Advanced Practical Data Science

APCOMP 215 Subject & Catalog Number

Description

The primary objective of this course is to understand how modern AI systems are built, deployed, and maintained in real-world settings. Beyond developing accurate models, the focus is on turning them into scalable, reliable applications. The course centers on Machine Learning Operations (MLOps) and incorporates modern approaches based on Large Language Models (LLMs), and agent-based systems. Students will learn how to design end-to-end AI workflows, including data pipelines, training, evaluation, deployment, and monitoring. We also introduce key ideas such as prompt design, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and how LLMs can interact with tools and APIs in more complex workflows. The course combines conceptual understanding with hands-on implementation, enabling students to build complete AI systems.