Current instructor
Original student reviews · all captured dates
Very charismatic and funny lecturer who's clearly passionate about the material. The exams are good in difficulty: hard enough to require some on-site creative thinking and not just memorization, but nothing impossible to do. He also takes informal arguments and gives full points for answers even if they're lacking in rigor.Rate My Professors ↗
He's so difficult, and the average on the final exam was in the 40s, tells you all you need to know about this class and his way of teaching.Rate My Professors ↗
Very unfair professor. Makes material impossible to understand. Gives an insane amount of homework, but the homework is not useful in preparing for the finals. And despite the final seeming to be not that difficult, he grades insanely strictly and will absolutely crash your grade for seemingly no reason. Avoid at all costs.Rate My Professors ↗
Avoid at all costs—take 577 without him. He attempts to teach theoretical CS, but he's difficult to understand because his speech is muffled by a mask and he speaks too quickly. He explains concepts poorly and never goes over the examples you'll see on exams or in homework. Lectures are useless and you'll have to teach yourself the content.Rate My Professors ↗
Absolutely nightmarish terrible. I would've put 'Participation matters' as a tag if it weren't for the fact that his lectures are nightmarishly hard to understand. Terrible handwriting, style, squeaky chalkboard, seating, oratory skills, grading difficulty, attendance is a mystery, etc. It's bad when you're FORCED to 3rd party sites just to learn.Rate My Professors ↗
Has ability to make some of the most intuitive topics 10x harder during lecture with vague jargon, often not understanding a single word in lecture and going home to watch hours worth of videos to stay afloat. HWs are graded easily but tests are graded hard to the point HW feedback barely matters. Also, extends class 5 minutes after bell every day.Rate My Professors ↗
Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.
Introduction to the theory of computing, covering finite automata, computability, and complexity theory.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Jin-Yi Cai is praised for his passion, clarity, and personable nature, with students finding his lectures approachable and helpful. Reviewers highlight his charisma and willingness to assist, noting that attending lectures provides clear guidance for assignments and exams.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026COMPSCI 681 is an individual study course for senior Computer Science majors to complete honors theses under faculty supervision.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
COMPSCI 699 offers directed study projects for junior and senior students arranged with a faculty member.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026COMPSCI 790 is a Master's Thesis course for graduate students, focusing on independent research and thesis completion.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
COMPSCI 899 is a pre-dissertator research course for master's graduates preparing for doctoral dissertation work under faculty supervision.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
COMPSCI 990 is an advanced mentored reading and research course for students with dissertator status.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
| Term | Course | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Fall 2026 | COMPSCI 520 | Introduction to Theory of Computing |
| Fall 2026 | COMPSCI 681 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Fall 2026 | COMPSCI 699 | Directed Study |
| Fall 2026 | COMPSCI 790 | Master's Thesis |
| Fall 2026 | COMPSCI 799 | Master's Research |
| Fall 2026 | COMPSCI 899 | Pre-dissertator Research |
| Fall 2026 | COMPSCI 990 | Dissertation |
Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.
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