E needs. During this Student E learns what was done wrong and how to fix it. This is not a violation of academic integrity and thus no sanction will apply.

Example 4: Student F’s computer is non-functional and student G allows student F access to their laptop to finish a homework. While doing so student F copies code that student G has already completed. Both students will earn a zero on the entire homework or exam and will be reported to the University.

By submitting work for a grade, students are accepting the academic integrity policy.