CS 3102

The best advice I have for this course is to
1) Go to lecture
2) Read the book

A lot of the material was unlike anything I've seen before so the more exposure you get, through either lecture or reading the book, the better

Keys to success:
1) Read the textbook. All of the material in this class is abstract and takes more than one lecture to learn
2) Go to office hours as much as you can. Professor Martin realizes that most people have never touched any of the material covered in this class before, and his office hours made all of the difference for me
3) There are not many homework assignments, so when one is assigned, go to office hours if you don't understand how to do a problem.
4) Tests are fair. You should especially study the definitions for any of the topics covered in previous lectures. Not too many implementation problems

Overall this is a difficult course. I blame the material, because there is no way I'm going to use this in the future. Professor Martin, however, is one of the nicest professors I have ever met, and if you have trouble with anything, don't hesitate to email him or go to OH - effort counts

Take Theory! Especially for BA students - this class is fundamental to computer science. Maybe it isn't the most "applicable" class to your everyday coding, but the things you'll learn in this class are widely applicable throughout our discipline and knowing all of this allows you to see why we build computers the way we do. Plus, Professor Martin is super nice - he's totally willing to help anybody out and offers plenty of opportunities for extra credit. Plus, unlike certain others who teach Theory (cough cough), he actually lectures about the material.

Prof. Martin is a smart guy but not the best lecturer for this class. His lectures can sometimes be confusing because of his fast pace and the abstract nature of course material. To be able to follow his lectures, you probably want to preview the textbook sections to cover, and be a quick thinker (and note-taker) in class.
There are in-class quizzes that are graded but allowing group work, as well as assignments outside class. Those in-class HW are meant to be straightforward, although students don't often think so. The After-class HWs are easier with the help of TAs at office hours. The three exams could together count towards 70% of your final grade, and they are stressful if you don't fully understand the material. Grading (by Prof.Martin himself) on the exams is quite picky about the details you write down so make sure you get details right. Do a lot of practices on definitions, constructions, and proofs, and study textbook examples well before you go to the exams. A few extra credits are given if you attend events on-grounds that have nothing to do with Comp Theory -- good opportunities to catch up with some points you lose in exams. In a nutshell, this is a hard class but it's not impossible to do well if you put effort in.