MI 250: Introduction to Applied Programming

This course is a first introduction to computer programming, designed for students who will not become professional programmers but who will need to use technical skills or interact with programmers. That is, the course helps students understand how to think about programming computers, and builds some basic skills at getting computers to do what they want them to do, without an expectation that they go on to take large numbers of future programming courses or work professionally doing programming.

Everyone can learn to program. Everyone. And understanding more about how computers work, how programmers work, and what is easy vs hard for computers are extremely useful skills. Those skills are valuable for people doing analytics, graphic design work, creating user experiences, building games, and almost anyone who works with computers as part of their job.

This course is offered through the Department of Media and Information at Michigan State University.

Spring 2025

Class meets on Mondays and Wednesdays at 3:00pm-4:50pm in Holden Hall, room C131.

Course content can be found on this site and on Gitlab. D2L is used for turning in assignments and keeping track of grades.

Useful links:

• Syllabus
• Course schedule
• Gitlab
• D2L