humble-quasar-8484
This class was really nice and interesting imo. I suggest it. Two exams, 4 labs, the exams are proctored which is annoying but I get why. Very informative class.
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CS-7400 • 3 Credit Hours
Key adjectives used by students — color intensity reflects sentiment
humble-quasar-8484
This class was really nice and interesting imo. I suggest it. Two exams, 4 labs, the exams are proctored which is annoying but I get why. Very informative class.
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quiet-owl-4630
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frank-turtle-3106
The course subject is interesting, but I honestly can't say that I learned too much. We went into far too little detail. The class bounced between learning some basic quantum algorithms at a surface level over to implementing some basic strategies for error mitigation.
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stable-koala-7191
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mighty-phoenix-1850
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sharp-bear-6114
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cool-meteor-6849
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keen-viper-2706
Vague instructions, almost no coding examples, extremely fast paced and a lot of information to digest. I recommend an Intro to Quantum Computing before taking this course.
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calm-starling-9534
My favorite course thus far. Great into to quantum computing.
I think a few things could've been explained a bit better and I wrote a blog post: https://medium.com/@david.bai/quantum-computing-gates-and-phase-82d0a1e9ef5c
also i wrote out bascially almost all the qiskit you need to know for the course here: https://github.com/gitgud/cs8803-O13-visuals/blob/main/qiskit_basics.ipynb
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solar-dragon-7711
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Pros:
Cons:
Overall, my recommendation is, if you want to learn quantum computing, just grab this course's recommended textbook, read through it carefully, do the exercises on it, you'll be good to go.
I really liked this class. The front-half of the course was how quantum computing and algorithms work in theory, and the second half focused on current research implementations. The math is heavier earlier on but not overwhelming, especially if you come from an engineering or math background. Familiarize yourself with bra-ket notation and matrix operations/general linear algebra beforehand. Otherwise, I think you can pick up on the math you need during the course. Others have noted that the instructions aren't always clear in assignments. This lack of feedback on GS and the instructions can be very frustrating, but I would say the majority of the assignments are clear enough or have been addressed on ed discussion pages. Overall I think this class is worthwhile if you're at all interested by quantum theory or enjoy learning about some niche corner of computing systems.
Idk who said that this course was easy, but trust me it is not. It was my first omscs course and coming from a very heavy math background I thought it'd be easy. Well I didn't take into account that assignments have little to no instructions other then bang your head against the wall, and I also I had no idea that exams were not at all what assignments were.
I feel like between exams and projects I was doing 2 different classes. Apparently in non-summer semesters they had homework problems, but they refused to share it with us. I think that did us a big disservice.
Yes you have unlimited attempts on the quizzes and also paper reviews are an easy 4-5/5 points. But this class was far from easy or clear.
If you are not a great test taker, skip this course. I had 100% on all assignments, but ended up with high B because midterm and final are 20% each of the overall grade.
I got As in much more difficult courses like Distributed Computing. Exam weight distribution is killing the joy out of this course. I think I would prefer having tougher assignments with more weight and more forgiving exam weights. Labs and KCs are very easy. Those can be hardened up in favor of lesser exam weights.
There are practice exams where you can earn +5 points for your midterm and +10 points for your final if you score 80% or higher in practice exams. The system of awarding bonus points is a reflection of bad exam weights IMHO.
Just took final, expected to receive an A.
To do well in this course one has to really grasp tensor networks which is essentially what a quantum circuit is. Spend time in the first half of the course intensively getting comfortable with tensor products, bra-ket notation, constructing larger gates by hand, and proving equivalency in gate operations etc. Comfort with these basic aspects will greatly aid in your midterm, and general understanding of applied materials in the second half.
The topics presented were quite interesting that it was really easy to do extra work just to read up on the latest advances outside of what was presented in the class.
Overall, a great class, BUT you need to invest the time to grasp the mathematical foundations of quantum circuits in the first half. You will need strong foundations in linear algebra, complex numbers and some basic algorithms understanding.
Took it in Spring 2024.
Overall, very good course.
Pros:
Cons: Lectures are too concise. For the first half of the course, you are required to read the textbook. (Thomas Wong's book is actually much better.) It tooks much more time (~ 20 hours) for the first half. The second half tooks much less time (~ 8 hours )
TAs: I don't want to blame them, but they are often unhelpful in answering questions related to the course materials, and their answers can be more confusing. This is completely different from the Head TA of HPCA (Nolan is great).
In conclusion, it is a great course with relatively new materials and good coverage of all topics. The TAs are very responsive. They are helpful in terms of learning, but they answer logistical questions promptly.