Algorithms: Design and Analysis, Part 1

Algorithms: Design and Analysis, Part 1 is Tim Roughgarden's StanfordOnline course on edX, the first half of a two-part introduction to algorithms. It covers big-oh notation, sorting and searching, divide and conquer with the master method and applications to integer and matrix multiplication and the closest-pair problem, randomised algorithms including QuickSort and the contraction algorithm for minimum cuts, data structures (heaps, balanced search trees, hash tables, bloom filters) and graph primitives built on breadth-first and depth-first search, connectivity and shortest paths. The page is clear that this is not an introduction to programming: it assumes basic skills in a language such as Python, Java or C and uses mathematical analysis to explain why algorithms work.

Readings from the instructor's Algorithms Illuminated books are suggested but not required. edX lists it as self-paced, intermediate level and six weeks at two to four hours a week. Auditing is free with time-limited access and no graded work or certificate; the verified track with an edX certificate costs $189.