programming courses for admission to grad school

[ajs1976]

After I finish at COSC, I'm looking into starting a graduate program that may require some programming courses for admission. The courses are a sequence of 2 programming course followed by data structures. My local community college offers the courses, but can anyone here think of an alternative or even a self study / self paced option?

[NAP]

Have you gotten any information from the graduate program about this? For some of the prerequisites, my graduate program just wanted some familiarity that I could do on my own, but for others, I needed graded coursework.

[UptonSinclair]

I have spent the last month obsessing about my degree and its usefulness for graduate school. In the end, I decided to fill my educational gaps by taking courses at the same school where I plan to pursue my Master's degree. This will allow me to get a feel for the school and hopefully develop relationships with professors who can write letters of recommendation. It may take a little longer to get the Master's degree, but after a whirlwind undergraduate program, the extra time isn't necessarily a bad idea.

Good luck with your search and decision.

[ajs1976]

Microsoft offers an MTA exam called Software Development Fundamentals and a Specialist exam called Programming in C#. Do you think those would be accepted? I'm not looking to get credit for them, but to meet a prerequisite / competency requirement.

@NAP - I have not contacted the school yet. I'm not planning to start until next fall and was going to wait to contact them until after I complete my capstone class in March. They do offer a Graduate level foundations in programming course, but I was looking for something that I can work on now but in my spare time.

@UptonSinclair - I thought about taking a couple of undergrad courses at the school. Its a possibility, but unless the school suggests it, I would probably pick the CC option since I already have the 1st of the three classes even if it was over 10 years ago.

[Bibby]

MTAs are well-respected in the IT field, and they might be accepted in lieu of a standard prerequisite. If you're considering taking that route, however, you'll need to talk to the graduate schools you're thinking of applying to. Even if they're not accepted, though, an MTA certification would look pretty sweet on your resume.

[lavagirl]

How about Straighterline C++ and Penn Foster Intro to Programming course? Saylor's COS101 is Java. ( pretty similar to Straighterline C++, the difference is that you do not need to submit any code as in Straighterline, just take at the end ProctorU test ).

[ajs1976]

@Bibby - Even if the MTA doesn't count I'm considering it as a good refresher since the Foundations of Programming class is also in C#. They don't ask for them on the application but I think I will send them my Microsoft, CompTIA, Citrix, and hopefully ISC2 transcript anyway.

@lavagirl - I have looked at those courses, but the issue is that they do not build on each other. The school is looking for Programming I, Programming II, and then Data Structures which could be considered Programming III.

[benjenkinsv95]

A lot of undergrad schools do not have the same languages for programming I and programming II.
Example, Programming I at University of North Texas is taught in C while their second semester course is in C++. At University of Texas at Dallas the first semester course is in C++ while the second semester course is in Java. (I know this from the help I've had to give to friends :p)
They do this to get you familiar with multiple programming languages. Whatever you learn "Data Structures" in should be a language you already know by the way. If you find a "Java Data Structures" course, know Java. If you find a "C++ Data Structures" course, which I recommend, know C++.
Out of curiosity, what is your graduate program and what is your programming background?

[bluebooger]

Microsoft offers an MTA exam called Software Development Fundamentals and a Specialist exam called Programming in C#. Do you think those would be accepted? I'm not looking to get credit for them, but to meet a prerequisite / competency requirement.
...

if you aren't looking for credit and want self-paced then try these
Game Programming Training | Game Institute

you get basic c++ and advanced c++
you get c++ game engine development with directx
game mathematics
artificial intelligence

just go to the site and click on the arrow next to Topics in each subject

(Excelsior even offers credit for them if you take a proctored exam)

or try
https://www.edx.org/course

under "Refine your search" on the right, set it to Computer Science

they have a lot of CS courses that are free and self paced (some are not self paced - they have little quizzes every couple of weeks)

one of the more popular courses is Harvard's Intro to CS
(which you can also see here CS50.tv )


and this too (also like edx - some self paced, some with dated quizzes)
https://www.coursera.org/courses?languag...,cs-theory

this is a specialization they offer with instructors from Rice University
https://www.coursera.org/specialization/...istingPage

you can do the courses for free, but if you want the specialization certificate you have to pay $49 per course

you can see the details for each course by clicking on its name
the courses start every couple of months
the courses are build around game programming to make it more interesting

here is a little of what you learn in the 2nd course
Principles of Computing


but if you're looking for credit, semester based and have some money
http://continuinged.uml.edu/certificates/unix.cfm

http://continuinged.uml.edu/certificates/java.cfm

[sanantone]

Would the school recognize NCCRS credits? Javaonline.org offers 9 credits worth of courses in Java.