- Core CS assumes the student has already taken high school math, including algebra, geometry, and pre-calculus.
- Advanced CS assumes the student has already taken the entirety of Core CS and is knowledgeable enough now to decide which electives to take.
- Note that Advanced systems assumes the student has taken a basic physics course (e.g. AP Physics in high school).
If you've never written a for-loop, or don't know what a string is in programming, start here. This course is self-paced, allowing you to adjust the number of hours you spend per week to meet your needs.
Topics covered:
simple programs
simple data structures
| Courses | Duration | Effort | Prerequisites | Discussion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Introduction to programming | 10 weeks | 10 hours/week | none | chat |
This course will introduce you to the world of computer science. Students who have been introduced to programming, either from the courses above or through study elsewhere, should take this course for a flavor of the material to come. If you finish the course wanting more, Computer Science is likely for you!
Topics covered:
computation
imperative programming
basic data structures and algorithms
and more
| Courses | Duration | Effort | Prerequisites | Discussion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Introduction to Computer Science and Programming using Python (alt) | 9 weeks | 15 hours/week | high school algebra | chat |
All coursework under Core CS is required, unless otherwise indicated.
Topics covered:
functional programming
design for testing
program requirements
common design patterns
unit testing
object-oriented design
static typing
dynamic typing
ML-family languages (via Standard ML)
Lisp-family languages (via Racket)
Ruby
and more
| Courses | Duration | Effort | Prerequisites | Discussion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Systematic Program Design (textbook) (alt: part 1 / part 2) | 13 weeks | 8-10 hours/week | none | chat: part 1 / part 2 |
| Programming Languages, Part A | 5 weeks | 4-8 hours/week | Systematic Program Design (Hear instructor) | chat |
| Programming Languages, Part B | 3 weeks | 4-8 hours/week | Programming Languages, Part A | chat |
| Programming Languages, Part C | 3 weeks | 4-8 hours/week | Programming Languages, Part B | chat |
| Object-Oriented Design | 4 weeks | 4 hours/week | Basic Java | |
| Design Patterns | 4 weeks | 4 hours/week | Object-Oriented Design | |
| Software Architecture | 4 weeks | 2-5 hours/week | Design Patterns |
Discrete math (Math for CS) is a prerequisite and closely related to the study of algorithms and data structures. Calculus both prepares students for discrete math and helps students develop mathematical maturity.
Topics covered:
discrete mathematics
mathematical proofs
basic statistics
O-notation
discrete probability
and more
| Courses | Duration | Effort | Notes | Prerequisites | Discussion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calculus 1A: Differentiation (alt) | 13 weeks | 6-10 hours/week | The alternate covers this and the following 2 courses | high school math | chat |
| Calculus 1B: Integration | 13 weeks | 5-10 hours/week | - | Calculus 1A | chat |
| Calculus 1C: Coordinate Systems & Infinite Series | 6 weeks | 5-10 hours/week | - | Calculus 1B | chat |
| Mathematics for Computer Science (alt) | 13 weeks | 5 hours/week | 2015/2019 solutions 2010 solutions 2005 solutions. | Calculus 1C | chat |
Understanding theory is important, but you will also be expected to create programs. There are a number of tools that are widely used to make that process easier. Learn them now to ease your future work writing programs.
Topics covered:
terminals and shell scripting
vim
command line environments
version control
and more
| Courses | Duration | Effort | Prerequisites | Discussion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Missing Semester of Your CS Education | 2 weeks | 12 hours/week | - | chat |
Topics covered:
procedural programming
manual memory management
boolean algebra
gate logic
memory
computer architecture
assembly
machine language
virtual machines
high-level languages
compilers
operating systems
network protocols
and more
| Courses | Duration | Effort | Additional Text / Assignments | Prerequisites | Discussion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Build a Modern Computer from First Principles: From Nand to Tetris (alt) | 6 weeks | 7-13 hours/week | - | C-like programming language | chat |
| Build a Modern Computer from First Principles: Nand to Tetris Part II | 6 weeks | 12-18 hours/week | - | one of these programming languages, From Nand to Tetris Part I | chat |
| Operating Systems: Three Easy Pieces | 10-12 weeks | 6-10 hours/week | - | Nand to Tetris Part II | chat |
| Computer Networking: a Top-Down Approach | 8 weeks | 4–12 hours/week | Wireshark Labs | algebra, probability, basic CS | chat |
Topics covered:
divide and conquer
sorting and searching
randomized algorithms
graph search
shortest paths
data structures
greedy algorithms
minimum spanning trees
dynamic programming
NP-completeness
and more
| Courses | Duration | Effort | Prerequisites | Discussion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Divide and Conquer, Sorting and Searching, and Randomized Algorithms | 4 weeks | 4-8 hours/week | any programming language, Mathematics for Computer Science | chat |
| Graph Search, Shortest Paths, and Data Structures | 4 weeks | 4-8 hours/week | Divide and Conquer, Sorting and Searching, and Randomized Algorithms | chat |
| Greedy Algorithms, Minimum Spanning Trees, and Dynamic Programming | 4 weeks | 4-8 hours/week | Graph Search, Shortest Paths, and Data Structures | chat |
| Shortest Paths Revisited, NP-Complete Problems and What To Do About Them | 4 weeks | 4-8 hours/week | Greedy Algorithms, Minimum Spanning Trees, and Dynamic Programming | chat |
Topics covered
Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability
Secure Design
Defensive Programming
Threats and Attacks
Network Security
Cryptography
and more
| Courses | Duration | Effort | Prerequisites | Discussion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cybersecurity Fundamentals | 8 weeks | 10-12 hours/week | - | chat |
| Principles of Secure Coding | 4 weeks | 4 hours/week | - | chat |
| Identifying Security Vulnerabilities | 4 weeks | 4 hours/week | - | chat |
Choose one of the following:
| Courses | Duration | Effort | Prerequisites | Discussion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Identifying Security Vulnerabilities in C/C++Programming | 4 weeks | 5 hours/week | - | chat |
| Exploiting and Securing Vulnerabilities in Java Applications | 4 weeks | 5 hours/week | - | chat |
Topics covered:
Agile methodology
REST
software specifications
refactoring
relational databases
transaction processing
data modeling
neural networks
supervised learning
unsupervised learning
OpenGL
ray tracing
and more
| Courses | Duration | Effort | Prerequisites | Discussion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Databases: Modeling and Theory | 2 weeks | 10 hours/week | core programming | chat |
| Databases: Relational Databases and SQL | 2 weeks | 10 hours/week | core programming | chat |
| Databases: Semistructured Data | 2 weeks | 10 hours/week | core programming | chat |
| Machine Learning | 11 weeks | 9 hours/week | Basic coding | chat |
| Computer Graphics (alt) | 6 weeks | 12 hours/week | C++ or Java, linear algebra | chat |
| Software Engineering: Introduction | 4 weeks | 8-10 hours/week | Core Programming, and a sizable project | chat |
Topics covered:
Social Context
Analytical Tools
Professional Ethics
Intellectual Property
Privacy and Civil Liberties
and more
| Courses | Duration | Effort | Prerequisites | Discussion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethics, Technology and Engineering | 9 weeks | 2 hours/week | none | chat |
| Introduction to Intellectual Property | 4 weeks | 2 hours/week | none | chat |
| Data Privacy Fundamentals | 3 weeks | 3 hours/week | none | chat |
After completing every required course in Core CS, students should choose a subset of courses from Advanced CS based on interest. Not every course from a subcategory needs to be taken. But students should take every course that is relevant to the field they intend to go into.
Topics covered:
debugging theory and practice
goal-oriented programming
parallel computing
object-oriented analysis and design
UML
large-scale software architecture and design
and more
| Courses | Duration | Effort | Prerequisites |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parallel Programming | 4 weeks | 6-8 hours/week | Scala programming |
| Compilers | 9 weeks | 6-8 hours/week | none |
| Introduction to Haskell | 14 weeks | - | - |
| Learn Prolog Now! (alt)* | 12 weeks | - | - |
| Software Debugging | 8 weeks | 6 hours/week | Python, object-oriented programming |
| Software Testing | 4 weeks | 6 hours/week | Python, programming experience |
(*) book by Blackburn, Bos, Striegnitz (compiled from source, redistributed under CC license)
Topics covered:
digital signaling
combinational logic
CMOS technologies
sequential logic
finite state machines
processor instruction sets
caches
pipelining
virtualization
parallel processing
virtual memory
synchronization primitives
system call interface
and more
| Courses | Duration | Effort | Prerequisites | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Computation Structures 1: Digital Circuits alt1 alt2 | 10 weeks | 6 hours/week | Nand2Tetris II | Alternate links contain all 3 courses. |
| Computation Structures 2: Computer Architecture | 10 weeks | 6 hours/week | Computation Structures 1 | |
| Computation Structures 3: Computer Organization | 10 weeks | 6 hours/week | Computation Structures 2 |
Topics covered:
formal languages
Turing machines
computability
event-driven concurrency
automata
distributed shared memory
consensus algorithms
state machine replication
computational geometry theory
propositional logic
relational logic
Herbrand logic
game trees
and more
| Courses | Duration | Effort | Prerequisites |
|---|---|---|---|
| Theory of Computation (alt) | 13 weeks | 10 hours/week | Mathematics for Computer Science, logic, algorithms |
| Computational Geometry | 16 weeks | 8 hours/week | algorithms, C++ |
| Game Theory | 8 weeks | 3 hours/week | mathematical thinking, probability, calculus |
| Courses | Duration | Effort | Prerequisites |
|---|---|---|---|
| Web Security Fundamentals | 5 weeks | 4-6 hours/week | understanding basic web technologies |
| Security Governance & Compliance | 3 weeks | 3 hours/week | - |
| Digital Forensics Concepts | 3 weeks | 2-3 hours/week | Core Security |
| Secure Software Development: Requirements, Design, and Reuse | 7 weeks | 1-2 hours/week | Core Programming and Core Security |
| Secure Software Development: Implementation | 7 weeks | 1-2 hours/week | Secure Software Development: Requirements, Design, and Reuse |
| Secure Software Development: Verification and More Specialized Topics | 7 weeks | 1-2 hours/week | Secure Software Development: Implementation |
| Courses | Duration | Effort | Prerequisites | Discussion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essence of Linear Algebra | - | - | high school math | chat |
| Linear Algebra | 14 weeks | 12 hours/week | corequisite: Essence of Linear Algebra | chat |
| Introduction to Numerical Methods | 14 weeks | 12 hours/week | Linear Algebra | chat |
| Introduction to Formal Logic | 10 weeks | 4-8 hours/week | Set Theory | chat |
| Probability | 15 weeks | 5-10 hours/week | Differentiation and Integration | chat |
OSS University is project-focused. The assignments and exams for each course are to prepare you to use your knowledge to solve real-world problems.
After you've gotten through all of Core CS and the parts of Advanced CS relevant to you, you should think about a problem that you can solve using the knowledge you've acquired. Not only does real project work look great on a resume, but the project will also validate and consolidate your knowledge. You can create something entirely new, or you can find an existing project that needs help via websites like CodeTriage or First Timers Only.
Students who would like more guidance in creating a project may choose to use a series of project oriented courses. Here is a sample of options (many more are available, at this point you should be capable of identifying a series that is interesting and relevant to you):
| Courses | Duration | Effort | Prerequisites |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fullstack Open | 12 weeks | 15 hours/week | programming |
| Modern Robotics (Specialization) | 26 weeks | 2-5 hours/week | freshman-level physics, linear algebra, calculus, linear ordinary differential equations |
| Data Mining (Specialization) | 30 weeks | 2-5 hours/week | machine learning |
| Big Data (Specialization) | 30 weeks | 3-5 hours/week | none |
| Internet of Things (Specialization) | 30 weeks | 1-5 hours/week | strong programming |
| Cloud Computing (Specialization) | 30 weeks | 2-6 hours/week | C++ programming |
| Data Science (Specialization) | 43 weeks | 1-6 hours/week | none |
| Functional Programming in Scala (Specialization) | 29 weeks | 4-5 hours/week | One year programming experience |
| Game Design and Development with Unity 2020 (Specialization) | 6 months | 5 hours/week | programming, interactive design |