Who can enroll in this course?
This course is open to anyone with an active Purdue account. This includes students from all schools and majors, graduate students, faculty and staff. Others may take this course in the summer by first applying to Purdue as non-degree student. Application details for non-degree seeking students can be found here.
How does the certificate work?
Each certificate has the Purdue College of Engineering logo, the recipient's name, the name of the course, the month and year it was issued, and will be signed the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education and Prof. Cole. Certificates are issued as a link to a university hosted certificate image. You can share this link on social media or with anyone who would like to verify your achievement. You can also download and print your certificate if you prefer a paper copy. A QR code on each certificate links back to its Purdue hosted image for verification purposes.
Will this course appear on my academic transcript?
In summer, this course is offered for 1 credit hour. When taken for credit, it will appear on your academic transcript and influence your GPA. In the fall and spring semesters, this is a non-credit course that will not appear on your transcript or affect your GPA.
How much prior programming experience do I need?
None. This course is designed for beginners.
How much time will this course take?
The course assignments are divided into units. In the fall and spring, we complete one unit each week concurrently with the regular 16-week semester. In summer, we complete two units each week during the first 8-week summer module. Most students who complete the course spend between 5 and 6 hours working on each unit. However, some students spend as little as 1 hour per unit, and others spend over 10 hours.
When and where is class?
There are multiple virtual office hours and multiple in-person sessions on Purdue University's West Lafayette campus throughout each week. The schedule of times and locations depends on how many students register, and will be made available to registered students before the start of class. You may attend any or all of the sessions that work with your schedule. Attendance during the in-person sessions is encouraged, but is not required. All the course content will be available through Brightspace.
In addition to regular in-person sessions, there will be multiple orientation sessions on the first day of class. Since the capacity in the orientation sessions is limited, session choice takes place on a first come, first served basis.
Is there a remote option?
Yes. You may work remotely, in-person, or switch between modes as needed. Lecture videos are made available before class so that in-person sessions can be used to work through programming exercises. If the in-person session schedule does not work for you, several virtual office hours are also available throughout the week.
Is there a higher level version of this course.
Not yet, but an intermediate level of this course is in the early stages of development. Any news related to the development of higher level courses will be posted on this webpage. In the mean time, below are some online resources you might be interested in:
- The projects in the second part of our course textbook. Digital access is available FREE from Purdue libraries.
- "Talk Python To Me" podcast https://talkpython.fm/
- "How to Think Like a Computer Scientist" book https://runestone.academy/runestone/books/published/thinkcspy/index.html
- "Real Python" online tutorials https://realpython.com/
What should I do if I need to drop this course?
If you are taking this course for credit, follow these instructions provided by the registrar to drop this or any other course. If you are not taking this course for credit, just send me an email from your Purdue email address saying that you need to drop and why. If you do decide to drop, please allow up to a week to be completely disenrolled from the course.
