DSC 100: Introduction to Data Management

UC San Diego — Spring 2026

TuTh 2:00–3:20p • SOLIS 104
Instructor

Babak Salimi

bsalimi@ucsd.edu

Teaching Team

TAs: TBD

Office Hours: TBD — posted on Canvas

Logistics

Discussion: Prerecorded — released online each week

Midterm Exam: Wed May 7

Final Exam: Tue Jun 9, 3:00–5:59p

Links: Canvas · Piazza (access code on Canvas)

Course Description

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to data management, covering the relational data model, SQL, formal query languages, query evaluation, data storage and indexes, conceptual design, integrity constraints, design theory, normal forms, and data quality.

Through lectures, demos, and hands-on exercises, students will gain a strong foundation in database management with a focus on SQL and the relational model.

Demos: Some lectures will be dedicated to live demos and held online via Zoom instead of in person. Whether a given lecture is on Zoom or in person will be announced in advance through Canvas and Piazza, depending on course progress.

Schedule

Subject to change

Week Date Topic Assignments Materials Discussion
1 Mar 31 Course Organization and Introduction Slide-Part 1 Recording-Part 1 Slide-Part 2 Recording-Part 2 Slide-Part 3 Recording-Part 3 Demo 1 Source Slide-Part 4 Recording-Part 4
Apr 2 Relational Data Model Web Quiz 1: Data Models and Basic SQL
Homework 1 – release: SQLITE and SQL Basics
2 Apr 7 Joins in SQL Part 1
Apr 9 Joins in SQL Part 2 SQL practice
Apr 10 Web Quiz 1 due
3 Apr 14 Grouping and Aggregation Homework 1 due
Apr 16 Advanced SQL Queries Part 1 Web Quiz 2: SQL Aggregates
Homework 2 – release: Basic SQL Queries
4 Apr 21 Advanced SQL Queries Part 2
Apr 23 Set Operation in SQL Web Quiz 3: Advanced SQL
Homework 3 – release: Advanced SQL and PostgreSQL
5 Apr 24 Web Quiz 2 due
Apr 28 Formal Relational Query Languages Part 1 Homework 2 due
Apr 30 Formal Relational Query Languages Part 2 Web Quiz 4: Relational Algebra
Homework 4 – release: Relational Algebra		 Relational Algebra
6 May 5 Interactive Data Analysis Using SQL
May 7 Midterm Exam
7 May 12 Recursive Queries and Conceptual Design
May 14 Data Storage, Indexes and Size Estimation Part 1
8 May 19 Data Storage, Indexes and Size Estimation Part 2 Web Quiz 5: Query Evaluation and Indexes
May 21 Data Storage, Indexes and Size Estimation Part 2
9 May 26 Design Theory Homework 5 – release: Entity Relationship Diagrams, Conceptual Design
May 28 Design Theory Web Quiz 6: Conceptual Design and Design Theory Indexes and Cost Estimation
Conceptual Design practice
10 Jun 2 Design Theory
Jun 4 Normal Forms and Constraints

Instructional Team

Babak Salimi

bsalimi@ucsd.edu — Instructor

Course Assistants

TBD

Office Hours: TBD — schedule will be posted on Canvas.

Note: Lectures will be automatically recorded and made available for students to watch at their convenience. Recordings are a supplement to in-person lectures and should not be used as a replacement for attendance.

Grading

The grading scheme is a hybrid of absolute and relative grading. The absolute cutoffs are based on your absolute total score. The relative bins are based on your position in the total score distribution of the class. The better grade among the two (absolute-based and relative-based) will be your final grade.

GradeAbsolute Cutoff (≥)Relative Bin (Use strictest)
A+97Highest 5%
A94Next 10% (5–15)
A-91Next 15% (15–30)
B+85Next 15% (30–45)
B80Next 15% (45–60)
B-70Next 15% (60–75)
C+65Next 5% (75–80)
C60Next 5% (80–85)
C-55Next 5% (85–90)
D50Next 5% (90–95)
F< 50Lowest 5%

Exam Dates:

  • Midterm Exam: May 7
  • Final Exam: Tuesday, June 9, 2026, 3:00p–5:59p

Course Workload

Subject to change

Homework 30%

Weekly assignments consisting of written problem-solving and programming assignments (25%) and web quizzes (5%). Homeworks are more rigorous and require deeper understanding; web quizzes reinforce lecture material.

  • HW 1: SQLITE and SQL Basics
  • HW 2: Basic SQL Queries
  • Postgres Setup for HW 3
  • HW 3: Advanced SQL and PostgreSQL
  • HW 4: Relational Algebra
  • HW 5: ER Diagrams, Conceptual Design
  • Quiz 1: Data Models and Basic SQL
  • Quiz 2: SQL Aggregates
  • Quiz 3: Advanced SQL
  • Quiz 4: Relational Algebra
  • Quiz 5: Query Evaluation and Indexes
  • Quiz 6: Conceptual Design & Theory
  • Quiz 7: Data Quality
Midterm 20%

Covers all topics up until Formal Query Languages.

Final Exam 50%

Comprehensive exam.

Bonus +3%

Awarded for participation in Slido web quizzes.

Due dates: Due dates for homework assignments and web quizzes can be found on the Canvas calendar. Web quizzes are due on Mondays of the following week.
Collaboration: Homework assignments can be completed in teams of up to 3. Each member must contribute equally and understand the work submitted. Plagiarism and cheating will not be tolerated.
Late Day Policy: You have up to 3 late days (24-hour chunks, max 1 per assignment). These are a safety net, not a convenience. No extensions once late days are exhausted.

Policies

Academic Integrity: Students are expected to adhere to UCSD's academic integrity policies. You may discuss problems with classmates, but all submitted work must be your own. Violations will be reported to the Academic Integrity Office.
AI/LLM Policy: Use of AI tools (ChatGPT, Copilot, etc.) is allowed for learning and studying, but not for directly generating homework solutions. You must understand and be able to explain everything you submit.

Resources

Textbook

Database Systems: The Complete Book by Garcia-Molina, Ullman & Widom (optional)

Canvas

canvas.ucsd.edu
Grades, submissions & announcements

Piazza

piazza.com/ucsd/spring2026/dsc100
Q&A forum (access code on Canvas)

For more on data science at UC San Diego, visit the Halıcıoğlu Data Science Institute.