Course AssignmentsAll assignment deadlines are due at 11:59pm on their respective days, and no late submissions will be accepted. Assignment submission will be handled through Gradescope. A list of all of the deadlines is below (with more details on each component below):
You are strongly encouraged to work on the homework and project throughout the semester. Problem SetsThroughout the semester, we will collate a collection of problems (roughly 1 each week). I encourage you to work on the problems as they are released to ensure that you are keeping up with the course material. The problems from the first half of the semester will constitute Problem Set 1 and problems from the second half of the semester will constitute Problem Set 2. The last problem to each problem set will be posted at least one week before the deadline. For full credit, you must submit solutions to at least 70% (rounded down) of the problems on each problem set. You must use LaTeX to typeset your solutions to the problem sets using the provided template. Problem Set 1 – due March 11, 2022 (LaTeX: main, header) Homework submissions should be done through Gradescope. Course ProjectThe course project provides you an opportunity to conduct an in-depth study on a topic of your choice in applied or theoretical cryptography (and does not have to be one of the topics we cover in this class). Possibilities include writing a survey on 3-5 papers on a special topic, implementing a cryptographic system or protocol, or working on a research project in cryptography. This is a significant component of the course and you should plan on working on your project throughout the semester. Please refer here for possible topics and questions to explore. I am also happy to suggest additional project ideas and offer pointers. You may work on the project individually or in teams of up to two people. Please do note that the expectations will be scaled accordingly for team projects relative to individual projects. To help you stay on course, we have broken down the project into three components: an initial project proposal, a milestone report, and a final project report. We will post all of the final project reports here at the end of the semester. The requirements and deadlines are listed below. Please submit your proposal, milestone reports, and final reports directly by email to me (dwu4@cs.utexas.edu). Project Proposal (due February 16, 2022)You should provide a short description (at most 1 page) of your project idea. Your proposal should describe what you plan on doing (i.e., writing a survey, building a system, or conducting research) along with a list of 2-3 references or papers that you will use as the starting point of your project. Your proposal is not binding, and you are free to change the scope or direction of your project as you work on the project (although if you make drastic changes, I encourage you to discuss with me before doing so). I encourage you to discuss your project idea with me before putting together the proposal. The proposal will comprise 15% of your overall project grade. Milestone Report (due March 11, 2022)The milestone report should be around 2 pages and describe the work you have done so far for the project as well as the next steps you plan to take to complete the project. You can view the milestone as the beginning of your final project report and it should contain a precise statement of the problem you are studying, a brief survey of existing results, as well as any preliminary results or progress you have made. If you are writing a survey, then your milestone report should include discussion of at least 1-2 papers from your overall set. The milestone report will comprise 20% of your overall project grade. Final Project Report (due May 6, 2022)Your final project report should be 5-6 pages long, excluding references. You may have optional, unbounded appendices that will be read based on my discretion; your report should be understandable without needing to refer to the appendix. You should use the provided LaTeX template to format your report (template, BibTeX). Your project report must include a title and abstract, an introduction that defines and motivates the problem you are studying, a related work section, and conclude with a set of open problems or directions for future work. If you are working on an implementation or a research project, your report should also provide a summary of your results and how they connect to previous works. The final project report will comprise 65% of your overall project grade. Lecture ScribingOver the course of the semester, you will be asked to scribe around 2 lectures using the provided LaTeX template (main, header). You should edit your notes after the lecture to correct any typos and fill in any missing details. The edited version is due at the end of the week following the lecture. For the week preceding spring break, the edited notes are due at the end of the following week. To submit, please email the LaTeX source directly to me (dwu4@cs.utexas.edu). |