Computer Science Degree using Coursera

Open Source Computer Science Degree is not a new concept. It's been in the online learning community for a while. The most prominent resources for this concept degree are, OSSU and ForrestKnight. From these two, OSSU provides a very comprehensive roadmap. They also have created a community that helps the progression through the roadmap.

Inspired by them I have decided to create my own version of this using only Coursera as the content provider. This is also something I'm trying myself at the moment (to some extent). What I have done here is quite simple. I have studied the OSSU and ForrestKnight degree roadmaps and I'm substituting the courses in them with relevant courses (preferably I will focus on specializations) in Coursera.

There are a few reasons for focusing on Coursera,

• There is an option for university students to take courses their university has sponsored for free. (My reason) - Link
• There is a Coursera+ option which just has a monthly cost for 3000+ courses. With this kind of a plan, it makes sense.
• Many courses let you audit for free.

Now, since these three reasons are also three options, I should be making different roadmaps for each of them. However, defining a roadmap for the university student option is not a successful endeavor since there are several things I don't know the details about. So instead of listing the courses, I would like to list the keywords and concepts that define the required knowledge from such a course. Also, I will provide sample courses for reference. I would like to focus on the Coursera+ option since it is a general option.

I have categorized the courses/specializations into three categories,

• Introduction Level
• Intermediate Level 
• Advanced Level

Please keep in mind that this process does not guarantee that you will get a CS degree or a job related to CS. However, if you want to just learn and enhance your knowledge this will help you.

So here are the resources,

Intro Level

Introduction to Programming

• Python for Everybody
• Introduction to Computer Science and Programming

Introduction to Computer Science

• Fundamentals of Computing

Mathematics

• Introduction to Discrete Mathematics for Computer Science
  

Intermediate Level

Intermediate Programming

• Programming Languages, Part A
  
• Programming Languages, Part B
  
• Programming Languages, Part C
  
• Object-Oriented Programming in Java
  

Intermediate Computer Systems

• Build a Modern Computer from First Principles: From Nand to Tetris
  
• Build a Modern Computer from First Principles: Nand to Tetris Part II
  
• Computer Communications
  

Theory

• Data Structures and Algorithms
  
• Algorithms, Part I
  
• Algorithms, Part II
  

Security

• Information Security: Context and Introduction
• Secure Coding Practices
  

Applications

• Database systems
  
• Machine Learning + Advanced Machine Learning
  
• Java Programming and Software Engineering Fundamentals (Note: Some courses are in the OOP Java specialization too)
  

Mathematics

• Matrix Algebra for Engineers
  
• Probability and Statistics: To p or not top?
  
• Introduction to Calculus
  

Advanced Level

Advanced Programming

• Parallel, Concurrent, and Distributed Programming in Java
  
• Software Design and Architecture
  
• Software Testing and Automation
  

Advanced Theory

• Introduction to Formal Concept Analysis
  
• Mathematical Game Theory
  

Advanced Applications (Directly from OSSU)

• Modern Robotics: Mechanics, Planning, and Control
  
• Data Mining
  
• Big Data
  
• Internet of Things
  
• Cloud Computing
  
• Full Stack Web and Multiplatform Mobile App Development
  
• Data Science
  
• Functional Programming in Scala
  
• Game Design and Development
  

That is it. Credit goes to OSSU and ForrestKnight for creating these amazing lists. My contribution is just finding specializations and courses that are in Coursera. When doing this there were several shortfalls. Please refer to OSSU for free resources to go through them as well.

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