Free Courses That Are Actually Free: Computer Science Edition

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We have covered courses that are actually free: AI and ML edition. The next one we will cover is computer science. Computer science is the foundational knowledge of data science, machine learning, artificial intelligence and deep learning.

Computer science is the study of computers and algorithmic processes, including their principles, their hardware, software designs, and applications. If you are looking to get into the tech world and you’re thinking that studying computer science is the best route. You are right but you can study it for free with these free courses that are actually free.

CS50's Introduction to Computer Science

 
Link: CS50's Introduction to Computer Science
Duration: 12 weeks, 6–18 hours per week

If you’ve looked into some computer science courses, you have definitely come across the Harvard CS50 edition. CS50's Introduction to Computer Science has the highest enrolment on Harvard's campus and is one of edX's top 100 courses of all time.

In this Introduction to Computer Science course offered by Harvard, you will learn about the art of programming and computer science. This course will allow you to think algorithmically in order for you to solve programming problems. You will dive into concepts such as abstraction, algorithms, data structures, software engineering, web development and more. But that's not all, you will also become familiar with popular programming languages such as C, Python, SQL, JavaScript, and HTML which are well known programming languages in the computer science field.

CS50's Introduction to Programming with Python

 
Link: CS50's Introduction to Programming with Python
Duration: 10 weeks, 3–9 hours per week

CS50's Introduction to Computer Science course provides a more general focus on computer science and different languages. However, if you are looking to focus on one programming language, in particular Python the following course may be for you. Offered by Hadrvard, the Introduction to Programming with Python will allow you to learn the most popular language for general-purpose programming, data science, and web programming.

Due to it's easy readability and similarity to the english language, you will learn how to read and write code, as well as be able to find and fix bugs, extract data, and write unit tests. That's not all, you will also learn about functions, arguments, variables, types, conditionals, Boolean expressions and more. The great thing about this course is that you do not need to have any prior programming experience to take this course.

Exercises included in this course are real-world programming problems, providing you with realistic idea of the world as a Python programmer.

CS50's Introduction to Artificial Intelligence with Python

 
Link: CS50's Introduction to Artificial Intelligence with Python
Duration: 7 weeks, 10–30 hours per week

Or maybe you're looking into diving into the world of artificial intelligence with the use of the Python programming language. In this course, you will explore the concepts and algorithms at the foundation of modern artificial intelligence, whilst diving into the ideas that bring these technologies to life, for example game-playing engines, handwriting recognition, and machine translation. You will go through a variety of hands-on projects, which will provide you exposure to the theory behind graph search algorithms, classification, machine learning, large language models, and other realted topics in artificial intelligence as they incorporate them into their own Python programs.

By the end of the course, you will have gained experience in libraries for machine learning as well as knowledge of artificial intelligence principles.

CS50's Web Programming with Python and JavaScript

 
Link: CS50's Web Programming with Python and JavaScript
Duration: 12 weeks, 6–9 hours per week

If you’re looking to enter the tech industry but you’re more interested in the design and implementation of web apps - this entry-level course is for you. You will learn about different aspects of web programming such as database design, security, and user experience. The need for web programmers in the tech world is continuously rising - so do not sleep on it. With the knowledge that you will learn from this course, you will be able to go through the hands-on projects with ease, where you will put your knowledge to the test.

Introduction to Data Science with Python

 
Link: Introduction to Data Science with Python
Duration: 8 weeks, 3–4 hours per week

How about data science with Python? A very popular career that many go down due to the demand. In this course, you will learn about the use of Python in the Data Science world where you will learn about regression models as well as classification models. You will also utilise popular libraries such as sklearn, Pandas, matplotlib, and numPy. In this course, you will cover the key concepts of machine learning such as: picking the right complexity, preventing overfitting, regularisation, model evaluation and more.

This course will not only build your confidence in using Python, but it will also prepare you for more advanced study in Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), in your future career.

In order to take this course, learners must have a minimum baseline of programming knowledge (preferably in Python) and statistics to be successful.

CS50's Introduction to Databases with SQL

 
Link: CS50's Introduction to Databases with SQL
Duration: 7 weeks, 6–12 hours per week

Databases are very valuable in todays day and age that learning about them will make you a high-demand professional. In this course offered by Harvard, there is a primary focus on SQL which is a popular standardised programming language used to manage relational databases.

It is also used to perform operations on the data within the database, ensuring you understand how to manoeuvre databases and get the most out of it. Topics in this course that you will cover include different file types, data cleaning, relational databases, SQL and its functionalities, SQLite, primary/foreign key, and more.

Python Basics for Data Science

 
Link: Python Basics for Data Science
Duration: 3 weeks, 4–10 hours per week

Another Python course - just because the programming language is that popular. There's a reason that Python is the go to programming language for beginners. In this course, you will from not knowing a thing about Python to becoming a wizard in a matter of hours. You will get a taste of what it is to work with data using the Python language.

By the end of the course, you will be able to write your own Python scripts as well as be able to perform basic hands-on data analysis using our Jupyter-based lab environment. If you want to learn Python from scratch, this course is for you.

Data Science: R Basics

 
Link: Data Science: R Basics
Duration: 8 weeks, 1–2 hours per week

Maybe you haven’t gone for Python and maybe you have decided to choose R as your programming language. Regardless of what you decide to go ahead with - it is always good to start with the basics. Harvard University offers a Data Science: R Basics course that helps you to build a solid foundation in the R programming language - from learning how to wrangle, analyze, and visualize data.

Machine Learning with Python: A Practical Introduction

 
Link: Machine Learning with Python: A Practical Introduction
Duration: 5 weeks, 4–6 hours per week

If you're looking into the world of machine learning using the Python language, this course dives into the basics that you need to elevate your career. You'll learn about supervised vs. unsupervised learning, look into how statistical modelling relates to machine learning, and do a comparison of each.

You will dive into popular algorithms such as Classification, Regression, Clustering, and Dimensional Reduction. But that's not all, you will also learn about popular models such as Train/Test Split, Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE), and Random Forests. As you go through the course, you will come across real-life examples of machine learning and see how it affects our day-to-day lives.

AI for Everyone

 
Link: IBM: AI for Everyone: Master the Basics

Duration: 4 weeks, 1-2 hours per week.

AI Is around us all the time now and one of the best things you can do for yourself is learn about it. You don't want to be that person that is left behind.

In this course, you will master the basics of AI by understanding its applications and use cases about how it is transforming our lives. You will also learn basic AI concepts such as machine learning, deep learning, and neural networks along with understanding their particular cases and applications of AI. Not only will you understand a lot of the theory, you will also dive into the concerns surrounding AI, including ethics, bias, jobs and the impacts on society.

With this course, you will be able to get a glimpse of the future with AI and be provided with advice for starting an AI-related career.

Wrapping up

Who would’ve thought you could get a year or two years' worth of university-level computer science for free? If you can build solid foundational knowledge and skills from these courses, you can then move on to more intermediate courses and get certified and job-ready!

Nisha Arya is a data scientist, freelance technical writer, and an editor and community manager for KDnuggets. She is particularly interested in providing data science career advice or tutorials and theory-based knowledge around data science. Nisha covers a wide range of topics and wishes to explore the different ways artificial intelligence can benefit the longevity of human life. A keen learner, Nisha seeks to broaden her tech knowledge and writing skills, while helping guide others.

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