Faculty notice: this unit is changing
Final offering S2 2027
BCS
Replace with FIT3235 from 2028
From: Re-enrolment and unit changes - Information Technology (undergraduate) · Last checked: 7 Oct 2026 UTC
Official wording from the faculty, shown as published. It is the page of the Faculty of IT on monash.edu, so confirm with your faculty that it applies to your campus and intake year. Replacements are decided by the faculty, not by this site.
Units / FIT2014
FIT2014 · Theory of computation
2027 Handbook6 credit pointsLevel 2Faculty of Information Technology
Overview
This unit introduces formal languages, models of computation, and computational complexity. It looks at what computers can and cannot compute. Topics include finite state automata, regular expressions, grammars, pushdown automata, computable functions, Turing machines, polynomial-time reductions, complexity classes P and NP, and NP-completeness. Skills at writing formal proofs will be developed.
Areas of study: Computer science Computational science
Offerings
| Campus | Teaching period | Mode |
|---|---|---|
| Malaysia | Second semester | Teaching activities are on-campus (ON-CAMPUS) |
| Malaysia | First semester | Teaching activities are on-campus (ON-CAMPUS) |
| Clayton | First semester | Some activities have a choice of on-campus or online teaching activities (FLEXIBLE) |
| Clayton | Second semester | Some activities have a choice of on-campus or online teaching activities (FLEXIBLE) |
Assessment
The Handbook lists an examination for this unit.
| # | Assessment | Type | Weight | Hurdle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | In-Class Tests | Quiz / Test | 5% | — |
| 2 | Assignment 1 | Project | 10% | — |
| 3 | Assignment 2 | Project | 10% | — |
| 4 | Mid-Semester Test | Quiz / Test | 20% | — |
| 5 | Scheduled final assessment (3 hours and 10 minutes) | Examination | 55% | — |
Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.
Requisites
prerequisite
OR
FIT1054Fundamentals of algorithms (Advanced)6 cpOR
FIT2085Fundamentals of algorithms for engineers6 cpOR
MTH2021Linear algebra with applications6 cpOR
MTH2025Linear algebra (Advanced)6 cpOR
MTH2140Real analysis6 cpOR
MTH3140Real analysis6 cpOR
MTH2141Algebra 1: Group theory6 cpOR
MTH3141Algebra 1: Group theory6 cpAND
Learning outcomes
- Use propositional logic, predicates and quantifiers to represent and analyse problems in the theory of computation;
- Construct Finite Automata, Nondeterministic Finite Automata and Context-Free Grammars to describe languages;
- Convert Regular Expressions into Finite Automata and vice versa;
- Find a Regular Grammar for a Regular Language;
- Find a parse tree, leftmost derivation and rightmost derivation for a word in a Context Free Language;
- Use Turing Machines to describe languages and represent computable functions;
- Demonstrate the limitations of the models of computation considered;
- Show a language is not regular, or not context-free, or not decidable;
- Show that a language is in P, or in NP, or NP-complete;
- Write rigorous formal proofs, including proofs by construction, cases, contradiction and induction.
Workload
Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled online and face to face learning activities and independent study. Independent study may include associated reading and preparation for scheduled teaching activities.
| Activity | Duration |
|---|---|
| Seminars | 36 hours |
| Applied sessions | 24 hours |
| Workshops | 36 hours |
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