Algorithms I

CS 473 is where you stop just writing code that works and start proving why it works fast — the course trains you to reason rigorously about running time, design algorithms that exploit problem structure, and recognize which paradigm (divide-and-conquer, dynamic programming, greedy, or amortized reasoning) fits a given problem. Expect weekly problem sets that lean heavily on recurrence-solving, asymptotic proofs, and DP/greedy correctness arguments, plus a written midterm and final in the same style — Cormen is your constant companion. Sitting on top of your earlier data structures background, it's the analytical backbone for CS 474 and anything later involving complexity, optimization, or theoretical CS, and it's the course interviewers implicitly test you on for years afterward.