Previous offerings: 24w2, 23w2, 22w2 by me, or 21w2, 20w2 by Mark Schmidt. This time will be broadly similar to these, with some changes.
This course is intended as a second or third university-level course on machine learning, a field that focuses on using automated data analysis for tasks like pattern recognition and prediction. The class is intended as a continuation of CPSC 340 (also called 540, or previously 532M); it will assume a strong background in math and computer science. Topics will (roughly) include deep learning, generative models, latent-variable models, Markov models, probabilistic graphical models, and Bayesian methods.
The course meets in person in MCML 166. I plan to release recordings, but encourage you to come to class in person if you can.
Grading scheme:
Further details in the syllabus slides.
Starting in the second week of classes, we'll have weekly tutorials run by the TAs. These will do things like go through provided assignment code, review background material, review big concepts, and/or do exercises. You can register for particular tutorial sections if you want to save a seat at a particular time, but note that you do not need to register in a tutorial section.
CPSC 340/540 vs. CPSC 440/550: CPSC 340 and 440 are roughly structured as one full-year course. CPSC 340 (which is sometimes cross-listed as CPSC 540 for graduate students; formerly 532M) covers more data mining methods and the methods that are most widely-used in applications of machine learning. CPSC 440 (cross-listed as CPSC 545 for graduate students) focuses on probabilistic methods which appear in more niche applications, as well as various other topics not covered in 340/540. It is strongly recommended that you take CPSC 340/540 first, as it covers the most fundamental ideas as well as the most common and practically-useful techniques. In 440/550 it will be assumed that you are basically familiar with all the material in the current offering of CPSC 340/540. Note that online machine learning courses and courses from many other universities may not be an adequate replacement for CPSC 340; they typically have more overlap with our applied machine learning course, CPSC 330. If you're not sure, look at a recent 340 website and see if it all seems familiar.
Undergraduate students will not be able to take the class without these prerequisites. Graduate students may be asked to show how they satisfy prerequisites.
Textbook: There is no textbook for the course, but the textbook with the most extensive coverage of many of the course's topics is Kevin Murphy's Probabilistic Machine Learning series. While the one-volume 2012 version covers most of the material, we'll refer to the very recent two-volume version (2022/2023), PML1 and PML2, both of which have free Creative Commons draft pdfs through those links. I'll try to refer to the relevant sections of both versions as we go, as well as links to various other free online resources.
If you need to refresh your linear algebra or other areas of math, check out Mathematics for Machine Learning (Marc Deisenroth, Aldo Faisal, Cheng Soon Ong; 2020).
Related courses: Besides CPSC340, there are several 500-level graduate courses in CPSC and STAT that are relevant: check out the graduate courses taught by people on the ML@UBC page and the MILD list. CPSC 422/425/436N, DSCI 430, EECE 360/592, EOSC 510/550, and STAT 305/306/406/460/461 are also all relevant.
Some related courses that have online notes are: