CS-GY 9223: Course Schedule - Fall 2025
Weekly Schedule
⚠️ Important: This schedule is tentative and may be updated during the semester. Check course announcements and Discord for any changes.
All classes meet Mondays 5:00 PM - 7:30 PM in Jacobs Hall Room 473, unless otherwise noted
Week 1: September 2
Labor Day - No Class
Week 2: September 8
Introduction to Visualization for Machine Learning
Lecture Topics:
- Course overview and logistics
- What is visualization for machine learning?
- Information visualization fundamentals
- The machine learning pipeline and where visualization fits
Lab Session:
- Development environment setup
- Introduction to D3.js
- Creating basic visualizations
- Git and project structure
Readings:
- Hohman et al. “Visual Analytics in Deep Learning: An Interrogative Survey” (2018)
- Munzner, “Visualization Analysis and Design”, Chapter 1
Assignment Released: Exercise 1 - Visualization Critique
Week 3: September 15
Course Introduction & Visualization Fundamentals
Lecture Topics:
- Course syllabus and logistics review
- What is Information Visualization?
- The Power of Visualization (Discovery, Storytelling, Exploration)
- Key concepts: Abstract data, Interaction, Amplifying cognition
Lab Session:
- Introduction to Observable and Vega-Lite
- Setting up accounts and development environment
- Creating first visualizations
- Understanding tidy data principles
Materials:
Readings:
- Munzner, “Visualization Analysis and Design”, Chapter 1 (recommended)
Assignment: TBD
Week 4: September 22
Model Assessment and Performance Metrics
Lecture Topics:
- Classification metrics visualization
- Confusion matrices and ROC curves
- Regression model assessment
- Cross-validation visualization
Lab Session:
- Building performance dashboards
- Interactive metric exploration
- Comparative model visualization
Readings:
- Beauxis-Aussalet & Hardman, “Simplifying the Visualization of Confusion Matrix” (2014)
Due: Exercise 2
Assignment Released: Mini-Project 1
Week 5: September 29
White-box Model Visualization
Lecture Topics:
- Decision tree visualization
- Linear model interpretation
- Rule-based system visualization
- Feature importance displays
Lab Session:
- Implementing tree visualizations
- Interactive model exploration
- Feature contribution plots
Readings:
- Selected papers on interpretable ML
Project: Final project team formation
Week 6: October 6
Black-box Model Interpretation
Lecture Topics:
- LIME and SHAP explanations
- Partial dependence plots
- Feature interaction visualization
- Surrogate models
Lab Session:
- Implementing SHAP visualizations
- Building explanation interfaces
- Interactive what-if analysis
Readings:
- Ribeiro et al. “Why Should I Trust You?” (LIME paper)
- Lundberg & Lee “A Unified Approach to Interpreting Model Predictions” (SHAP)
Due: Mini-Project 1
Project: Final project proposals due
Week 7: October 13
Fall Break - No Class
Make-up Class: October 14 (Tuesday)
Deep Learning Visualization
Lecture Topics:
- Neural network architecture visualization
- Activation and gradient visualization
- CNN filter visualization
- Attention mechanism displays
Lab Session:
- TensorBoard integration
- Building network diagrams
- Interactive layer exploration
Readings:
- Zeiler & Fergus, “Visualizing and Understanding Convolutional Networks”
- Olah et al., “The Building Blocks of Interpretability”
Assignment Released: Mini-Project 2
Week 8: October 20
Clustering Visualization
Lecture Topics:
- Hierarchical clustering dendrograms
- K-means and cluster validation
- Cluster comparison techniques
- Uncertainty in clustering
Lab Session:
- Interactive clustering interfaces
- Cluster exploration tools
- Comparative analysis systems
Readings:
- Selected papers on cluster visualization
Project: Mid-term project presentations
Week 9: October 27
Dimensionality Reduction
Lecture Topics:
- PCA and linear projections
- t-SNE visualization
- UMAP and modern techniques
- Projection quality metrics
Lab Session:
- Implementing projection views
- Interactive parameter tuning
- Projection comparisons
Readings:
- van der Maaten & Hinton, “Visualizing Data using t-SNE”
- McInnes et al., “UMAP: Uniform Manifold Approximation and Projection”
Week 10: November 3
Topological Data Analysis
Lecture Topics:
- Persistence diagrams
- Mapper algorithm
- Reeb graphs
- Applications in ML
Lab Session:
- TDA tool integration
- Interactive topology exploration
Readings:
- Carlsson, “Topology and Data”
Due: Mini-Project 2
Assignment Released: Mini-Project 3
Week 11: November 10
NLP and Text Visualization
Lecture Topics:
- Word embeddings visualization
- Topic model visualization
- Attention in transformers
- Document similarity
Lab Session:
- Building text visualization systems
- Interactive embedding exploration
Readings:
- Selected papers on text visualization
Week 12: November 17
Time Series and Streaming Data
Lecture Topics:
- Temporal model performance
- Concept drift visualization
- Real-time monitoring
- Anomaly detection displays
Lab Session:
- Streaming visualization implementation
- Dashboard design patterns
Readings:
- Selected papers on temporal visualization
Week 13: November 24
Interpretable ML and Fairness
Lecture Topics:
- Fairness metrics visualization
- Bias detection interfaces
- Interpretability vs accuracy
- Ethical considerations
Lab Session:
- Fairness dashboard creation
- What-if tool exploration
Readings:
- Selected papers on ML fairness
Due: Mini-Project 3
Week 14: December 1
Project Presentations I
- Group project presentations (Part 1)
- Peer feedback sessions
- Q&A and discussions
Week 15: December 8
Project Presentations II
- Group project presentations (Part 2)
- Course wrap-up
- Future directions in VisML
Project: Final reports due December 11
Important Notes
- Make-up Class: October 14 (Tuesday) replaces October 13 Fall Break
- Thanksgiving Week: Check for updates regarding November 24 class
- Office Hours: Will be posted on Discord
- Slides: Available after each class on course website
- Recordings: Posted for registered students who miss class
Assignment Summary
Type | Due Date | Weight |
---|---|---|
Exercise 1 | Sept 15 | 5% |
Exercise 2 | Sept 22 | 5% |
Additional Exercises | Throughout | 25% |
Mini-Project 1 | Oct 6 | 11.67% |
Mini-Project 2 | Nov 3 | 11.67% |
Mini-Project 3 | Nov 24 | 11.67% |
Final Project Proposal | Oct 6 | 5% |
Final Project Presentation | Dec 1/8 | 10% |
Final Project Report | Dec 11 | 10% |
Participation | Ongoing | 5% |