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CS 486Introduction to Artificial Intelligence

Units
0.50
Faculty
Mathematics
Subject
Computer Science

When it runs

  1. F24
  2. W25
  3. S25
  4. F25
  5. W26
  6. S26
  7. F26
  8. W27
  9. S27

Ran in 7 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled, 3 lecture sections. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

Goals and methods of artificial intelligence. Methods of general problem solving. Knowledge representation and reasoning. Planning. Reasoning about uncertainty. Machine learning. Multi-agent systems. Natural language processing.

Prerequisites

Corequisites

  • Completed or concurrently enrolled in at least 1 of the following:
    • STAT206 - Statistics for Software Engineering (0.50)
    • STAT231 - Statistics (0.50)
    • STAT241 - Statistics (Advanced Level) (0.50)

Antirequisites

  • Not completed nor concurrently enrolled in any of the following:
    • SYDE522 - Foundations of Artificial Intelligence (0.50)

Leads to

No course lists it as a requisite.

Fall 2026 sections

Enrolment from UW Open Data, which can trail Quest by up to two days. Instructors and rooms: Schedule of Classes.
SectionClassEnrolledMeets
LEC 001600958 / 70MW 08:30–09:50
LEC 002626464 / 70MW 10:00–11:20
TST 1016601122 / 140Oct 29 19:00–20:50

Winter 2027 sections

Enrolment from UW Open Data, which can trail Quest by up to two days. Instructors and rooms: Schedule of Classes.
SectionClassEnrolledMeets
LEC 00156180 / 70TTh 13:00–14:20
LEC 00258950 / 70TTh 10:00–11:20
LEC 7012201101 / 9999Online or by arrangement
TST 10162990 / 140Feb 25 19:00–20:50

Resources

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Reviewed on UW Flow

77% liked it52% easy80% useful

From 178 ratings and 51 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • Hardest fucking course ever, rating is more like 10%, don't take.

    Mar 2018 · didn’t like it · 3 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • My experience can be summed up as "Positivism in the Face of Uncertainty" as I write the exam in pure and utter confusion.

    Aug 2024 · didn’t like it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Possibly my worst experience with a course in my entire undergrad.
    Just to name a few issues:
    • Being expected to know certain concepts for the exam that were not properly touched upon in lectures. When asked for proper examples, was told to prompt ChatGPT.
    • Constant errors on time-consuming assignments, including pseudocode for implementing an algorithm that was wrong 1 day before the deadline.
    • Instructors refusing to give solutions to quizzes and assignments until a week before the exam after students BEGGING them on Piazza, and even then they weren't very detailed.
    • Complete lack of practice problems for the exam, which made it difficult to study effectively, considering the…

    Aug 2024 · didn’t like it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Course content itself is easy but the course structure is not that good. Too much content with little to no practice problems and no mathemetial intuition . Exams were computationally heavy. I am working as an MLE in the industry but I still detest this course only because of how profs handeled this course.

    Dec 2025 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • This course takes CS188 and makes it worse. CS188 works because they have so much practice content, lecture videos and clear textbook examples. CS188 test questions are easier and more focused on short answer/multiple choice, because they acknowledge that this is a breadth course. Instead they put more focus on actual coding projects.
    CS486 takes their slides (which imo is the weakest aspect of CS188) then throws in professor/TA made questions and handouts from what I think are previous offerings of CS486. So the format is horrendously all over place. They barely gave any practice either.

    Dec 2025 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

510 posts and comments in 378 threads mention CS 486, April 2011 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

i figured it out 45 points, 7 comments

“yo if you want to shitpost a post you just 'not' it right like math 135 you guys know like negate it so like you write it negated without the ¬ symbol and then its shitpost wait tap in this method is …”

u/Arsh0911: “You didn't figure it out Post oy if you don't want to post a shitpost you just do it right like cs 486 you gals don't know not like '' it so not like you dont write it '' with the '' symbol and then its not post don't wait pat out this method is normal”

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Spring 2024

CS486 studying 7 points, 1 comment

u/returnPoliC-y: “Getting destroyed by the homework, particularly the last question. If anyone has any pointers on how tf to do this stuff, or are willing to tutor me, or even looking for someone to study with at this point, I’m all in.”

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STAT444 VS STAT443 5 points, 0 comments

u/poeticorange: “I’m currently taking CS480 and is planning to take STAT441 and CS486 in future terms. Should I take STAT444 with Alex Stringer or STAT443 with Jeremy VanderDoes? Appreciate any advice or comments on the courses or profs.”

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Winter 2024

Looking for Tutor: CS486/686 - Introduction to Artificial Intelligence 2 points, 4 comments

u/ZeeVictorianGoose: “Hello, I'm taking CS486 and trying to find a tutor to either help me both debug some python code or help cover some of the concepts leading up to the final. …”

u/Eton10: “hellooo im also in cs486 this term. idk about tutoring, but feel free to dm if you wanna talk about the content or assignments”

u/Lanky-Illustrator133: “math tutoring centre is a great resource”

u/positivity_nerd: “They dont have cs 486. Its mostly 1st and 2nd year math courses”

u/vraspar: “Dm me, if you need help. CS 486 was one of my favorite”

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Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

Calendar versions

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