Rutgers catalogResearched guideSIRS history44 section records

01:198:206

Introduction To Discrete Structures II

COMPUTER SCIENCE

School 01 — New Brunswick School of Arts and Sciences
credits
4
Core
None listed
Typical seasons
Fall, Spring, Summer
Fall 2026 sections
9
Open snapshot
0 open in snapshot

Course guide

AI-generated overview

Course fingerprint 10 AI-generated signals

Difficulty

4/5
Why

Rutgers positions 206 as core combinatorics and probability background for later CS work, and student threads describe it as manageable only when you keep up consistently.

Workload

3/5
Why

The public sample syllabus shows a steady quiz cadence plus multiple assignments, but the available public evidence is thinner than for some other core CS courses.

Pacing

4/5
Why

Student discussion repeatedly says the course compounds quickly when you fall behind, and the sample syllabus shows frequent quizzes across the term.

Projects

1/5
Why

Official materials and the public syllabus point to quizzes and assignments in combinatorics, probability, and graph theory rather than project-style build work.

Exams

3/5
Why

Public Rutgers evidence clearly shows repeated quizzes and graded assignments, but the sample syllabus does not expose a detailed exam-weight breakdown.

Math

5/5
Why

Rutgers describes the course as combinatorics and probability background for algorithms and systems, which makes formal quantitative reasoning central to the class.

Memorization

3/5
Why

Students often ask for more worked examples and resources, suggesting formulas and named distributions matter, but the course still leans on problem setup over rote recall.

Abstraction

4/5
Why

Recurrences, probability spaces, expectation, and graph properties are fairly abstract, even if the course is usually less proof-heavy than 205.

Prerequisites

4/5
Why

Because 206 serves as follow-on discrete math for CS and moves quickly through formal counting and probability ideas, weak earlier preparation tends to compound.

Reading

2/5
Why

The public signal centers more on examples, quizzes, and assignments than on a large text-heavy reading burden.

What students tend to say

Public Rutgers discussion treats 206 as a core math-support course for CS that often feels more like applied counting and probability than a continuation of proof-heavy Discrete I. Students repeatedly describe success as very pacing-dependent: when they keep up with examples and quizzes, the class feels manageable; when they fall behind, it compounds quickly.

Many students experience it as a probability-heavy course

A recurring theme in Rutgers discussion is that 206 feels closer to discrete probability and statistics than to the proof style many students associate with 205.

The weekly rhythm matters a lot

Threads about instructors and resources repeatedly mention quizzes, homework cadence, and fast topic turnover, which suggests that short, regular practice is safer than relying on last-minute review.

Examples and outside practice can be the difference-maker

Students asking for help often specifically want more example sets or interactive resources, which lines up with the course's formula-heavy surface and the need to see many worked cases.

Instructor style changes the stress level more than the topic list does

Public sentiment is noticeably instructor-dependent, so workload and pressure are best treated as section-specific signals rather than fixed truths about the course itself.

Topic breakdown

A practical chapter-by-chapter view from foundations to applications.

6 modules

Module 1

Counting foundations

The course usually opens by turning informal counting questions into clean combinatorial models. Students learn when order matters, when it does not, and how binomial coefficients, permutations, combinations, and partitions encode those choices.

binomial coefficientspermutationscombinationspartitionscounting arguments

Basic concept overview

Counting is model selection

Most early mistakes come from choosing the wrong model, not from arithmetic. The real question is whether order matters, repetition is allowed, or structure is being partitioned into cases.

Recurrences describe growth through dependency

A recurrence works when a large problem can be expressed through smaller versions of itself. That perspective becomes useful again later in algorithms.

Expectation is a weighted average of possibilities

Expected value is not just a formula to memorize; it is the main way the course compresses many random outcomes into one interpretable number.

Graphs make structure visible

Graph theory turns relationships into objects that can be traversed, partitioned, and tested for properties like connectivity or special paths.

Things to watch for

Choosing formulas before defining the situation

Name the objects, the ordering rule, and whether repetition is allowed before reaching for combinations or permutations.

Confusing disjoint events with independent events

Disjoint means they cannot happen together; independent means one does not change the probability of the other.

Treating expectation like a plug-and-chug answer key

Write the random variable first, then list its possible values and probabilities before computing the weighted average.

Memorizing graph vocabulary without small examples

Draw tiny graphs and test the property yourself: connected or not, Eulerian or not, tree or not.

Fall 2026 sections

0 open · Livingston, Busch

SectionStatusInstructorMeetingCampus
0111527ClosedCowan, CharlesWednesday 10:20 AM-11:40 AM at TIL 254; Friday 3:50 PM-5:10 PM at TIL 254; Friday 2:15 PM-3:10 PM at BE 253TIL 254BE 253Livingston
0211528ClosedCowan, CharlesWednesday 10:20 AM-11:40 AM at TIL 254; Friday 3:50 PM-5:10 PM at TIL 254; Thursday 7:45 PM-8:40 PM at TIL 264TIL 254TIL 264Livingston
0311529ClosedCowan, CharlesWednesday 10:20 AM-11:40 AM at TIL 254; Friday 3:50 PM-5:10 PM at TIL 254; Thursday 5:55 PM-6:50 PM at TIL 254TIL 254Livingston
0511530ClosedHAMIDITuesday 3:50 PM-5:10 PM at HLL 114; Thursday 3:50 PM-5:10 PM at HLL 114; Wednesday 5:55 PM-6:50 PM at TIL 258HLL 114TIL 258Busch
0611531ClosedHAMIDITuesday 3:50 PM-5:10 PM at HLL 114; Thursday 3:50 PM-5:10 PM at HLL 114; Wednesday 10:35 AM-11:30 AM at TIL 116HLL 114TIL 116Busch
0711532ClosedHAMIDITuesday 3:50 PM-5:10 PM at HLL 114; Thursday 3:50 PM-5:10 PM at HLL 114; Friday 10:35 AM-11:30 AM at TIL 258HLL 114TIL 258Busch
0911533ClosedHAMIDITuesday 2:00 PM-3:20 PM at PHY 001; Thursday 2:00 PM-3:20 PM at PHY 001; Wednesday 12:25 PM-1:20 PM at BE 250PHY 001BE 250Busch
1011534ClosedHAMIDITuesday 2:00 PM-3:20 PM at PHY 001; Thursday 2:00 PM-3:20 PM at PHY 001; Friday 5:55 PM-6:50 PM at BE 250PHY 001BE 250Busch
1111535ClosedHAMIDITuesday 2:00 PM-3:20 PM at PHY 001; Thursday 2:00 PM-3:20 PM at PHY 001; Wednesday 7:45 PM-8:40 PM at TIL 258PHY 001TIL 258Busch
cachedSource: Checked-in Rutgers Schedule of Classes snapshotsUpdated when term datasets are refreshedMay be stale

SIRS teaching signals

Historical student surveys

Teaching

3.91

Course quality

3.74

Response rate

57.5%

Coverage

49 offerings · 2014–2025

InstructorOfferingsTeachingQuality
Gholizadeh Hamidi, Samaneh143.733.60
Michmizos54.584.36
Cowan, Charles34.374.03
Cash David24.804.60
Weidenhoft J24.204.25
Allender, Eric23.903.90

Course stats

Catalog and planning context

Credits

4

Current campuses

Livingston, Busch

Current availability

0 open of 9

Catalog terms

Fall, Spring, Summer

Core codes

None listed

Loaded terms

5

Prerequisites

((01:198:205 or 14:332:312) and (01:640:152))<em> OR </em> ((01:198:205 or 14:332:312) and (01:640:192))

Degree requirement lists

No direct degree-list membership appears in the checked-in requirement index.

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