CS50

CS50 (Computer Science 50) is an introductory course on computer science taught at Harvard University by David J. Malan. The on-campus version of the course is Harvard's largest class with 800 students, 102 staff, and up to 2,200 participants in their regular hackathons. The course was first offered on campus in 1989, and Malan has been the course's instructor since 2007. Notable industry experts including Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Ballmer have given guest lectures. An online version of the course, CS50x, is available through the platforms edX and OpenCourseWare and follows the same curriculum as the in-person format of the course. All CS50x course materials are free and there is no fee to complete the course, though various verified certificates are available for a fee. As of 2024, CS50x teaches the languages C, Python, SQL, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It also teaches fundamental computer science concepts including data structures and the Flask framework. New content is added to the course each year; additional lectures on cybersecurity and emoji were added for 2022. Another adapted version of the course, CS50 AP, is designed for high school students and completes the required curriculum of AP Computer Science Principles.