CGS 2060 Introduction to Computer Programming
GenEd State Computation Requirement (6AM) for non-engineering students
This is a very special course for non-engineering students. If you take it, you won't have to worry about being in a class with a lot of people who know more about computers than you do. The instructor makes noNO assumptions about what you know about computers before entering this class. We'll build your knowledge up from the ground. The goal is to teach you how to talk to computers, how to get them to do things for you, and walk away from the class with a good understanding of just exactly how you can get a computer to do what you need it to do for you.
This is the course for you! I'm pretty sure that you realize that when you leave USF and get a job that computers will be part of whatever you end up doing. You will be interacting with people to get computers to do things that will help you with your job. Wouldn't it be nice if you understood how computers worked? What it takes to get a computer to process data and create results that you can use? That's exactly what you'll learn in this class. You will learn a computer programming language and you will use it to accomplish great things.
There are no prerequisites for this course - I will not assume that you know anything about computers. So what will we be covering during this course? At a high level, the course objectives will be as follows:
- Understanding the statements that you can use to build a basic Python program.
- Investigating how functions can be used to simplify a program.
- Learning how different types of data can be provided to a program via files.
- Understanding how to use both sets and dictionaries in Python
- How to add graphics to a Python program.
CGS 2060 is typically taught by Dr. Jim Anderson. Dr. Anderson is a full-time faculty member in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. If you are a science and math major who needs to learn basic programming skills for success in your major, then this course is a good fit. However, this course can serve as a first course in programming for any non-engineering students who are interested in finding out how computers work and how they might be used in their major. In past semester, the percentage of women in the class has been close to 40% - this truly is a class for everyone. Join us and discover how you can use computers to do more! Dr. Anderson (jmanderson@usf.edu) will be happy to answer any questions that you might have about CGS 2060.
Course scheduling
In spring 2023 the course is being offered with an enrollment of 167 students. Students enrolled come from many majors offered at USF. This course is fully in-person in the classroom. This is not an online course. The course is in plan to be offered in fall 2023 and, possibly, in summer 2023.
Last updated on January 18, 2023
college elective, programming class, Gen Ed, usf electives, usf requirements