Policies

Overview

CS 170 is Berkeley’s introduction to the design and analysis of algorithms, the primary goal of the course is to teach you how to think algorithmically, in particular: the modeling of the computation process, the key concepts of designing efficient algorithms, and how do we compare/benchmark algorithmic progress. To get there, we will cover the graph algorithms, greedy algorithms, divide and conquer, dynamic programming, linear programming, fast matrix multiplication, Fourier transforms, and NP-completeness.

Prerequisites

The prerequisites for CS 170 are CS 61B and CS 70.

Course Logistics

Lecture

Lectures will be held in Undergraduate Academic Building 100 every Tuesday and Thursday from 9:30am - 10:59am. They will be asynchronously recorded, but not zoom livestreamed.

Lecture attendance is mandatory and will be a portion of your grade (see Grading). You will receive 4 lecture drops for the entire semester.

Discussion sections

There is no discussion in the first week. Details for the specific times will be decided and announced on Ed.

Attendance at discussion sections is not required, although sections cover important material not covered in lecture that will appear on exams. You may attend any discussion section! Outside of your discussion section, you should feel free to attend any of the staff office hours (not just your section TA’s office hours) and ask any of us for help.

We will take attendance during lectures and discussions, though note that attendance is not mandatory. However, we may take into account your attendance when assigning final grades (post-curve).

Textbook

The textbook for this course is Algorithms by Dasgupta, Papadimitriou, and Vazirani, also known as DPV. The relevant textbook sections will be linked for each lecture.

Office Hours

There is no office hours in the first week.

TA office hours are a fantastic resource for questions about concepts, course material including homework, and study tips. The instructors’ office hours are best for major concerns or high-level questions about the course material. We prioritize conceptual questions over homework questions in office hours.

You can find the up-to-date office hour schedule at the calendar tab.

Course Communication

Edstem

Ed will be our primary communication method, and all announcements will be posted to Ed. You are responsible for staying up-to-date with announcements and course updates made on Ed.

Ed is also a fantastic resource for course staff to answer your questions. Please read our Forum Etiquette so we can help you most effectively. We also encourage you to help your fellow students by answering their questions—it is a great learning opportunity for them, and for you!

Contacting Staff

For logistics and administrative questions, please email cs170@, a private email that is only seen by the head TA and professors. (add berkeley.edu after the @ symbol).

Assignments

Written Homework

Homework is not a part of your grade this semester (see Grading). There will be the weekly optional written homeworks designed to consolidate your understanding of the course material. We strongly recommend starting these early since there will be no office hours support on weekends. We will also deprioritize homeworks from past weeks in office hours.

  • Homework is released every week on Sunday, and it is due the following Saturday by 10:00 PM, followed by a 119 minute grace period until 11:59:00 PM.
  • Homework submission is through Gradescope.

Please see the homework guidelines to see how to answer homework questions and format your homework submissions.

In-Class Quizzes

There will be three in-class quizzes throughout the semester, held during regular lecture time. We are not planning on offering alternate or remote quizzes. If you are unable to attend a quiz, please email cs170@.

Quiz schedule:

  • Quiz 1: Thursday, 9/24/2026
  • Quiz 2: Thursday, 10/29/2026
  • Quiz 3: Tuesday, 12/1/2026

Quiz dates are subject to change; quiz-specific logistics will be released closer to each date.

See Grading for the grade breakdown of quizzes, participation, and exams.

Collaboration

Homework is not graded this semester (see Grading)—it exists purely to help you build your understanding of the principles of algorithm design. Because of this, we do not enforce a formal collaboration policy on homework, including on solo problems: there’s no requirement to list collaborators.

That said, active learning is what makes homework worthwhile, and collaboration (with fellow students or with AI tools) can be a great part of that if used well. Explaining the meaning of a question, discussing a way of approaching a solution, or collaboratively exploring how to solve a problem within your group (or with AI tools) are types of interaction that we strongly encourage.

As a final note, we’d like to point out that collaboration on homework, while encouraged, can be detrimental to your learning if misused. In particular, avoid collaborations where you do not contribute enough to your own satisfaction. Such a collaboration not only cheats you out of an opportunity to learn through homework, but can also affect your confidence. If you feel that you are not contributing enough to your group, then try to spend time thinking about the problems alone before working with your group. If you end up solving the problem all by yourself that’s great! And if not, you’ll still be prepared to better contribute to your group.

Exams

We will have two midterms and one final—all conducted in person. We are not planning on offering alternate exams or remote exams. If you are unable to attend any exam, please email cs170@.

Exam schedule:

  • Midterm 1: Thursday, 10/1/2026, 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM
  • Midterm 2: Thursday, 11/5/2026, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
  • Final: Tuesday, 12/15/2026, 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Exam-specific logistics will be released closer to the exam dates.

Grading

We will compute grades from a weighted average, as follows:

  • In-Class Quizzes: 10%
  • Participation: 5%
  • Exams: 85%
    • Midterm 1: 25%
    • Midterm 2: 25%
    • Final: 35%

The class will be curved at the end of the semester. There is currently no clobbering policy, but we may take into account participation on Ed, discussion, office hours, HW party, and student performance when considering students on grade borderlines.

Regrades

Regrading of quizzes or exams will only be undertaken in cases where you believe there has been a genuine error or misunderstanding. Any requests for grade changes or re-grading must be made by the deadline. Submit regrade requests via Gradescope. Before making a request please make sure that you read Regrade Etiquette. Note that your score may change as a result of repetitive regrade requests.

Extra Credit

We may offer optional activities that provide a small amount of extra credit, for those eager for a tougher challenge. However, please note that you should do the extra credit problems only if you want an extra challenge. It is likely not the most efficient manner in which to maximize your grade.

Waitlist/Late Adds

If you are on the waitlist, you have full access to all course materials and you are expected to keep up with the course content and submit assignments just as you would if you were officially enrolled in the class. If you enroll in the course late and miss attendance, missing attendance scores can be automatically dropped using your four attendance drops, but we cannot offer you any additional extensions or attendance drops.

Disability Accommodations

UC Berkeley is committed to creating a learning environment that meets the needs of its diverse student body including students with disabilities. If you anticipate or experience any barriers to learning in this course, please feel welcome to send your concerns to cs170@.

If you have a disability, or think you may have a disability, you can work with the Disabled Students’ Program (DSP) to request an official accommodation. The Disabled Students’ Program (DSP) is the campus office responsible for authorizing disability-related academic accommodations, in cooperation with the students themselves and their instructors. You can find more information about DSP, including contact information and the application process here: dsp.berkeley.edu.

Students who need academic accommodations or have questions about their accommodations should contact DSP, located at 260 Student Center. Students may call 642-0518 (voice), 642-6376 (TTY), or e-mail dsp@berkeley.edu.

Parting Thoughts

The staff is excited to teach you this semester! If you would like some tips on how to do well in this course, please see our advice page.

Always feel free to contact us via email or visit us during office hours if you feel unsure about your progress in the course, or would just like to reach out. We are here to support you and help you succeed!