Course Next Semester: 639 Data Visualization

Next semester (Fall 2020), I plan to offer an undergraduate special topics class on Data Visualization.

The class will “meets with” CS765 (the graduate level Data Visualization class), but have a distinct number so I can make the class more appropriate for undergrads. Graduate Students should enroll in CS765.

The class will be quite similar to last year’s offering of CS765 (see the Course Web). There is a “What is this course and why?" posting that can help you understand the class.

This course will explore the foundations of visualization: how we turn data into pictures to help in understanding or communicating it. We’ll cover visualization in the broad sense: including scientific visualization, information visualization (the presentation of abstract data), and visual analytics (the use of interactive tools for exploring large and/or complex data sets). Visualization is a mix of perceptual psychology, cognitive science, design, computer graphics, data analysis, statistics, human computer interaction, system building, etc. This class is more about what pictures to make to understand data than how to make those pictures. We will spend a lot of time understanding design principles. We will spend less time talking about how to program visualizations, or how to use tools to make visualizations.

The class will meet Wednesdays and Fridays, 11am-12:15pm in Wendt. We will use a collaborative classroom. Class attendance will be important.

Recommended Background: Some statistics background (any statistics class) is useful. Some experience with interactive web programming (e.g., CS559 or Prof. Mutlu’s CS639. or even JavaScript programming on your own) may be useful as it can enable more ambitous projects.

Official Pre-Requisites: CS400 or CS320. Graduate students should enroll in CS765.

Enrollment: All enrollment is via the waiting list. If you are interested in the class, please place yourself on the waiting list. Because this class is an experiment, we may have a limited enrollment.

Updates: Please check this page for updates on the status of the course.