This course is an introduction to computer programming for numerical computing. The course is based on the computer programming language Python and is suitable for students with no programming or numerical computing background who are interested in taking courses in machine learning, natural language processing, or data science. The course will cover fundamental programming, numerical computing, and numerical linear algebra topics, along with the Python libraries that implement the corresponding data structures and algorithms. The course will include hands-on programming assignments and a project. No prior programming experience is required. Familiarity with undergraduate-level probability, statistics and linear algebra is assumed. Open to Graduate students only. 1 credit.
Note that this course was originally designed for students interested in pursuing the graduate certificate in Statistical and Computational Data Science (https://www.cics.umass.edu/degree-program/certificate-statistical-and-computational-data-science). It is also intended for students with a statistical or math background but little to no programming experience who wish to establish a foundation in numerical linear algebra and scientific computing using Python.