The OSSU curriculum is a **complete education in computer science** using online materials.
It's not merely for career training or professional development.
It's for those who want a proper, *well-rounded* grounding in concepts fundamental to all computing disciplines,
and for those who have the discipline, will, and (most importantly!) good habits to obtain this education largely on their own,
but with support from a worldwide community of fellow learners.
It is designed according to the degree requirements of undergraduate computer science majors, minus general education (non-CS) requirements,
as it is assumed most of the people following this curriculum are already educated outside the field of CS.
The courses themselves are among the very best in the world, often coming from Harvard, Princeton, MIT, etc.,
but specifically chosen to meet the following criteria.
**Courses must**:
- Be open for enrollment
- Run regularly (ideally in self-paced format, otherwise running at least once a month or so)
- Fulfill the [academic requirements](REQUIREMENTS.md) of OSSU
- Fit neatly into the progression of the curriculum with respect to topics and difficulty level
- Be of generally high quality in teaching materials and pedagogical principles
When no course meets the above criteria, the coursework is supplemented with a book.
When there are courses or books that don't fit into the curriculum but are otherwise of high quality,
they belong in [extras/courses](extras/courses.md) or [extras/readings](extras/readings.md).
**Organization**. The curriculum is designed as follows:
- *Intro CS*: for students to try out CS and see if it's right for them
- *Core CS*: corresponds roughly to the first three years of a computer science curriculum, taking classes that all majors would be required to take
- *Advanced CS*: corresponds roughly to the final year of a computer science curriculum, taking electives according to the student's interests
- *Final Project*: a project for students to validate, consolidate, and display their knowledge, to be evaluated by their peers worldwide
- *Pro CS*: graduate-level specializations students can elect to take after completing the above curriculum if they want to maximize their chances of getting a good job
**Duration**. It is possible to finish Core CS within about 2 years if you plan carefully and devote roughly 18-22 hours/week to your studies.
Courses in Core CS should be taken linearly if possible, but since a perfectly linear progression is rarely possible,
each class's prerequisites is specified so that you can design a logical but non-linear progression
based on the class schedules and your own life plans.
**Cost**. All or nearly all course material prior to Pro CS is available for free,
however some courses may charge money for assignments/tests/projects to be graded.
Note that Coursera offers [financial aid](https://learner.coursera.help/hc/en-us/articles/209819033-Apply-for-Financial-Aid).
Decide how much or how little to spend based on your own time and budget;
- [Core CS](#core-cs) assumes the student has already taken high school math and physics, including algebra, geometry, and pre-calculus.
Some high school graduates will have already taken AP Calculus, but this is usually only about 3/4 of a college calculus class, so the calculus courses in the curriculum are still recommended.
- [Advanced CS](#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](#advanced-systems) assumes the student has taken a basic physics course (e.g. AP Physics in high school).
[How to Code - Complex Data](https://www.edx.org/course/how-code-complex-data-ubcx-htc2x) | 6 weeks | 8-10 hours/week | How to Code: Simple Data
[Software Construction - Data Abstraction](https://www.edx.org/course/software-construction-data-abstraction-ubcx-softconst1x) | 6 weeks | 8-10 hours/week | How to Code - Complex Data
[Software Construction - Object-Oriented Design](https://www.edx.org/course/software-construction-object-oriented-ubcx-softconst2x) | 6 weeks | 8-10 hours/week | Software Construction - Data Abstraction
**<sup>1</sup> Note**: When you are enrolled, please see this
[list of errors](https://www.coursera.org/learn/calculus1/discussions/forums/WcY9_8ayEeSWEiIAC0wC5g/threads/CgOJwV-jEeWncxKXIFxpFQ/replies/kH6u_2FPEeWukw4fFhIvKw)
[Build a Modern Computer from First Principles: From Nand to Tetris](https://www.coursera.org/learn/build-a-computer) ([alt](http://www.nand2tetris.org/)) | 6 weeks | 7-13 hours/week | none
[Build a Modern Computer from First Principles: Nand to Tetris Part II ](https://www.coursera.org/learn/nand2tetris2) | 6 weeks | 12-18 hours/week | From Nand to Tetris Part I
- **Required** since Nand2Tetris does not go deep enough into operating systems: [Operating Systems: Three Easy Pieces](http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~remzi/OSTEP/)
[Introduction to Probability - The Science of Uncertainty](https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-probability-science-mitx-6-041x-2) | 18 weeks | 12 hours/week | single- and multi-variable calculus
[Electricity and Magnetism, Part 2](https://www.edx.org/course/electricity-magnetism-part-2-ricex-phys102-2x-0) | 7 weeks | 8-10 hours/week | Electricity and Magnetism, Part 1
Depending on the course, you may be able to utilize the Capstone as your Final Project for this Computer Science curriculum.
Note that doing a Specialization with the Capstone at the end always costs money.
So if you don't wish to spend money or use the Capstone as your Final, it may be possible to take the courses in the Specialization for free by manually searching for them, but not all allow this.
You are encouraged to do the assignments and exams for each course, but what really matters is whether you can *use* your knowledge to solve a real world problem.
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.
Another option is using the Capstone project from taking one of the Specializations in [Advanced applications](#advanced-applications);
whether or not this makes sense depends on the course, the project, and whether or not the course's Honor Code permits you to display your work publicly.
In some cases, it may not be permitted;
do **not** violate your course's Honor Code!
Put the OSSU-CS badge in the README of your repository!
[](https://github.com/open-source-society/computer-science)
- Markdown: `[](https://github.com/open-source-society/computer-science)`
- HTML: `<a href="https://github.com/open-source-society/computer-science"><img alt="Open Source Society University - Computer Science" src="https://img.shields.io/badge/OSSU-computer--science-blue.svg"></a>`
Your peers and mentors from OSSU will then informally evaluate your project.
You will not be "graded" in the traditional sense — everyone has their own measurements for what they consider a success.
The purpose of the evaluation is to act as your first announcement to the world that you are a computer scientist,
and to get experience listening to feedback — both positive and negative — and taking it in stride.
The final project evaluation has a second purpose: to evaluate whether OSSU,
through its community and curriculum, is successful in its mission to guide independent learners in obtaining a world-class computer science education.
After completing the requirements of the curriculum above, you will have completed the equivalent of a full bachelor's degree in Computer Science, or quite close to one.
You can stop here, but if you really want to make yourself valuable, the next step to completing your studies is to develop skills and knowledge in a specific domain.
- Subscribe to [/r/opensourcesociety](https://www.reddit.com/r/opensourcesociety/)!
- Join us in our [group](https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/open-source-society-university)!
- You can also interact through [GitHub issues](https://github.com/open-source-society/computer-science/issues).
- We also have a chat room! [](https://gitter.im/open-source-society/computer-science?utm_campaign=pr-badge&utm_content=badge&utm_medium=badge&utm_source=badge)
- Add **Open Source Society University** to your [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/ossuniversity) profile!
> **PS**: A forum is an ideal way to interact with other students as we do not lose important discussions, which usually occur in communication via chat apps.
**Please use our subreddit/group for important discussions**.
The intention of this board is to provide our students a way to track their progress, and also the ability to show their progress through a public page for friends, family, employers, etc.
