Free online course Introduction to algorithms

Course Description

Strengthen your programming foundations by learning how to think in algorithms. This free online course in Technology and Programming focuses on the tools that make code efficient, scalable, and easier to reason about. Instead of relying on trial and error, you will learn how to model problems clearly, choose the right data structure, and predict performance before you write a full solution.

You will start by connecting computation to algorithmic thinking and asymptotic analysis, building the habit of estimating time and space costs. From there, you will work with core data structures used in real software, including dynamic arrays, sets, hashing, heaps, and balanced trees. As you progress, the course helps you understand not only how these structures work, but when to use them and how their trade-offs affect speed, memory, and reliability.

Graph algorithms are another central theme, giving you practical methods to explore networks and relationships. You will study breadth-first and depth-first search, then move into shortest-path techniques such as Dijkstra and Bellman-Ford, including how to reason about negative weights and the conditions that make certain approaches safe. These topics are essential for applications like routing, dependency resolution, and recommendation systems.

Dynamic programming ties the course together by teaching you to break difficult tasks into natural subproblems and compose solutions systematically. You will practice designing recurrences, optimizing implementations, and recognizing patterns that appear across classic challenges. Problem sessions and quiz reviews reinforce the learning process, helping you build confidence for interviews, academic work, or everyday engineering tasks. By the end, you will have a clearer mental toolkit for tackling new problems and a stronger sense of the next steps in your algorithms journey.