2011-12 Course Information!
The UTM MCS department is already looking forward to a great year in 2011-12. It's time to start thinking about your courses for next year, so we wanted to let you know about some of the many opportunities available to you.
In addition to the courses listed below, the department will also be offering a full slate of first and second year courses and a wide selection of third year courses. New offerings for this year include web programming (CSC309), neural networks and machine learning (CSC321), and networks (CSC358).
Information Security @ UTM
The University of Toronto Mississauga is pleased to offer a specialist in information security. This year, the department will offer MAT302 (introduction to algebraic cryptography), CSC347 (introduction to information security), and CSC423 (computer forensics).
Introduction to Algebraic Cryptography (MAT302H, spring): Vinod Vaikuntanathan will join the faculty this year, and in this course, he will introduce the mathematical and theoretical foundations of cryptography. MAT301 is required (and offered in the fall), so please make sure to register for the prerequisite if you do not already have it.
Introduction to Information Security (CSC347, fall): This course surveys topics in system and network security including techniques to identify and avoid common software development flaws, deployment of software in a secure environment, and the role of cryptography in security. The course is structured around a series of practical assignments that parallel the lecture topics.
Computer Forensics (CSC423H, winter): In 2009, 16 students performed project work in Android Forensics, Audio Steganography, and Journaling Forensics, and in 2010, students investigated Google TV. We were fortunate to have been given 8 Google Nexus One smartphones and 3 Google TV devices by Google for forensic project work, and these devices will be available for the upcoming course. I expect that this year's version of the course will concentrate on Linux and Android as platforms, and we will also spend time on simple network forensics in addition to host forensics.
If you will not have the prerequisites for this course (especially if enrolled at a non-UTM campus), please contact Scott Graham for more information.
Design of Interactive Computational Media (CSC318H, fall): Daniel Wigdor is interested in developing interfaces that support novel interactions between users and systems, and he will be presenting this course as an introduction to that area. The course will be structured around laboratory work, as students will develop touch and gesture-based interfaces on the Microsoft Surface.
Undergraduate Capstone Open Source Projects (CSC492, fall and/or winter): UCOSP is a Canada-wide open-source capstone course that received rave reviews from the students enrolled in 2009 and 2010. You'll receive independent study credit at UTM but will be working with a faculty supervisor and a team of undergraduates from across Canada. The teams get together at the beginning of the term for a code sprint and then collaborate online to complete their projects over the term.
For more details, see:http://ucosp.ca/for-students
Admission is restricted to motivated third year and fourth year students. If you're interested in applying, please see Andrew Petersen.
Independent Project and Research (CSC492 and CSC493, fall and/or winter): Experienced, motivated fourth year students may complete independent projects with individual faculty members. Past projects have included the implementation of a static analysis plug-in for Eclipse, the development of an information security policy, and the creation of a 3-d simulation framework for a GPU platform.To set up a CSC492 or 493, you will need to agree on a project and evaluation metric well in advance of the beginning of the term. Contact the faculty member you would like to work with to ask if an independent project will be possible, or contact Andrew Petersen if you have questions.