Analysis of Algorithms
- Free
- No certificate
- Advanced
- 2 weeks
Analysis of Algorithms is Robert Sedgewick's Princeton course on the mathematics used to make precise quantitative predictions about large combinatorial structures. It covers recurrences, generating functions and real asymptotics, then introduces the symbolic method of analytic combinatorics and applies it to the analysis of algorithms and to basic structures such as permutations, trees, strings, words and mappings. Its nine modules follow that order: analysis of algorithms, recurrences, generating functions, asymptotics, analytic combinatorics, trees, permutations, strings and tries, and words and mappings.
Coursera labels the course advanced level with a flexible schedule and estimates two weeks at ten hours a week. The page states that all the features of the course are available for free and that, as per Princeton University policy, no certificates, credentials or reports are awarded. The textbook Analysis of Algorithms, Second Edition is optional, and a companion course on analytic combinatorics goes further into the method.
What you’ll learn
- Solve recurrences that arise in the analysis of algorithms
- Use generating functions and real asymptotics to predict performance
- Apply the symbolic method of analytic combinatorics
- Analyse trees, permutations, strings, tries, words and mappings quantitatively
Who it’s for
Students with a strong mathematics background who want the analytic tools behind algorithm performance, not an introductory algorithms course.
Syllabus
9 sections as listed on coursera.org, 20 h 40 min in total.
- Analysis of Algorithms 2 h 16 min
- Recurrences 3 h 1 min
- Generating Functions 2 h 14 min
- Asymptotics 2 h 13 min
- Analytic Combinatorics 2 h 17 min
- Trees 2 h 7 min
- Permutations 2 h 22 min
- Strings and Tries 2 h 8 min
- Words and Mappings 2 h 2 min
Instructor
- Robert Sedgewick William O. Baker *39 Professor in Computer Science, Emeritus, Computer Science, Princeton University
Course details
- Skills covered
- Combinatorics
- Data Structures
- Mathematical Theory & Analysis
- Calculus
- Mathematical Modeling
- Algorithms
- Includes
- 9 modules · 11 assignments
- Subtitles
- 22 languages
On coursera.org
Rated 4.4 out of 5 by 1,061 learners; 105,153 enrolled, as shown on the course page on 20 Oct 2026. These are coursera.org’s own figures, not ours.
Source: Princeton Online (opens in a new tab) · Verified · Report a change
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