CURRICULUM / COHORT 14
All sixteen weeks, in full
Published in advance and unchanged once a cohort starts. If we improve something mid-cohort it goes to the next one, so nobody is taught a moving target.
The four blocks
- Weeks 1-4
Foundations
Python, the terminal, version control and how a computer actually runs your program. The week most people find hardest is week three, not week one.
- Weeks 5-8
The back end
HTTP, databases, authentication and deployment. By the end of week eight your API is on the internet with a real domain.
- Weeks 9-12
The front end
The browser, then a framework. In that order, deliberately, so you know what the framework is doing for you.
- Weeks 13-16
Working like a team
A group project with a real client brief, then your own. Code review, standups, and the first pull request somebody rejects.
Scheduled hours, per week
This is the commitment, written down.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09:30 | Standup | Standup | Standup | Standup | Standup |
| 10:00 | Lecture | Lab | Lecture | Lab | Project |
| 13:00 | Lab | Lab | Lab | Review | Project |
| 15:30 | Pairing | Pairing | Guest talk | Pairing | Demo |
| 17:00 | Ends | Ends | Ends | Ends | Ends |
Week by week
Week 1 - The terminal and the language
Files, paths, processes. Variables, types, control flow. You write a program that does something useless on the first afternoon, on purpose.
Week 2 - Data structures and your first tool
Lists, dictionaries, sets and when each is wrong. Ends with a command-line tool that handles input you did not anticipate.
Week 3 - Version control, properly
Branches, merges, and deliberately causing a conflict so you have resolved one before it matters. The hardest week for most people.
Week 4 - Testing and catch-up
Why tests exist, how to write one that is worth having. Friday is a catch-up day with no new material.
Weeks 5-6 - HTTP and databases
What a request actually is. SQL from first principles, then an API on top of it.
Weeks 7-8 - Auth and deployment
Sessions, tokens, hashing, and the mistakes that make the news. Then your API goes live.
Weeks 9-10 - The browser
The DOM, events and fetch, with no framework at all. Catch-up day in week ten.
Weeks 11-12 - A framework
React and TypeScript, introduced as a solution to problems you have now personally had.
Weeks 13-14 - The team project
Four people, a client brief, and the first time your code has to survive somebody else's opinion.
Weeks 15-16 - Your own project and demo day
You argue for what to build, then build it. Demo day is public and recorded.
Still reading? That is a good sign.
Most people stop at the hours table. Applications for cohort 14 close on 19 September.