Computational methods permeate the sciences, engineering, and the humanities. A successful professional needs a basic knowledge of computer programming in order to perform practical data analysis. “Introduction to Data Programming with Applications” meets this need.

In this class:

• You will learn computational problem-solving. After the class, if you are given a data source and a problem description, you will be able to write a complete, useful program to solve the problem.
• You will learn Python, a popular and easy-to-use general-purpose programming language that includes excellent libraries for data manipulation, scientific computing, and visualization.
• Assignments will use real datasets from astronomy, biology, linguistics, oceanography, open government, social networks, and more. You will see that it is easy to write programs to process data, and that doing so yields insight.
• You will have a lot of fun!

Prerequisites: high-school math. No other prerequisites.

The class is intended for people who do not yet know how to program. You cannot receive credit for the course if you have already taken CSE 143. Enrollment preference will be given to those who have not taken CSE 142. If you are a direct-admit CSE major, you may take this class in place of CSE 142, but you will need an add code. Add codes are controlled by the CSE undergrad advisors (ugrad-advisor@cs.washington.edu), not by the instructor.

This class is useful on its own, and it can also serve as a solid foundation for other CSE courses (such as CSE 142, CSE 143, or CSE 143X). (Note: CSE 160 was previously called CSE 140. The course number, but not the content of the course has changed.) CSE 160 is not a prerequisite for CSE 142, nor is it an "easier" class than CSE 142 - it is a different course. CSE 160 covers some topics from CSE 142 and CSE 143 as well as some not covered in either course, and it does so in a different programming language. For more information about different programming courses see this link.

Website from winter 2014 offering (note the course number has changed from CSE 140 to CSE 160)

Questions? Contact the Instructor for 15sp: Ruth Anderson (rea@cs.washington.edu)

Quotes from previous CSE 140 students:

Before taking CSE 140 I had no experience with programming whatsoever, but as a Cellular, Molecular, Developmental Biology major I thought it might be useful. Not only did I have a fun time in the class, but I also created a program to analyze data from my lab without taking any additional classes. I highly recommend this class to anyone with an interest in data!

I definitely recommend this class to anyone who doesn't have programming experience. Not only do you learn about how to process data by making your computer do what you want it to do, you also develop a basic knowledge of what programming is and how it works. I believe that everyone should know something about programming especially in our computer driven world.

As a student studying Bioengineering I had no programming experience before CSE 140. The class taught me not only how computer science could be used as a powerful tool across multiple disciplines, but also provided me with a good grasp of Python and tangible skills I have been able to apply directly to my research lab work.

CSE 140 taught me a lot about not only programming, but dealing with data extracted from the real-world. Assignments that required us to manipulate real datasets and extract meaningful information helped me realize just how powerful and integral programming is in driving analytics.

I was a business school student with no experience in programming when I was recommended to take this course. New learners are eased into the practice of coding - the concepts are carefully explained, and the assignments build on each other, providing opportunities to advance your programming skills throughout the quarter.