Free CS Undergraduate education DL or On-campus

ArsDigita is offering a free undergraduate education in Computer Science. Their on-campus program is extremely limited, however they offer the same program via download. The catch is they do not offer a degree just the education. Their founder is Philip Greenspun of MIT. the link is http://aduni.org

 

Hi Dave!

Thanks for posting this information. I'm heading over to the website later today to check out the course offerings.

Although I don't need an undergraduate degree in computer science, I might still be interested in reviewing some of the courses. When I was teaching myself Visual Basic, I would have really appreciated a free online course (I'm sure there were some available, but I was too lazy to look...)

If I were in the market for a CS degree, but wanted a leg up on my "real" degree program, I would definitely be interested in the courses -- particularly if I were a beginner in CS and worried about how I would do in a CS program! (What a great way to determine your aptitude for CS before registering for college classes.)

I probably should have looked at the site before posting this message, but I'm in a rush this morning and don't have time. I just wanted to be sure to thank you for posting the info.

Have a great week!

Regards,
Susan

 

Hi Susan

I hope it is of help to you. I haven't looked at the lectures yet but the company has a good reputation. You may also want to check out the Uof Texas site they post their class notes for computer classes.

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Best Regards,
Dave Hayden

 

Yeah, Err sort of.

The idea was that to get in you already had to have a BA/BS from an RA school in anything. Arsdigita would then teach you in a very excelerated fashion all about CS. They DID NOT plan to offer any degrees. Only training.

However, last I heard they had something of a meltdown and I believe that the residential portion of the program was going to be discontinued. For more info you might want to Search for "Arsdigita" at Slashdot.org.

Jeff

 

Hi Jeff

You are correct that they don't offer a degree just the education. The last information I had was that they were pursuing accreditation so I assume at some point they would offer a degree. The residential portion is tuff to get in and also grueling. It features 16 hour days 6 days a week.

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Best Regards,
Dave Hayden

 

Hi Again Jeff

I checked out the brief note on slashdot.org about the residential portion being on hold. I don't find any confirmation either or Arsdigita or elsewhere. I guess on a practical level it doesn't matter as most would do the download version. Thanks for updating us.

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Best Regards,
Dave Hayden