CO 351Network Flow Theory
- Units
- 0.50
- Faculty
- Mathematics
When it runs
- F24
- W25
- S25
- F25
- W26
- S26
- F26
- W27
- S27
Ran in 6 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: not on the schedule. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.
Review of linear programming. Shortest path problems. The max-flow min-cut theorem and applications. Minimum cost flow problems. Network simplex and primal-dual algorithms. Applications to problems of transportation, distribution, job assignments, and critical-path planning.
Prerequisites
Antirequisites
None listed.
Leads to
Fall 2026 sections
| Section | Class | Enrolled | Meets |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 001 | 5954 | 45 / 80 | TTh 14:30–15:50 |
Resources
Around the web
Found by uwloo’s link finder, which checks that each page names CO 351.
- CO351 | Anthony Zhang Course notes · anthony-zhang.me · posted on r/uwaterloo Jul 2020 Remove
- Remove
Course notes, 6 PDFs david-duan.me · posted on r/uwaterloo Mar 2022
Reviewed on UW Flow
70% liked it51% easy68% useful
From 57 ratings and 20 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.
Check out Martin Pei's youtube lectures.
Aug 2026 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
Jane Gao fucked this course up for me. Please never let her close to a course outline and management by herself ever again. Fucked outline. Fucked BIWEEKLY tests, each being like 15-20min long that decided most of our final grade. Assignments being worth close to nothing. Unhelpful attitude when confronted. ALOOF FROM PIAZZA. Assignments are too hard to be worth whatever they were. Told my friend they should WITHDRAW if they didn't like the teaching style???? Please get professional training before getting close to teaching courses @JaneGao. Made me waste $7K as an international student.
Apr 2024 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
I am taking this course with Jane Gao. DROP HER CLASS IMMEDIATELY. A HUGE RED FLAG. I signed up for UW Flow just to leave this review.
I heard TAs and the Prof laughing at my question I asked during the office hour. Instructor apologized for it, but she made an excuse that it was to discuss where students are struggling at.
Furthermore, for all students, this instructor does not care. If we ask for something, then prof always says "I don't have time, it's not possible". We are genuinely asking for minimum to post the notes before class, but said it's not possible. Every other profs does it, but why can't she?
Notes are also unclear, examples given in the class is not useful; she…Oct 2023 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
Dropped due to the annoying and useless algebra.
May 2021 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
Good course, challenging final exam, but doable and the instructor (Cheriyan) was very transparent about what kinds of problems would be on it. I've had more engaging professors, but Cheriyan was clear and willing to direct you to resources. If you like algorithms you'll like the class
Aug 2026 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
Discussed on r/uwaterloo
93 posts and comments in 79 threads mention CO 351, January 2016 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.
Fall 2024
Useful CO courses for Distributed Systems 2 points, 1 comment
“Thinking of getting into the Distributed Systems field and I heard from some that CO is really useful to have in your toolkit. …”
u/Cold-Place3864: “CO 351 - Network Flow Theory isn't too bad”
Spring 2024
Best CO minor courses to take outside of the requirements? 3 points, 7 comments
“What are some recommendations? I'd like to choose mainly based on how useful/interesting the courses are, but wouldn't want them to be overly difficult either. TIA!”
u/batson2002: “co courses and overly difficult aren’t really words that go together, the courses you’ve listed are generally quite difficult (367 being the hardest imo). …”
u/mreifslp: “Do you know how CO 351 and CO 367 compare in difficulty and content to CO 450, CO 463, and CO 466?”
Are CO367 and CO351 challenging? 4 points, 1 comment
u/mothership38: “I am taking CO367 and CO351 in the fall term. CO250 was not an easy course for me, even though I did well in MATH136 and MATH235. Are CO367 and CO351 very challenging? What is the workload like for them?”
CO 456 and CO 367 or CO 351 6 points, 4 comments
u/LazeLace1603: “As the title suggests how doable would it be for me to do CO 456 along with CO 367 or CO 351? And can anyone give me a rundown on the difficulty between these 3? I'm desperate for any help at all 😭😭😭😭😭😭”
u/mreifslp: “Piggybacking off of this question, is it usually recommended/feasible to skip CO 351 and CO 367 if you've taken CO 255? …”
Winter 2024
CO351 with Joseph Cheriyan? 1 point, 7 comments
u/bleachdrinker17: “Taking CO351 with Joseph Cheriyan next term, and he sent an email today saying that there are 1. Weekly assignments (30%) 2. A test (5%) 3. 2 midterms (15% and 20%) 4. Final exam (30%) which sounds insane to me. …”
Course load - 3B 1 point, 2 comments
u/Quirky-Passion-3176: “… I have 4 core courses already selected: \- CS480 \- CS370 \- STAT341 \- CS348 (or CO351, depending on my CS348 prof) I was thinking of taking CS492 as my fifth course, though I'm unsure if this might cause my course load to be a bit unmanageable. Anyone have thoughts? …”
Fall 2023
CO351 Final Mark Fall 2023 1 point, 1 comment
u/baljeettjinder02: “I am wondering how did other people did in last term's offering by Jane Gao. Seems like there was no curve for the final exam.”
CO courses help! 1 point, 1 comment
u/Successful_Jacket504: “I'm planning to take CO 353, CO 487, CO 351, CO 367. Does anyone have materials on these courses? I kinda really don't have a choice if I want to meet all my requirements and graduate so I HAVE to take these courses. …”
why are there so many cry babies in CO351 1 point, 0 comments
u/holdupbruhchill: “if anyone is in this class and has seen some mf post their life story over 10 paragraphs to beg for the quizzes being removed, what are your thoughts (that was the freest quiz i’ve written in my whole undergrad so far). …”
Spring 2023
CO 351 group study 1 point, 2 comments
u/whats-good-shorty: “Hey! Anyone who is enrolled in CO351 and wants to study together? Thank you”
3B Course Load 1 point, 0 comments
u/Zealousideal_Goat424: “I'm currently taking CS350, CO351, PMATH 347, STAT 341. I'm thinking about adding CO 342, but it's currently full, and the other courses are looking heavy. Should I just roll with 4 courses? Or go for graph theory (co342) if it opens up?”
Most Recommended CO Courses? 22 points, 21 comments
“What are your most recommended CO courses regardless of hardness? :D Thank you\”
u/not_a_rhymer: “My first recommendation is CO351 : Network Flow Theory. Very, very cool course that looks into algorithms looking at the subset of problems under network flow. One of the assignment questions is probably in my top 3 learning moments at Uni. …”
Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026
- Undergraduate Calendar, 2026–27The official entry
- Requirements for Fall 2026Waterloo’s requisite checker
- Schedule of Classes, Fall 2026Instructors, rooms, live seats
- Quest Class SearchWhere you enrol
- Course outlinesSyllabi from past terms (UW login)
- UW FlowStudent ratings and reviews
- WClassesPast sections back to 2004, and who taught them