Syllabus

January 12, 2026 (Last Modified: February 1, 2026)

This is a Syllabus in the form of the official University Template. It details the course policies.

More information is on the course web page: https://pages.graphics.cs.wisc.edu/559-sp26/ which provides the complete course documentation.

Page Contents

Key Course Offering Information

General Identifying Information

Institution Name: University of Wisconsin–Madison

Course Subject, Number and Title: Computer Sciences 559, Computer Graphics

Credits: 3

Course Designations and Attributes: Level - Intermediate; L&S Credit - Counts as Liberal Arts and Science credit in L&S

Requisites: MATH 222 and (COMP SCI 367 or 400) or graduate/professional standing or declared in the Capstone Certificate in Computer Sciences for Professionals

Repeatable for Credit: No

Last Taught: Fall 2025

Course Description: (official from Guide) Survey of computer graphics. Image representation, formation, presentation, composition and manipulation. Modeling, transformation, and display of geometric objects in two and three dimensions. Representation of curves and surfaces. Rendering, animation, multimedia and visualization. Fluency with vector mathematics (e.g., from MATH 234 or a linear algebra class) is recommended.

Meeting Time and Location: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 8:50-9:40, Online.

Instructional Modality: Online synchronous, online availability during class and exam times required.

Instructor Contact Info: Prof. Michael Gleicher (he/him/his), Please prefer CS559 Piazza for messages, gleicher@cs.wisc.edu, 6588 Morgridge Hall. Open office (student meeting) hours 2pm-3pm Wednesdays (except Feb) or by appointment.

Teaching Assistants: Alex Peseckis and Bhuyashi Deka. Student meeting hours Monday and Tuesday afternoons, or by appointment. Contact via CS559 Piazza.

How Credit Hours are Met by the Course: This class is scheduled for three 50-minute class periods each week over the Spring semester and carries the expectation that students will work on course learning activities (reading, writing, problem sets, studying, etc.) for about 4 hours out of the classroom for every class period. The syllabus includes more information about meeting times and expectations for student work.

Course Learning Outcomes (official):

Develop interactive graphical applications in 2D and 3D using different types of APIs
Analyze and apply coordinate systems and transformations in 2D and 3D to model objects hierarchically and prepare them for viewing
Explain and apply shape modeling techniques, including parametric curves and meshes, in 2D and 3D
Select and apply appearance modeling techniques including texturing and lighting
Explain the structure and operation of the graphics pipeline and hardware, and use this understanding to implement and optimize efficient graphical applications
Identify the issues in discrete representations and select approaches to mitigate them
Discuss how imagery is perceived and the impact of perception on computer generated imagery

Instructor-to-Student Communication

Course Overview

Computer Graphics is how we use computers to make pictures. This class is about how to program computers to draw. It is not about what pictures you should draw (that’s art). The class is about how you program picture making, not how you use tools to make pictures. This class is how to write graphics programs, not about how to use them.

To practice the graphics ideas, we will implement them with web programming. So, along the way, you will learn the basics of web programming and JavaScript (if you don’t know it already). See the Javascript in CS559 page which explains why we use JavaScript, as well as how to learn it.

Course Website and Digital Instructional Tools

The primary source of course information is the course web: https://pages.graphics.cs.wisc.edu/559-sp26/. Students should be aware of, and are responsible for, the content there. Important additions will be announced on Canvas.

The course Canvas (CS559 Canvas) will be the primary mechanism for announcements, quizzes and surveys.

The course Piazza (CS559 Piazza) will be the primary mechanism for communication between students, and for students to communicate with course staff.

Students should communicate with course staff via Piazza. Please prefer Piazza to email unless asked by a course staff member. If a course staff member contacts a student by email, the student should respond by email.

The primary assignments for the class are a series of Workbooks. Workbooks are distributed by and submitted to GitHub via GitHub classroom. Students are required to have GitHub accounts. See Git and GitHub in CS559 for more information. Workbook submission also involves web-based mechanisms within the workbooks.

All required readings will be provided online. All videos will be provided online. Links will be provided either on Canvas or within the Workbooks.

Students will be required to complete web-based programming assignments on their own computers. Programs will be written in JavaScript, HTML, and graphics shader languages. Students will need to have appropriate tools for completing assignments including: a web browser, a GIT client, a local web server, and an IDE for JavaScript programming. See Tools for 559. We recommend Visual Studio Code (see Visual Studio Code (VSCode) for CS559).

Lecture, Discussion and/or Laboratory Sessions

The class may hold online meetings during lecture times. It may hold other time-limited activities (such as online quizzes) during lecture times.

The class has no scheduled meetings outside of the lecture times.

There will be no required in person class meetings.

Required Textbook, Software, and Other Course Materials

All required readings will be provided online. All videos will be provided online. Links will be provided either on Canvas or within the Workbooks.

Homework Assignments

The course will have regular assignments announced via the course web and Canvas announcements.

Assignments will include:

Video surveys (Canvas surveys with videos embedded)
End-of-week surveys (Canvas surveys on Fridays, some may be anonymous - we will know that students have completed the survey, but will not be able to link the answers back to the students)
Quizzes (delivered as Canvas quizzes)
The Workbooks (collections of web pages with embedded activities including programming assignments)
Other online activities

Exams, Quizzes, Papers, and Other Major Graded Work

The class will have a final exam given online in the official University assigned time slot.

The class will have quizzes delivered online as Canvas quizzes.

The class will require students to complete Workbooks which are collections of web pages including problems and programming assignments embedded on the pages.

The class will require students to complete online surveys.

Guidelines for Exam Proctoring

Exams and quizzes will be given online using Canvas Quizzing. We do not plan on using Honor Lock or similar anti-cheating prevention tools.

Course Schedule/Calendar

The course is organized into 2 week “modules”. Each module follows the same rhythm (although the last module “ends early” because of exams). See the How the Class Works (Course Rhythm) (The Course Rhythm) page for details. We describe the weeks from Wednesday to Wednesday.

Wednesday (week 1) - Video introduction (Canvas survey) announced with a GitHub classroom link to access the workbook. Note: the first day of the module is the last day of the previous module (which has the quiz for the module).
Friday (week 1) - Class online meeting (announced on Canvas), End-of-Week survey due (odd weeks: anonymous class feedback)
Monday (week 1) - Class online meeting
Tuesday (week 1) - Workbook check-in
Wednesday (week 2) - In Class Exercise (activity to complete during class time)
Friday (week 2) - Class online meeting, End-of-Week survey (content)
Monday (week 2) - Class online meeting, example solutions released
Tuesday (week 2) - Workbook due
Wednesday (week 3) - Module quiz (in class), 1st day of the next module (see Wednesday 1)

The topics of the modules are planned to be:

Graphics in Class and On the Web: computer graphics concepts, web page basics, event driven programming, graphics APIs, making pictures with the Canvas APIs, …
Transformations in 2D: linear and affine transformations, hierarchical modeling, articulated animation, SVG, …
Curves: types of shape representations, parametric curves, cubic forms, splines, …
3D Foundations: 3D modeling, transformations, viewing, lighting, animation, …
Shape and Appearance: meshes, lighting, texturing, …
Graphics Hardware, Shaders, Efficiency: graphics pipeline, GPU and shader programming, graphics program organization, …
Advanced Topics: aliasing, ray tracing, smooth surfaces, animation, …

Grading

Grades will be determined primarily based on the Workbooks. The grade will be adjusted based on other aspects of the class. The grading scheme uses count-based measures, rather than averaging. Canvas is not able to estimate grades.

For details see Parts of Class and Grading

Late Policy

In-class assignments (quizzes, in-class exercises, the exam) are due at the end of the class/exam period.

Other assignments are due on the due date. The due date is any time in Madison. If something is due on Tuesday, 12:01AM Wednesday is not Tuesday.

Late assignments are accepted with a penalty. Each assignment type has a different penalty structure.

Assignments may have cutoff dates, after which submissions will not be accepted.

Regrading

If you believe we have made a mistake in assessing your work (either an administrative error, or if you disagree with our assessment), you must complete the Regrade Request Form within one week of receiving the (incorrect) grade. We may not respond immediately: we will process regrade requests in bulk.

How the class will work

The class is offered in an online, semi-synchronous modality. Students are required to be available for online activities during scheduled class times (including the exam), see FAQ - The Whys? (Do I have to attend class?) for details.

Academic Policies and Statements

University Standard Syllabus Statements

(These are the standard policies from https://ctlm.wisc.edu/syllabuspolicies/ as of August 15, 2025. )

Academic Calendar & Religious Observances

View the full academic calendar in addition to information about religious and election day observances. Students are responsible for notifying instructors within the first two weeks of classes about any need for flexibility due to religious observances.

Establishment of the academic calendar for the University of Wisconsin–Madison falls within the authority of the faculty as set forth in Faculty Policies and Procedures. Construction of the academic calendar is subject to various rules and laws prescribed by the Board of Regents, the Faculty Senate, State of Wisconsin and the federal government. Find additional dates and deadlines for students on the Office of the Registrar website.

Academic Integrity

By virtue of enrollment, each student agrees to uphold the high academic standards of the University of Wisconsin–Madison; academic misconduct is behavior that negatively impacts the integrity of the institution. Cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, unauthorized collaboration and helping others commit these previously listed acts are examples of misconduct which may result in disciplinary action. Examples of disciplinary sanctions include, but are not limited to, failure on the assignment/course, written reprimand, disciplinary probation, suspension or expulsion.

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

The University of Wisconsin–Madison supports the right of all enrolled students to a full and equal educational opportunity. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Wisconsin State Statute (36.12) and UW–Madison policy UW-855 require the university to provide reasonable accommodations to students with disabilities to access and participate in its academic programs and educational services. Faculty and students share responsibility in the accommodation process. Students are expected to inform faculty of their need for instructional accommodations during the beginning of the semester, or as soon as possible after being approved for accommodations. Faculty will work either directly with the student or in coordination with the McBurney Disability Resource Center to provide reasonable instructional and course-related accommodations. Disability information, including instructional accommodations as part of a student’s educational record, is confidential and protected under FERPA.

Course Evaluations

Students at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have the opportunity to evaluate their learning experiences and the courses they are enrolled in through course evaluations. Many instructors use a digital course evaluation tool to collect feedback from students. Students typically receive notifications two weeks prior to the end of the semester requesting that they complete course evaluations. Student participation is an integral component of course development, and confidential feedback is important. UW–Madison strongly encourages student participation in course evaluations.

Diversity & Inclusion

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for the University of Wisconsin–Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals. UW–Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background – people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

Mental Health & Well-Being

Students often experience stressors that can impact both their academic experience and personal well-being. These may include mental health concerns, substance misuse, sexual or relationship violence, family circumstances, campus climate, financial matters, among others.

UW–Madison students are encouraged to learn about and utilize the university’s mental health services and/or other resources as needed. Student can visit uhs.wisc.edu or call University Health Services at (608) 265-5600 to learn more.

Privacy of Student Records & Use of Audio Recorded Lectures

Lecture materials and recordings for this course are protected intellectual property at UW–Madison. Students enrolled in this course may use the materials and recordings for their personal use related to participation in the course. Students may also take notes solely for their personal use. If a lecture is not already recorded, students are not authorized to record lectures without permission unless they are considered by the university to be a qualified student with a disability who has an approved accommodation that includes recording. [Regent Policy Document 4-1] Students may not copy or have lecture materials and recordings outside of class, including posting on internet sites or selling to commercial entities, with the exception of sharing copies of personal notes as a notetaker through the McBurney Disability Resource Center. Students are otherwise prohibited from providing or selling their personal notes to anyone else or being paid for taking notes by any person or commercial firm without the instructor’s express written permission. Unauthorized use of these copyrighted lecture materials and recordings constitutes copyright infringement and may be addressed under the university’s policies, UWS Chapters 14 and 17, governing student academic and non-academic misconduct. View more information about FERPA.

Students’ Rules, Rights & Responsibilities

View more information about student rules, rights and responsibilities such as student privacy rights, sharing of academic record information, academic integrity and grievances.

Teaching & Learning Data Transparency

The privacy and security of faculty, staff and students’ personal information is a top priority for UW–Madison. The university carefully reviews and vets all campus-supported digital tools used for teaching and learning, including those that support data empowered educational practices and proctoring. View more information about teaching and learning data transparency at UW–Madison.

Additions to the standard syllabus statements:

Unintentional misconduct: It is the responsibility of the student to understand all the details of the syllabus and UW-Madison policies. Lack of understanding regarding how to properly cite, the presence of specific course policies, and University expectations does not excuse behavior.

Collaboration: Learning is a team sport. We hope to foster a collaborative environment where students learn together. Students are encouraged to discuss aspects of class with their peers. However, most assignments are to be done individually. Students are expected to substantially complete assignments on their own (or in assigned groups, when permitted). Do not claim credit for work done by others. If you use something from someone else (whether it is a classmate, or an online resource, or an AI) be sure that you have permission to use things in the way that you are using it, and that you give proper attribution. When in doubt, ask the course staff.

Students should give proper attribution for work they did not do.

AI Usage Policy: Use AI tools (ChatGPT, Co-Pilot, etc.) to help you in your learning, not to do the assignments for you. Treat them like another student: you may ask them to help you, but you are responsible for your own work. Give them proper credit / attribution. Don’t claim their work as your own. You cannot ask them for help on Quizzes or Exams. See Policy on the use of AI Tools (generative AI) for more details.