MIT BS Computer Science - Course Descriptions

General Institute Requirements (GIRs):

● Communication Requirement: Integrated into Humanities, Arts, and Social

Sciences (HASS) coursework.
● Science Requirement: Covers fundamental scientific concepts.
● HASS Requirement: Courses in humanities, arts, and social sciences. Two
courses can be fulfilled by specific department options. At least two must be
communication-intensive (CI-H).
● Restricted Electives in Science and Technology (REST) Requirement: Can
be satisfied by specific department courses.
● Laboratory Requirement: One lab course is required.
● Physical Education Requirement: Includes a swimming test and four PE
courses.

Departmental Program:

● Computer Science Requirements:

○ 6.100A or 6.100L: Introduction to computer science and programming
(Python)
○ 6.1010: Fundamentals of Programming
○ 6.1020: Software Construction
○ 6.1200[J]: Mathematics for Computer Science
○ 6.1210: Introduction to Algorithms (or 6.1220[J]: Design and Analysis of
Algorithms)
○ 6.1400[J]: Computability and Complexity Theory (or another approved
course)
○ 6.1800: Computer Systems Engineering
○ 6.1903: Introduction to Low-Level Programming (C and Assembly)
○ 6.1910: Computation Structures

Additionally:

● Students choose at least two communication-intensive (CI-M) courses from the

major to fulfill the Communication Requirement.
● Beyond the core requirements, there are elective courses that allow students to
explore specific areas of computer science that interest them.
Course Descriptions:

● Introduction to Computer Science:

○ 6.100A: This half-semester course assumes no prior programming
experience. It introduces fundamental computer science concepts and
Python programming.
○ 6.100L: This full-semester version of 6.100A is designed for beginners
who want more practice with Python programming concepts.
● Core Computer Science Courses:
○ 6.1010: Fundamentals of Programming: This course builds upon
6.100A/L, diving deeper into Python programming with object-oriented
programming and advanced data structures.
○ 6.1020: Software Construction: This course focuses on designing,
implementing, testing, and debugging larger software systems using
software design methodologies and unit testing frameworks.
○ 6.1200[J]: Mathematics for Computer Science: This course strengthens
the mathematical foundation for computer science, covering discrete
mathematics, graph theory, and linear algebra.
○ 6.1210: Introduction to Algorithms: This course explores designing and
analyzing algorithms, a core concept in computer science. It covers
fundamental algorithmic paradigms for sorting, searching, graph
algorithms, and dynamic programming.
● Advanced Courses:
○ 6.1400[J]: Computability and Complexity Theory: This advanced
course explores the theoretical foundations of computer science,
investigating the limits of computation and complexity classes.
○ 6.1800: Computer Systems Engineering: This course dives into the
underlying hardware and software principles of computers, covering
computer architecture, memory organization, operating systems, and
computer networks.
○ 6.1903: Introduction to Low-Level Programming (C and Assembly):
This course explores C programming and assembly language, providing
insights into how compilers translate code to machine instructions.
○ 6.1910: Computation Structures: This course focuses on advanced data
structures and algorithms, exploring complex data structures and efficient
data organization techniques.
Course 6- Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

❖ Programming & Software Engineering

• 6.100A Introduction to Computer Science Programming in Python

• 6.100B Introduction to Computational Thinking and Data Science
• 6.100L Introduction to Computer Science and Programming
• 6.1010 Fundamentals of Programming
• 6.1020 Software Construction
• 6.1040 Software Design
• 6.1060 Software Performance Engineering
• 6.5060 Algorithm Engineering
• 6.5080 Multicore Programming
• 6.5081 Multicore Programming

❖ Programming Languages

• 6.1100 Computer Language Engineering

• 6.1120 Dynamic Computer Language Engineering
• 6.5110 Foundations of Program Analysis
• 6.5120 Formal Reasoning About Programs
• 6.5150 Large-scale Symbolic Systems
• 6.5151 Large-scale Symbolic Systems
• 6.5160[J] Classical Mechanics: A Computational Approach

❖ Theoretical Computer Science

• 6.1200[J] Mathematics for Computer Science

• 6.120A Discrete Mathematics and Proof for Computer Science
• 6.1210 Introduction to Algorithms
• 6.1220[J] Design and Analysis of Algorithms
• 6.1400[J] Computability and Complexity Theory
• 6.1420 Fixed Parameter and Fine-grained Computation
• 6.5210[J] Advanced Algorithms
• 6.5220[J] Randomized Algorithms
• 6.5230 Advanced Data Structures
• 6.5240 Sublinear Time Algorithms
• 6.5250[J] Distributed Algorithms
• 6.5310 Geometric Folding Algorithms: Linkages, Origami, Polyhedra
• 6.5320 Geometric Computing
• 6.5340 Topics in Algorithmic Game Theory
• 6.5350 Matrix Multiplication and Graph Algorithms
• 6.5400[J] Theory of Computation
• 6.5410[J] Advanced Complexity Theory
• 6.5420 Randomness and Computation
• 6.5430 Quantum Complexity Theory

❖ Security & Cryptography

• 6.1600 Foundations of Computer Security

• 6.5610 Applied Cryptography and Security
• 6.5620[J] Foundations of Cryptography
• 6.5630 Advanced Topics in Cryptography
• 6.5660 Computer Systems Security

❖ Computer Systems

• 6.1800 Computer Systems Engineering

• 6.1810 Operating System Engineering
• 6.1820[J] Mobile and Sensor Computing
• 6.1850 Computer Systems and Society
• 6.5810 Operating System Engineering
• 6.5820 Computer Networks
• 6.5830 Database Systems
• 6.5831 Database Systems
• 6.5840 Distributed Computer Systems Engineering
• 6.5850 Principles of Computer Systems

❖ Computer Architecture

• 6.1903 Introduction to Low-level Programming in C and Assembly

• 6.1904 Introduction to Low-level Programming in C and Assembly
• 6.1910 Computation Structures
• 6.1920 Constructive Computer Architecture
• 6.5900 Computer System Architecture
• 6.5910 Complex Digital Systems Design
• 6.5920 Parallel Computing
• 6.5930 Hardware Architecture for Deep Learning
• 6.5931 Hardware Architecture for Deep Learning
• 6.5940 TinyML and Efficient Deep Learning Computing
• 6.5950 Secure Hardware Design
• 6.5951 Secure Hardware Design