Harvard CS50 Guide: How to Pick the Right Course (with Free Certificate)
In 2024, Harvard CS50 offers 10 free certificate courses on topics such as computer science, Python, and AI.
In this article, I go over Harvard CS50’s entire course lineup, which includes 14 courses — 10 of them with a free certificate of completion, like the one above.
The CS50 adventure began in 2012 with the launch of CS50, Harvard’s Introduction to Computer Science. Over the years, CS50 grew into a brand encompassing additional courses on topics such as Python, web development, and AI.
Let’s discuss the CS50 lineup, course by course, to help you find the best course for you. And let’s explain how you can earn a free certificate in most of these courses.
CS50: The Original Course
CS50 is taught by Harvard Professor David J. Malan. Back in 2015, when Class Central contributor Charlie Soliman reviewed the course, she said this about Professor Malan:
At the risk of stating a cliché, his approach to teaching is unlike anything I have seen and can easily be labeled as revolutionary. One can detect the joy and effort he puts into each of his lectures.
Having taken the course myself, I can say that this quote is as relevant today as it was back then. In fact, since the course is updated every year, the content has even gotten better. If you’d like to learn more, I’ve written a dedicated article on the course: Harvard CS50: How to Get a Free Certificate.
Offered at Harvard since 2007 and on edX since 2012, CS50 has grown to become Harvard’s largest on-campus course, with around 1000 students enrolled every Fall, and one of the world’s highest rated and most popular online courses ever, totaling over 5.7M enrollments.
And “CS50” has evolved from a code designating a single course to a brand encompassing multiple courses exploring different subjects, targeting different audiences, and part of different learning paths.
To make sense of Harvard CS50’s offering, I partly audited each course, I explored their online communities, and I contacted their course staff. I found that Professor Malan often replies to emails himself — a nice touch considering the course has over 100 staff. As CS50 keeps growing, I’ll continue to update this article.
CS50: The Expanded Offering
In the table below, you can find CS50’s full course offering broken down into three levels. As you can see, most courses offer a free certificate. Click on a course or level to jump to the corresponding section.
| Level | Courses | Workload | Certificate |
| Basic (Optional) |
CS50 Tech | 4 hours / 6 weeks | ○ No certificates |
| CS50 Scratch | 6 hours / 3 weeks | ○ Free on Harvard OCW ○ $299 on edX |
|
| Core (Pick one: usually enough) |
CS50 | 12 hours / 12 weeks | ○ Free on Harvard OCW ○ $219 on edX |
| CS50 Law | 4 hours / 10 weeks | ○ Free on Harvard OCW ○ $299 on edX |
|
| CS50 Business | 4 hours / 6 weeks | ○ Free on Harvard OCW ○ $299 on edX |
|
| Specialization (Pick one or several) |
CS50 Python | 6 hours / 9 weeks | ○ Free on Harvard OCW ○ $299 on edX |
| CS50 AI | 20 hours / 7 weeks | ○ Free on Harvard OCW ○ $299 on edX |
|
| CS50 Web | 8 hours / 12 weeks | ○ Free on Harvard OCW ○ $199 on edX |
|
| CS50 Games | 8 hours / 12 weeks | ○ No certificates | |
| CS50 CyberSec | 4 hours / 5 weeks | ○ Free on Harvard OCW ○ $449 on edX |
|
| CS50 SQL | 9 hours / 7 weeks | ○ Free on Harvard OCW ○ $299 on edX |
|
| CS50 R | 9 hours / 7 weeks | ○ Free on Harvard OCW ○ $299 on edX |
|
| CS50 Mobile | 8 hours / 13 weeks | ○ No certificates | |
| CS50 Beyond | 5 hours / 12 weeks | ○ No certificates |
Basic Courses
Basic courses can be seen as optional on-ramps to CS50’s core courses. If you don’t feel ready for a formal introduction to computer science, this is a good place to start.
CS50’s Understanding Technology (CS50T) (No certificate)
CS50T is a gentle introduction to the world of computing. It starts at the hardware level and works its way up from there. It explores how the internet works, how websites are created, and how security is ensured. And it ends with coding basics.
The course is taught by David J. Malan. It involves about 4 hours of study per week over 6 weeks.
It was retired and archived on June 30, 2024, but the lectures are still available to watch on edX and Harvard OCW. Certificates and problem sets are not available.
CS50’s Introduction to Programming with Scratch (CS50S)
CS50S is a gentle introduction to programming. It focuses on Scratch, a language that makes coding highly visual. Instead of typing text, you combine functional blocks as if they were LEGO pieces to create programs. The course covers all programming fundamentals, including variables, functions, and loops.
The course is taught by Brian Yu. It involves about 6 hours of study per week over 3 weeks. And it offers the following certificate options:
- Free certificate via Harvard OpenCourseWare
- Paid verified certificate via edX
Core Courses
Core courses include the original CS50 as well as variants geared toward different types of learners. This is where most learners want to start. One course should be plenty. But learners that take a variant may want to also take the original CS50 — especially if they plan to continue with a follow-up course.
CS50 Introduction to Computer Science
CS50 is Harvard’s computer science introduction. It starts with binary and goes up the ladder of abstraction from machine code to low-level languages to high-level languages. It explores algorithms, data structures, and memory management. And it ends with specializations: AI, web development, and cybersecurity.
The course is taught by David J. Malan. It involves about 12 hours of study per week over 12 weeks. And it offers the following certificate options:
- Free certificate via Harvard OpenCourseWare
- Paid verified certificate via edX
- Paid transcript and academic credit via Harvard Extension School or Harvard Summer School
The course is also part of edX’s professional certificates and XSeries:
- Computer Science for Web Programming
- Computer Science for Artificial Intelligence
- Computer Science for Game Development
- Computer Science for Python Programming
- AP Computer Science Principles
If you’d like to learn more, I’ve written a dedicated article on the course: Harvard CS50: How to Get a Free Certificate.
CS50’s Computer Science for Lawyers (CS50L)
CS50L is a CS50 variant geared toward lawyers and law students. Part of the curriculum explores similar content but emphasizes big-picture understanding over low-level details. The other part explores entirely new content that considers how law and computer science interact — for instance, in regards to cybersecurity, data privacy, and internet regulation.
The course is taught by David J. Malan and Doug Lloyd. It involves about 4 hours of study per week over 10 weeks. And it offers the following certificate options:
- Free certificate via Harvard OpenCourseWare
- Paid verified certificate via edX
- Paid certificate via Harvard Law School Executive Education
CS50’s Computer Science for Business Professionals (CS50B)
CS50B is a CS50 variant geared toward business professionals. Most of the course explores similar content but favors big-picture understanding over low-level details. A small part explores entirely new content relevant to businesses — for instance, cloud computing.
The course is taught by David J. Malan. It involves about 4 hours of study per week over 6 weeks. And it offers the following certificate options:
- Free certificate via Harvard OpenCourseWare
- Paid verified certificate via edX
- Paid transcript and academic credit via Harvard Extension School or Harvard Summer School
Specialization Courses
Specialization courses complement CS50 by exploring a specific subject in more depth. They’re an excellent way to build on your computer science fundamentals by delving into a specialization.
CS50’s Introduction to Programming with Python (CS50P)
CS50P teaches the fundamentals of programming in Python, including variables, functions, loops, and reading and writing files. It draws from real-world programming problems and has plenty of practical exercises.
The course is taught by David J. Malan. It involves about 6 hours of study per week over 9 weeks. And it offers the following certificate options:
- Free certificate via Harvard OpenCourseWare
- Paid verified certificate via edX
The course is also part of edX’s Professional Certificate in Computer Science for Python Programming.
If you’d like to learn more, I’ve written a dedicated article on the course: Harvard New Intro to Python: How to Earn a Free Certificate.
CS50’s Introduction to Artificial Intelligence with Python (CS50AI)
CS50AI leverages the Python programming language to explore modern artificial intelligence. It covers foundational AI concepts, such as search algorithms and knowledge models, and builds on them to discuss more advanced concepts, such as optimization and machine learning.
The course is taught by Brian Yu. It involves about 20 hours of study per week over 7 weeks. And it offers the following certificate options:
- Free certificate via Harvard OpenCourseWare
- Paid verified certificate via edX
- Paid transcript and academic credit via Harvard Extension School or Harvard Summer School
The course is also part of edX’s Professional Certificate in Computer Science for Artificial Intelligence.
CS50’s Web Programming with Python and JavaScript (CS50W)
CS50W explores the languages, tools, and processes underpinning modern web app development. It covers languages such as Python and JavaScript, frameworks such as Flask and Django, and services such as GitHub and Heroku.
The course is taught by Brian Yu. It involves about 8 hours of study per week over 12 weeks. And it offers the following certificate options:
- Free certificate via Harvard OpenCourseWare
- Paid verified certificate via edX
- Paid transcript and academic credit via Harvard Extension School or Harvard Summer School
The course is also part of edX’s Professional Certificate in Computer Science for Web Programming.
CS50’s Introduction to Game Development (CS50G) (No certificate)
CS50G explores the languages, tools, and processes underpinning modern game development. It leverages languages such as C# and frameworks such as Unity to create 2D and 3D experiences, and draws examples from video games such as Pong, Mario, and Portal.
The course is taught by Colton Ogden. It involves about 8 hours of study per week over 12 weeks.
It was retired and archived on June 30, 2024, but the lectures are still available to watch on edX and Harvard OCW. Certificates and problem sets are not available.
CS50’s Introduction to Cybersecurity (CS50CSec)
CS50CSec discusses how to protect your data and systems from current and emerging threats and the trade-offs between security and usability. It covers practical, real-world applications of cybersecurity principles.
The course is taught by David J. Malan. It involves about 4 hours of study per week over 5 weeks. And it offers the following certificate options:
- Free certificate via Harvard OpenCourseWare
- Paid verified certificate via edX
- Paid transcript and academic credit via Harvard Extension School or Harvard Summer School
If you’d like to learn more, I’ve written a dedicated article on the course: Harvard New Cybersecurity Course: How to Earn a Free Certificate.
CS50’s Introduction to Databases (CS50SQL)
CS50SQL uses the query language SQL to teach data management in relational databases. The course covers data modeling, manipulation, and optimization techniques, starting with SQLite and progressing to PostgreSQL and MySQL.
The course is taught by Carter Zenke. It involves about 9 hours of study per week over 7 weeks. And it offers the following certificate options:
- Free certificate via Harvard OpenCourseWare
- Paid verified certificate via edX
- Paid transcript and academic credit via Harvard Extension School or Harvard Summer School
If you’d like to learn more, I’ve written a dedicated article on the course: Harvard New SQL Course: How to Earn a Free Certificate.
CS50’s Introduction to R (CS50R)
This course launches on July 1, 2024.
CS50R explores the statistical programming language R, focusing on its application in data science and beyond. The course covers the use of RStudio and fundamental data structures like vectors and data frames. Learn to manipulate and visualize data with R’s tidyverse and grammar of graphics, culminating in skills to package and share R code.
The course is taught by Carter Zenke. It involves about 9 hours of study per week over 7 weeks. And it offers the following certificate options:
- Free certificate via Harvard OpenCourseWare
- Paid verified certificate via edX
- Paid transcript and academic credit via Harvard Summer School
CS50’s Mobile App Development with React Native (CS50M) (No certificate)
CS50M explores how to develop mobile apps using the React Native framework. It covers concepts such as state and components, processes such as testing and deployment, and tools such as Redux and JSX.
The course is taught by Jordan Hayashi. It involves about 8 hours of study per week over 13 weeks. And it is offered via Harvard OpenCourseWare but has no certificate.
CS50 Beyond (No certificate)
CS50 Beyond is the precursor of CS50W. It explores the same subject, web development, but does it in a more condensed time frame. Most topics remain the same but most projects are different.
The course is taught by Brian Yu. It involves about 5 hours of study per week over 12 weeks. And it is offered via Harvard OpenCourseWare but has no certificate.
Tags
aneesh
Thanks for this post. I opened the CS50 link. But there is no option for signup/register. How are we supposed to register ?
Manoel Cortes Mendez
You just need a GitHub account. Each problem set has submission instructions.
https://cs50.harvard.edu/x/2020/psets/0/scratch/#how-to-submit
Monu jangir
How can i get a free certificate of harvard university after completion of the course.
Manoel Cortes Mendez
It will be via CS50.me, where you’ll log via your GitHub account:
https://cs50.harvard.edu/x/2020/faqs/#how-do-i-get-my-free-cs50-certificate
Yogesh Pandey
I went to the Harvard University OCW website but all I could see was, the registration for the CS50AI course is through EdX. If I register via EdX, would I then be eligible to receive a certificate?
Manoel Cortes Mendez
If you want a free certificate, you don’t need to register on edX. You just need a GitHub account to submit the projects. Each project page has instructions – for instance, here’s week 0:
https://cs50.harvard.edu/ai/2020/projects/0/degrees/#how-to-submit
Then, once you’ve completed all the projects, follow the instructions below to receive your free certificate:
https://cs50.harvard.edu/x/2020/faqs/#how-do-i-get-my-free-cs50-certificate
Edit: If you want to submit the quizzes, you do need to register via edX. But simply pick the free audit track. You don’t need to pay anything.
osman
Thanks for useful info. but still i couldn’t find where teh assignments are and how to submit them to earn free certificate on OCW for CS50’s
Computer Science for Business Professionals , is certification for this through Edx or any option and Info pls ?
Thank you
Manoel Cortes Mendez
You’re right. CS50’s Computer Science for Business Professionals requires creating an edX account to submit the assignments. However, you only need to sign up for the free audit track. Once you complete the course, you’ll have access to a free certificate.
It’s explained on Harvard’s OCW assignment instructions:
https://forms.cs50.io/6f5d198e-43e8-4af9-90fb-eba6cb7cef5f
YuFeng
Is the free certificate availble in 2024? Thank you!
irene merchant
That’s what they say. Take all classes and upon completion it will be issued.
Sush
How do I register ?? Is scratch project compulsory
Manoel Cortes Mendez
Assuming you’re interested in CS50’s main course and free certificate, you simply need a GitHub account to submit your assignments.
https://cs50.harvard.edu/x/2020/psets/0/scratch/#how-to-submit
Prince
I really love the detail you put into your post
Thanks
Sukanya
Do they provide any such course for educators or teachers with free certification??
Manoel Cortes Mendez
The Advanced Placement version of CS50 has an open curriculum, which should be suitable for instructors that’d like to teach the course. But it doesn’t include a free certificate.
https://cs50.harvard.edu/ap/2021/curriculum/
Carlos Nunez
Nice work Manoel! Thank you
Chris Faulkner
Thank you, Manoel, for this article. It is well presented and was evidently well researched.
Shwetha Maiya
Thank you for a wonderful post. I am currently taking CS50W. It was good to know the details of each course.
Uche Lily
How do you get a Github account if you want to register Cs50’s free courses and get the certificate.
Manoel Cortes Mendez
You can create a free GitHub account here: https://github.com/signup
Chris Spangler
As an old goat that once upon a time went to the University of Michigan before computers were the thing, I am very interested in learning this, and Ai.. Thank you for the detailed responses to the questions, and course materials! Think I will have to start with the rudimentary course, and progress from there. But, first things first, I need to sign up for GitHub!!
As an aside, I asked my guidance counselor in 1967 to find me courses on how to become a computer programmer. He had never heard of computers, but did find me an answer, and that was the military! I did make him a lot of money, when I advised him to buy IBM stock, and telling him that one day he would see a computer on everyones desk..
Brenton Cheng
Hey, Manoel! Thanks for laying out the options. I’ve got a high-schooler interested in CS50 AP.
1) The OpenCourseWare site recommends taking it for “free” on EdX, but it looks like EdX only offers a paid option. Does that sound right? (I’m not averse to supporting EdX’s mission — just wanted to verify.)
2) Once registered on EdX, would the high-schooler be following along with the Fall 2020 lectures that are happening for CS50x, i.e. that start on 9/2/2020? Or are there a whole other set of lectures that David Malan gives for the CS50 AP folks? Or are they pre-recorded? I note the large duration difference between CS50 “Intro to CS” (12 weeks) vs. CS50 AP (32 weeks), which makes me think these are totally different tracks.
I guess I’m trying to decide whether to steer the high-schooler towards just taking CS50x or investing in taking CS50 AP. Thanks for any light you can shed on the above!
Manoel Cortes Mendez
1) You can take it for free via Harvard OCW and earn a free “unverified” certificate, and you can audit it for free on edX, but you’ll have to pay for the “verified” certificate if you want one.
2) At this point, CS50 AP subsumes CS50 Intro to CS and CS50 Understanding Technology. CS50, at least, is recorded annually, so the curriculum should be fresh, but yes, it’s the same as CS50, not a separate set of lectures.
https://cs50.harvard.edu/ap/2022/
Patima
Hello Manoel,
May I ask you a question?
Does it mean that we cannot get the verified certificate for free nowadays?
Thank you
Manoel Cortes Mendez
Correct, edX’s “verified” certificate requires payment; only the OCW “unverified” certificate is free.
https://cs50.harvard.edu/x/2022/certificate/
Imran Fazil
Is CS 50 Back Pain course have certificate after the completion and they charge 30 $ please do reply thank you
Hannah
I just wanted to say, thank you for this post. However, I do have a question… and it might sound dumb, it might not even be something you did but Harvard did, or neither of you did and I’m just confused.
If the people taking the beginner class knew how to operate Github, why would they need a beginner class? I’m not trying to be rude at all, but Github can be complicated for people who don’t know what they’re doing *coughMEcough*! Does the beginner course walk you through all of that? I don’t want to do the work if I’m not going to be able to access my certificate.
But again, really great job on the article, it was well written!
Manoel Cortes Mendez
There’s a little bit of initial setup, but it’s all explained. And you won’t use GitHub functionality per se (commit, merge, …). It’s just a channel for uploading assignments.
Navjot Singh
Would you guys please device a full computer science curriculum as there is so much confusion which course to take, when to take and so on…
Joe Rodrigo
If I get the “Professional Certificate in Computer Science for Python Programming” from edx, will I also receive the individual certificates from each course (“CS50’s Introduction to Computer Science” and “CS50’s Introduction to Programming with Python”)? Alternatively, can I get the professional certificate if I finish both courses individually?
Manoel Cortes Mendez
If you enroll in the professional certificate program, you’ll still receive the individual certificates for each courses, as well an additional certificate for the whole program:
https://support.edx.org/hc/en-us/articles/4405331055127-What-s-a-program-How-is-a-program-different-from-a-course-#h_01FBYHQ7X0JF8BE21T511CKSQV
If you first buy the first course and then enroll in the professional certificate program, the program cost will be discounted by about 50% (I just tried it). Basically, you just pay for the part of the program you weren’t already enrolled in.
What I’m not sure is what happens if you buy the two courses individually: I don’t know if you can still still enroll in the professional certificate, and I don’t know how much it would cost in that case (or if it’d be free).
To avoid the problem altogether: if you’re positive you want to a verified-certificate for the second course, rather than enrolling in the course’s certificate track, enroll in the professional certificate program. Both would cost the same, but with the latter option, you’re sure to also get the program certificate in addition to the individual course certificates, upon completion of the program.
Abdisamic
I want to begin cs50 understanding technology from harvard opencourseware
Can I take my courses in githup acount
Or through edx ?
Manoel Cortes Mendez
You can simply take the course directly through the Harvard OCW platform (https://cs50.harvard.edu/technology), going week by week on the sidebar.
You will need a free GitHub account and free edX account to submit your assignments and get your grades back. You’ll be asked for your GitHub and edX username when you submit your first assignment.
Thandar Khaing
Thank you for the good informations.My English is intermediate .Could I apply AI course.It’s so interesting.
Thank you.
Manoel Cortes Mendez
Every video has subtitles, notes, and a transcript, which can help make the course more accessible. You can find these below each video lesson – for example: https://cs50.harvard.edu/ai/2020/weeks/0/
But it’s a challenging course, so if your English is intermediate, it will be even more challenging. I recommend giving it a try to see how it goes.
One thing to note is that CS50AI assumes you’ve taken the main CS50 course before (or an equivalent course). The main course also has subtitles, notes, etc. So if you haven’t taken it yet, that might be a better starting point.
Lloyd
Thank You, Manoel for sharing!
May I know if the certificate would show my Github username (which isn’t my full legal name) or will there be an option for me to insert my full name?
Thank you!
Manoel Cortes Mendez
You’ll be able to have your full name on the certificate. A free GitHub account is only needed for logistical reasons, like being able to submit assignments. Your GitHub username won’t appear on the certificate.
Paul
Thanks for all this information!!
I have some questions i am unable to find the answers:
– Do these certificates (OCW, verified eDX) expire?
– If i do the free certificate can i pay later for the verified one? (like a year later)
– Can i combine, say all individual go free certificate and only the program one go verified?
Thanks!!
Manoel Cortes Mendez
1) The certificates don’t expire.
2) Yes. The only thing to take into account is that some assignments may change from one year to the next. If you finish the free course on OCW, wait a year, then try to go for the paid certificate on edX and some of the assignments have changed, you’ll have to complete those assignments to unlock the paid certificate. (Those that didn’t change should remain valid.)
3) No, the free certificates don’t count toward the paid programs. To unlock an edX program certificate, you have to earn a verified certificate for each of the courses in the program. If you’re positive you want a program certificate, you have two options: buying each course one by one, or buying the entire program right off the bat. In terms of learning, both are identical, since on edX, a program is just a collection of courses. The only difference is that, overall, buying a program costs a little bit less than buying its courses one by one (edX basically applies a discount for programs).
I recommend finishing the free courses via Harvard OCW and only then deciding whether you still want an edX verified certificate.
Kira
It seems that CS50 Mobile has long been deprecated. Do you know whether they offer another course instead?
Manoel Cortes Mendez
Unfortunately, CS50 doesn’t currently offer any other mobile development course.
Samuel Osuji
Thank you for this post. I noticed using the links you provided lead to an older version.
For someone starting out a self taught IT career like I am what link do I need to follow to register on OCW?
Manoel Cortes Mendez
You don’t need to register per se. You simply need a free GitHub account and a free edX account, so you can submit assignments and get grades back. Then you can simply go week by week. You’ll find instructions in each week’s assignment.
The links in the article should point to the latest versions of each course. But I imagine you’re interested in the main CS50 course. Here’s the link: https://cs50.harvard.edu/x
Abije William
Thanks very much for your post.
I am very much interested in the cs50’s introduction to computer science, how can I register?
Thank you!
Manoel Cortes Mendez
There’s no formal registration step. You just need free GitHub and edX accounts for submitting assignments each week. Here’s the first week: https://cs50.harvard.edu/x/2023/weeks/0/
Jesus H
I started a Cs50’s Introduction to programing with Scratch and submit my assignments since March. So far I haven’t receive any grades or any of my assignments completion notice. How do I know if submit assignments or post assignments in Github? is there a link, video?
Manoel Cortes Mendez
After completing your Scratch assignment on the MIT website (https://scratch.mit.edu/), did you follow the submission instructions here: https://cs50.harvard.edu/scratch/2021/projects/1/#how-to-submit
You need a free GitHub account and a free edX account for this. You may also want to have a look at the course FAQ, which has some additional details regarding submission and grading: https://cs50.harvard.edu/scratch/2021/faqs/
If you did follow all the instructions and are still having problems, I suggest reaching out to the CS50 team, either via Ed Discussion (https://cs50.edx.org/ed) or one of their numerous communities, which are listed in the sidebar here: https://cs50.harvard.edu/scratch
Natascha
I have a high schooler that’s taken lots of introductory programing courses (Python, Scratch, Java, Unity, etc). What CS50 class should a high schooler take that is planning to do Computer Science at University and has already taken:
– AP Comp Sci A and scored a 5 on the AP exam; and
– Project Lead the Way (PLTW) Cyber Security and received 100% in the class?
Thanks in advance, and for this article!
Manoel Cortes Mendez
Probably one of the courses in the follow-up category: https://www.classcentral.com/report/harvard-cs50-guide/#followup
Of those, the AI and the web development courses would likely be the most useful ones to prepare for undergrad computing. (Although, since they’ve taken a Unity course before, the game development course might also be of interest.)
The AI course is more academic and has the benefit of exploring fundamental CS topics, such as algorithms. The webdev course is more vocational, but assuming that the end goal is working in software, it has the benefit of teaching tools and processes actually used on on-the-job, such as git, databases, and testing.
Ivanda Orif
Hi Manoel,
I still confuse, why do we need edx free account? I mean, the submission task is only via github right?
thank you.
Manoel Cortes Mendez
My understanding is that a free edX account is needed for the initial setup. More specifically, in Problem Set 0, the first submission step entails filling a form, which is only accessible via an edX account.
https://cs50.harvard.edu/x/2023/psets/0/scratch/
Maybe one can get around this requirement. But since all they ask is a free edX account, I didn’t bother trying.
Mohamed
SHOULD I START WITH CS50T THEN CS50’s Introduction to Programming with Scratch OR VICE VERSA I AM absolute beginner
Manoel Cortes Mendez
You may want to start with CS50T, because it’s the most general one. Afterwards, you could start the main CS50 course, which introduces programming at a basic level. But if it proves too difficult, you might switch instead to CS50 Scratch, which take things even more progressively, and once finished, jump back into CS50.
Par Asm
Hi,
Thanks a lot for the informative article.
Do you know if we sign up for the program, do you have to do the courses within the program back-2-back?
Or can you do one course in the upcoming month, and the second course in a year from now?
Also once you start the course, do you have to complete it in the stipulated time, or can you take as much time as you want?
I think more the flexibility, the better I can manage it with my schedule.
Manoel Cortes Mendez
You can do the free courses whenever you want, for as long as they’re available. The one thing to keep in mind is they might refresh the content on January 1st. Your progress normally carries over, but to avoid any surprises (like a potential extra assignment), I’d recommend trying to complete the course by the end of the year.
I
Hola Manoel
I submitted before 1Jan2024 but have more to submit. There has been no reply and no grade. What to do next?
Manoel Cortes Mendez
Your progress should have carried forward, so you shouldn’t need to resubmit:
https://cs50.harvard.edu/x/2024/faqs/#if-i-started-cs50x-before-2024-can-i-resume
Amina Ibrahim
Wait why doesn’t the mobile track have free certificate?
Manoel Cortes Mendez
CS50 Mobile was deprecated in 2020. The materials remain available for free, but no certificate is offered.
Rahul
i have been trying to join for a free certificate course through ocw. but the courses like python, java, AI all have been redirecting to edx. i cant find any free certificate course. can you please help me regarding this issue. it shows audit free but pay for certificate
Pat Bowden
Join the course on edX but don’t pay for the certificate. Go through the course materials on either edX or OCW and submit the problems as directed for your course. When you finish the course and have passed all the graded items, your free certificate should become available on Harvard OCW.
Harzhin shwan
Are there any exams that you can take to get a certificate online? But without paying the money.