Every efficient program is built on the same handful of data structures — and this course teaches students to recognize which one to reach for, then build it themselves. Where Advanced Python: OOP taught students to organize code, this course teaches them to organize data — the skill at the center of technical interviews and real software engineering.
Foundational data structures including stacks, queues, linked lists, and trees, along with graph traversal techniques used to navigate networks and grids. Students build a much deeper intuition for how software actually performs by implementing these structures themselves rather than only using built-in versions.
Data structures and algorithms are the single most consistent topic across AP Computer Science, USACO, and college-level computer science courses — and exactly what’s tested in technical interviews for internships and jobs.
Students should have completed Advanced Python: OOP.
Students ready for a rigorous computer science foundation, and students preparing for USACO Silver/Gold or AP Computer Science A.