Graph Theory, Spring 2026
Class Info   |   Schedule   |   Weekly Problems   |   Homeworks

Class Info

Syllabus
Textbook: Introduction to Graph Theory (2nd Edition) by Douglas B. West
Meeting times: Monday and Thursday at 10-11:50am in LOW 3051
No Class: Jan 19; Feb 16 => Yes class on Feb 17
Last Class: April 27th


Course Instructor:
Prof. George M. Slota (slotag@rpi.edu)
Office Hours: Monday/Thursday at 2-3pm in 317 Lally and by appointment
Webex: https://rensselaer.webex.com/meet/slotag

Teaching Assistant:
Samantha Sussman-Randall (sussms@rpi.edu)
Office Hours: Tuesday 4:30-5:30pm, Friday 11:30am-12:30pm in AE 118
Webex: https://rensselaer.webex.com/meet/sussms

Mentors:
Anthony Fabius (fabiua@rpi.edu)
Office Hours: Tuesday 1-3pm, Wednesday 4-5pm in AE 118
Webex: https://rensselaer.webex.com/meet/fabiua

Lecture Notes and Readings

Note: Class schedule subject to (and likely will) change.
Note 2: Linked videos are included for your convenience, but they are relatively outdated and should not be used as a replacement for attending lectures.

WeekDateTopicReadingsNotes
1 12 Jan Introduction to Graphs, Definitions West ch. 1.1 Intro Slides   |   Lecture 1   |   Notes   |   Intro Code   |   Test Graph   |   Video
15 Jan Isomorphism, Subraphs West ch. 1.1-1.2 Lecture 2   |   Notes   |   Video
2 19 Jan MLK Day: No class
22 Jan Decompositions, Walks, Induction West ch. 1.2 Lecture 3   |   Notes   |   Video
3 26 Jan Snow Day
29 Jan Proof Techniques, Eulerian Circuits West ch. 1.3 Lecture 4   |   Notes   |   Video
4 2 Feb Degrees, Graphic Sequences, Directed Graphs West ch. 1.4 Lecture 5   |   Notes   |   Video
5 Feb Trees West ch. 2.1 Lecture 6   |   Notes   |   Bag o' Tricks   |   Video
5 9 Feb Tree Enumeration and Graceful Graphs West ch. 2.2 Lecture 7   |   Notes   |   Video
12 Feb Tree Algorithms West ch. 2.3 Lecture 8   |   Notes   |   Video
6 1617 Feb Bipartite Matching (Note: Tuesday class) West ch. 3.1-3.2 Lecture 9   |   Notes   |   Video
19 Feb General Matching, Covers, Independent Sets West ch. 3.3 Lecture 10   |   Notes   |   Video
7 23 Feb In class review West ch. 1-3 Practice Exam   |   Solution   |   Study Sheet   |   Crib Sheet   |   TA+Slota Review
26 Feb In-class exam West ch. 1-3
8 2 Mar Spring Break
5 Mar Spring Break
9 9 Mar Connectivity West ch. 4.1
12 Mar 2-connectivity, Biconnectivity West ch. 4.2
10 16 Mar k-connectivity West ch. 4.2
19 Mar Network flow West ch. 4.3
11 23 Mar Vertex Coloring West ch. 5.1
26 Mar More Coloring West ch. 5.2
12 30 Mar EVEN MORE COLORING, Perfect Graphs West ch. 5.3
2 Apr Planarity West ch. 6.1
13 6 Apr Kuratowski's Theorem West ch. 6.2
9 Apr Coloring of Planar Graphs West ch. 6.3
14 13 Apr Line Graphs, Edge Coloring West ch. 7.1
16 Apr Hamiltonian Graphs West ch. 7.2
15 20 Apr Random Graphs
23 Apr Special Topic: PageRank
16 27 Apr Final Review West ch. 1-7
30 Apr No class: Study Day
17 5 May Final Exam West ch. 1-7 Time 11:30a-2:30p. Room: TBD

Weekly Problems

WPs will be assigned most weeks, with some amount of class time designated to work on them. You can (and should!) work together on these problems. Late WPs will be accepted in accordance with the policy in the syllabus.

WP #Due DateWPSolution
1 15 Jan WP 1 Solution
2 22 Jan WP 2 Solution
3 29 Jan WP 3 Solution
4 5 Feb WP 4 Solution
5 12 Feb WP 5 Solution

Homework

Homeworks due at MIDNIGHT EST on the due date. Collaboration is allowed on homeworks, but you must do your own work. Late homeworks will be accepted in accordance with the policy in the syllabus.

HW #Due DateHomeworkSolution
1 6 Feb HW 1 Solution
2 13 Feb HW 2 Solution
3 20 Feb HW 3 Solution