uwloo

PD 10Professional Responsibility in Computing

Units
0.50
Subject
Professional Development

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, 4 lecture sections. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

This course considers many of the legal and ethical issues that arise in the development of software and digital-content products or services that are to be sold to the public. Course topics include laws that impose obligations on products or producers (e.g., privacy laws, accessibility laws, intellectual-property laws, regulated industries); contracts (e.g., licenses, warranties, privacy policies); and ethical responsibilities to employers, clients, the users of products, and to society as a whole.

Prerequisites

Antirequisites

None listed.

Leads to

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 0817640189 / 2000Online or by arrangement
LEC 0827641122 / 1000Online or by arrangement
LEC 08376427 / 200Online or by arrangement

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 08172090 / 2000Online or by arrangement
LEC 08272101 / 1000Online or by arrangement
LEC 08372170 / 200Online or by arrangement
LEC 7012692106 / 9999Online or by arrangement

Reviewed on UW Flow

17% liked it82% easy39% useful

From 174 ratings and 31 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • I hated this course. I barely learned anything useful. I was falsely accused of plagiarism by multiple course staff and TAs and was forced to write an extremely long response to defend myself.
    After that assignment, I was ecstatic whenever my assignments were marked as not-plagiarism and when my mark was higher than zero + 5% off my final grade.

    Feb 2020 · didn’t like it · 3 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • fuck pd

    Feb 2023 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • teaches about intellectual property, copyrights, patents, ethics, potential liabilities and how responsbility is divided, e.t.c. it's interesting if you care, assignments were not that hard just yap a bit and have good reasoning for your responses

    Oct 2026 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Much easier and less time consuming compared to PD 11, but alas PD is PD.

    Sep 2026 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Glazed DEI on the big final assignment and got 90+

    Apr 2026 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

105 posts and comments in 82 threads mention PD 10, March 2015 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

FUCK PD OMFGSG 123 points, 16 comments

“LITERALKALY WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS ANNOYING ASS COURSE LIKE IM ON CO OP BRO LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE I DONT GIVE A FUCK ABOUT YOUR STUPID QUESTIONNAIRES AND DUMB REFLECTIONS HOLY SHIT. …”

u/Dog_N_Pop: “Hot take PD isn't so bad if you take the ones that actually don't suck as much.”

u/Dog_N_Pop: “I took PD10 last co-op and didn't mind it, if you're into like IP law and copyright it's pretty interesting and useful.”

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Spring 2024

Winter 2024

Co-op + Courses 2 points, 9 comments

“hi, i start my first coop job in spring 2024 but im also going to be taking a mandatory pd course as well as a psych course during this term. …”

u/ostentatious-brick: “Taking CS 245, 241, and PD 10 over co-op right now, so far so good but it’s definitely testing my time management capabilities”

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Fall 2023

i am so fucking done with PD 12 points, 2 comments

“&x200B; https://preview.redd.it/b3w7jx0tel0c1.png?width=2212&format=png&auto=webp&s=8b493a0ff58af78917e4556b94cd978c96655b50”

u/1000Ditto: “let me guess ur supposed to discuss your conflict of interest in this and it's a pd computer ethics assignment iirc pd10 assignment 6 or something”

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Winter 2023

Whats happening to Work Term Reports? 4 points, 1 comment

u/CS-PLEB: “… 5 co-op work terms, with at least 4 work reports and at least 5 PD courses (including PD 1, PD 10, and PD 11) " (https://cs.uwaterloo.ca/sites/ca.computer-science/files/uploads/files/2020-2021\bcs\bba\0.pdf). Will this requirement no longer be checked in order to graduate. …”

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Fall 2022

Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

Calendar versions

Undergraduate Calendar