Free Online Courses
No certificateBeginnerProgramming

The Missing Semester of Your CS Education

MIT's short course on the shell, Git, debugging and the tools every programmer uses.

Taught byMassachusetts Institute of Technology
Start free on Massachusetts Institute of Technology

About this course

Taught by MIT students, this course covers practical tooling usually skipped in CS degrees. The 2026 edition covers the shell, command-line environment, development tools, debugging and profiling, Git, packaging, agentic coding and code quality.

Best for: Students and new developers who want to be faster with their tools.

What you will be able to do

  • Work confidently in the shell
  • Use Git beyond the basics
  • Debug and profile programs
  • Package and ship code

Syllabus and your progress

Tick modules off as you finish them on Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

0 of 8 modules done

Plan your pace

At 4 hours a week you would finish in about 3 weeks, using the course time estimate above.

Progress is saved in this browser only. No account needed.

Cost and certificate

No certificate

No certificate is offered.

Before you start: Basic programming

Massachusetts Institute of Technology sets the terms and can change them. Check the course page before you commit serious time, and tell us if something changed.

Quick answers

Is The Missing Semester of Your CS Education really free?
Yes, the course material is free on Massachusetts Institute of Technology. No certificate is offered.
How long does The Missing Semester of Your CS Education take?
Plan for about 12 hrs in total (Nine lectures in the 2026 edition; hours are an estimate.). It is video lectures, so you can go faster or slower.
Do I need experience before The Missing Semester of Your CS Education?
It helps to have: Basic programming.

Part of these learning paths

Featured in

Topics

About Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Free course sites run directly by MIT departments and students.

All free Massachusetts Institute of Technology courses

Keep going on AltFTool

The Missing Semester of Your CS Education

No certificate

Start on Massachusetts Institute of Technology