CIS 6930 Stochastic Processes in Machine Learning
1. Course Description – This course will survey recent advances in applying
nonparametric Bayesian methods to machine learning problems. The variety of
approaches in the literature can be treated in a unified way using stochastic processes,
and a major part of the course will be devoted to studying important stochastic processes
such as Dirichlet Process, Gaussian Process and Beta Process. We will also discuss
important and interesting applications in image processing and topic modeling.
2. Pre-requisites – College calculus, probability theory and some familiarity with basic
machine learning methods.
3. Course Objective – To provide a broad and in-depth survey of recent progress in
applying nonparametric Bayesian analysis to machine learning problems.
4. Instructor Information
 Instructor: Jeffrey Ho ( jho@cise.ufl.edu )


Office: CSE 360
Office Hours: MW 1pm-2pm
5. Meeting Time and Place – MWF 4th period (10:40am-11:30am) at Turlington 2328.
6. Required Textbooks and Software – None.
7. Course Outline – We will cover basic measure theory and rudimentary topology that
are needed to delve deeper into the theoretical aspect of nonparametric Bayesian analysis.
This will occupy the first two to three weeks. The remaining part of the semester will be
devoted to studying the following topics:
 Dirichlet Process and Chinese Restaurant Process
 Beta Process and Indian Buffet Process
 Levy Process and Poisson Point Process
 Gaussian Process
 Applications in image analysis, topic modeling and regressions
8. Grading – The course will be graded mostly on homework assignments (70%) and one
implementation project (30%). Possible project topics will be given in class before the
second half of the semester.
9. Academic Honesty Policy -- All students admitted to the University of Florida have
signed a statement of academic honesty committing themselves to be honest in all
academic work and understanding that failure to comply with this commitment will result
in disciplinary action. This statement is a reminder to uphold your obligation as a UF
student and to be honest in all work submitted and exams taken in this course and all
others.
10. Accommodation for Students with Disabilities -- Students requesting classroom
accommodation must first register with the Dean of Students Office. That office will
provide the student with documentation that he/she must provide to the course instructor
when requesting accommodation.
11. UF Counseling Services -- Resources are available on campus for students having
personal problems or lacking clear career and academic goals. The resources include




University Counseling Center, 301 Peabody Hall, 3921575, personal and career
counseling.
SHCC mental Health, Student Health Care Center, 3921171, personal counseling.
Center for Sexual Assault/Abuse Recovery and Education (CARE), Student
Health Care Center, 3921161, sexual assault counseling.
Career Resource Center, Reitz Union, 3921601, career development assistance
and counseling.
12. Software Use -- All faculty, staff and student of the University are required and
expected to obey the laws and legal agreements governing software use. Failure to do so
can lead to monetary damages and/or criminal penalties for the individual violator.
Because such violations are also against University policies and rules, disciplinary action
will be taken as appropriate. We, the members of the University of Florida community,
pledge to uphold ourselves and our peers to the highest standards of honesty and
integrity.