Overview

Welcome to 6.1000! Our goal is to impart basic skills in programming and introduce some fundamental concepts in computer science. Programming and computer science are gigantic fields; we can only show you the tip of the iceberg. However, we hope you will leave with newfound confidence in solving problems computationally and understanding how computer programs work.

6.1000 is a requirement for many majors, including the Course 6 degrees in Computer Science (CS) and Artificial Intelligence and Decision-making (AI+D). You may receive equivalent credit by taking 6.100A and 6.100B. You may also substitute 6.100A by passing its advanced standing exam (ASE), and 6.100B by taking 16.C20. There is no ASE for 6.100B.

1) Variants

6.1000 is a new and combined version of what used to be two half-semester subjects, 6.100A and 6.100B. Meanwhile, 6.100A and 6.100B are now full-semester subjects, but still six units each. We believe these new options will lead to better learning experiences. For details about these changes, see this page. You may also visit the course websites for the current 6.100A and 6.100B.

While 6.1000 has no formal prerequisites, our experience (from the half-semester versions of 6.100A and 6.100B) is that some students with no programming experience may find the pacing quite fast. In such situations, we recommend taking 6.100A first, which allows more time for building programming skills, and then 6.100B or 16.C20 in a subsequent semester. No one should feel ashamed if they find themselves in this situation; incoming MIT students have diverse interests and various kinds of prior exposure. The EECS department aims to provide everyone the same foundation, and offering 6.1000, 6.100A, and 6.100B is part of its strategy. We also offer 6.100B for students who pass the 6.100A ASE and wish to learn the remaining material in 6.1000.

If you feel the first few lectures of 6.100 are too moving quickly for you, please reach out soon about switching to 6.100A. The last day 6.100A will accept Adds is Tuesday, September 16.

Note that 6.1000, 6.100A, 6.100B are run as three separate classes. We may share teaching staff for some tasks, but for the most part each class has its own instructors, teaching assistants (TAs), and lab assistants (LAs). The content across all three classes will be closely related but not exactly the same. However, each class's course structure and policies are independent of each other. If you switch among them, make sure you understand the new policies.

2) Contact

The following email lists reach each class's instructors and TAs.

• 6.1000-staff@mit.edu
• 6.100a-staff@mit.edu
• 6.100b-staff@mit.edu

6.1000 is a large class with a large staff to keep synchronized. Thus, we ask that you always reach out to 6.1000-staff@mit.edu, rather than emailing indiviual staff members. Remember to reply-all in email threads to include the list.

If you have a request of a more personal nature, you may email 6.1000-instructors@mit.edu, which will not reach the TAs.

We will make announcements on our Canvas site, which should reach you by email, and we will also summarize highlights at the top of our course homepage. In your Canvas account settings, make sure you have email notifications turned on for course announcements. We use Canvas only for sending announcements.

Additionally, we have a course Piazza site, where you may post questions about course material or policies, and receive answers from course staff or other students. We ask that you use Piazza only to ask public questions appropriate for any student to view. Questions involving your code or private details should go to 6.1000-staff@mit.edu. Note that in 6.1000, Piazza is not a replacement for office hours (see the Class and Office Hours page), and course staff may be more responsive by email.

Finally, an important Institute resource is Student Support Services (S³). If you face personal challenges of any nature, deans are available to listen and work with you towards solutions.