CS 6740: Advanced Language Technologies (Fall 2024)

Instructor: Tanya Goyal, tanyagoyal@cornell.edu

Lecture: MW 1:25 pm - 2:40 pm, Hollister Hall 366

TA: Wayne Chen

Office Hours:

Description: This is a graduate-level introduction to modern natural language processing (NLP). The course will cover the latest advancements in large language models (LLMs), which includes techniques that power ChatGPT-style chatbots. This course is intended for graduate students who are interested in learning about cutting-edge advancements in NLP and have some familiarity with machine learning fundamentals (see prerequisites). We will deep dive into language model architectures, training dataset curation, and evaluation methods in modern NLP. Coursework will include lectures, reading and discussing recent research papers and a final project.

Prerequisites: Familiarity with machine learning at the level of CS 4700 or equivalent is required. Please email me if you want to enroll but are unsure if you meet the prerequisites.

Format of Classes: Classes will be a mix of lectures by me (see schedule for classes annotated as “Lectures”) or paper presentations by students. A paper presentation class with have presentations on 2 papers, led by 1-2 students per paper. We will decide this number based on course enrollment.

Syllabus Page

Grading: Your grades will be based on In-class participation (15%), paper presentation and discussion (35%) and the final project (50%).

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: Your access in this course is important to me. Please give me [the TA, the Course Coordinator] your Student Disability Services (SDS) accommodation letter early in the semester so that we have adequate time to arrange your approved academic accommodations. If you need an immediate accommodation, please speak with me after class or send an email message to me and SDS at sds_cu@cornell.edu.