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SYDE 522Foundations of Artificial Intelligence

Units
0.50
Faculty
Engineering
Subject
Systems Design Engineering
Cross-listed
BME 522

When it runs

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

Ran in 5 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: not on the schedule. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

The objective of this course is to introduce students to fundamental concepts of artificial intelligence. An overview of different learning schemes will be provided, including supervised and unsupervised algorithms. The focus of this course will be on dimensionality reduction, clustering, classification, deep and shallow artificial neural networks, and reinforcement learning. Ethical aspects of artificial intelligence will be discussed.

Prerequisites

Antirequisites

  • Not completed nor concurrently enrolled in any of the following:
    • CHE523 - Introduction to Machine Learning and Data Science (0.50)
    • CS480 - Introduction to Machine Learning (0.50)
    • CS486 - Introduction to Artificial Intelligence (0.50)
    • ECE457A - Artificial and Natural Intelligence (0.50)
    • ECE457B - Machine Learning (0.50)

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 001526174 / 75M 11:00–12:50
W 11:00–11:50
LEC 002539897 / 97M 11:00–12:50
W 11:00–11:50
TUT 101526274 / 75W 12:00–12:50
TUT 102539997 / 97W 12:00–12:50

Resources

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Reviewed on UW Flow

88% liked it78% easy83% useful

From 24 ratings and 10 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • Interesting course. Prof was very excited about the subject matter and tried hard to be open with the class. The one problem was the lack of direction regarding project submissions.

    Mar 2015 · liked it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Needs a lab

    Mar 2015 · didn’t like it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Interesting, very broad coverage of MI topics. Perhaps too broad, it would have been nice to cover fewer topics in more depth.

    Mar 2015 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Great course that teaches relavent topics in AI, no exam, 4 assignments and a final project

    Oct 2025 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Taught by Terry Stewart. The lectures are fine to just sit in since he just rambles on and on, but that's not a bad thing since usually they're fun. No reason to actually show up to class though since he doesn't really annotate or anything and he posts the slides. Four assignments that are actually quite challenging because that is when you realize that the slides he provides aren't very good at all. Still, aside from the first assignment, every other assignment was quite repetitive, but still useful to interpret the results. Final project was worth 40% where you just find a dataset and apply the concepts learned. Like the name of the course, it's a really fundamental course when it comes…

    Dec 2024 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

25 posts and comments in 23 threads mention SYDE 522, February 2017 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.

Spring 2024

Course Selection for AI/ML + imaging 7 points, 6 comments

u/jawyau: “… ECE 457A ECE 457B SYDE 522 MSCI/MSE 446 SYDE 575 SYDE 572 ECE 495 CS 488 CS 484 I ideally want a lighter term but I also understand that some of the good courses are difficult so I'm willing to put in the effort if it's really worth it in the long run. …”

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Winter 2024

Interesting ML course from Engineering Department from Math Student 7 points, 8 comments

“I am an undergrad from the Faculty of Mathematics interested in data preprocessing and AI/ML stuff. Most of my courses so far in my undergrad has consisted of numerous ML/Data Science course offered …”

u/suiyui: “Note: Don't assume ENG will allow you to take our courses (ex. it's very difficult for non-SE ENG students to get into CS courses). …”

u/GullibleIdiots: “how about syde 522?”

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Fall 2023

Spring 2023

Any AI-related courses? Non-CS? 1 point, 5 comments

“hey there, just wondering if you all know of any AI related courses, that aren’t beginning with CS since I’m not a programmer. …”

u/_UW_Student: “Look into MSCI courses, pretty cool (but I think require alot of prereqs).”

u/1000Ditto: “https://uwflow.com/course/msci446 ML1 ( technical course ) https://uwflow.com/course/msci546 ML2 ( technical course ) https://uwflow.com/course/syde522 Foundations of AI ( technical course )”

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Fall 2022

Spring 2022

A GUIDE ON HOW TO PLAN AN OPTION 29 points, 15 comments

u/1000Ditto: “Hey all, here's an example (by yours truly) of how to plan an option. as someone who has been trying to get many options in but having a hard time, might as well write down my process so others can kind of benefit from it. …”

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Winter 2021

Winter 2020

CS 480 this term - anyone else feel scammed? 9 points, 23 comments

“I was SO excited to take ML this term but I'm extremely disappointed after attending the first lecture yesterday. Does anyone else feel this way? …”

u/Nyxeal: “That’s why I decided not to take cs480 unless Prof. Poupart is teaching since it looks like he is the only decent instructor for that course.”

u/Nyxeal: “CS489 (Neural Networks) and CS451. And CS486 if I am lucky (currently in waitlist :/). You can try other courses that touch ML like syde522 or ECE493 (autonomous vehicle).”

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Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

Calendar versions

Undergraduate Calendar