Foundations of Programming & Algorithms

non-credit certificate program – online – synchronous and asynchronous

The Certificate in the Foundations of Programming & Algorithms is an intensive 12 week online program designed for students and professionals in non-computing professions that seek to add foundational knowledge of computing and programming to their skillset. Prior experience or coursework in computing is not required. The program is suited towards those with non-technical backgrounds, but they are looking for upskilling opportunities in computer science to change their career path. It is also suitable for current undergraduate and graduate students taking degrees that may not include programming and algorithms as part of their degree coursework, but for which those topics would provide an immediate boost of high-demand job skills. The certificate can be used to satisfy the programming/data-structures/algorithms prerequisites of the master level programs offered by the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Oakland University. For this non-credit certificate, participants will undertake 78 hours of coursework covering programming, data structures, and algorithms.

Module 1: Introduction to Programming
4 weeks, 24 course hours
Including:
• Data and expressions
• Defining, creating and using classes and objects
• Overview of the requirements analysis
• Control structures: conditions and loops
• Design and development of simple programs
• Designing Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs)
• Using arrays
• Class inheritance and polymorphism
• Exception handling
• Fundamental concepts of recursion

Upon completion of the coursework, students must successfully pass one two-hour
exam with a score over 85%.

Course offered March 16 through April 13, 2023

Course 2: Data Structures
4 weeks, 24 course hours
Prerequisite: Course 1 – Introduction to Programming

  • Object-Oriented Technology
  • Test-Driven Development (TDD)
  • Algorithms
  • Recursion
  • Array-Based Lists
  • Linked Lists
  • Stacks & Queues
  • Binary Trees
  • Sorting
  • Tree Maps & Tree Sets
  • Hashing
  • Graphs, Trees, Networks

Upon completion of the coursework, students must successfully pass one two-hour
exam with a score over 85%.
Course offered April 18 through May 11, 2023

Module 3: Algorithms
4 weeks, 24 course hours
Prerequisites: Module 1 – Introduction to Programming AND Module 2 – Data Structures

  • Algorithms design and analysis
  • Strategies constructing algorithmic solutions
  • Divide-and-conquer
  • Dynamic programming
  • Greedy algorithms

Upon completion of the coursework, students must successfully pass one two-hour exam with a score over 85%.

Course offered May 16 through June 13, 2023

After completing the three-course set, participants will be able to:

  • Understand the basics of data structures
  • Design and implement abstract data types
  • Model multiple algorithmic solutions to computing problems, and compare them
  • Assess different algorithmic approaches to optimization, performance, accuracy and validity
  • Use object oriented programming methods to create computer programs that solve a variety of problems
  • Apply foundational techniques to the design of such programs
  • Design graphical user interfaces

Registration for the Certificate in the Foundations of Programming & Algorithms is through Oakland University PACE (Professional & Continuing Education).

Course fees are $1200 per module ($3600 for the entire 3 module certificate program).