CS Prep Syllabus

OUR 2-WEEK, ONLINE, PART-TIME, BOOTCAMP PREP PROGRAM

OUR MISSION

Codesmith's mission is to develop an exceptional network of brilliant and collaborative software engineers
who are passionate about pushing the engineering community forward. We created CS Prep to give
aspiring software engineers access to Codesmith’s challenging and effective pedagogy as they build the
foundation for future contributions at Codesmith and beyond.

ABOUT CS PREP

CS Prep is our 2-week, online, part-time program covering fundamental JavaScript concepts, engineering
best practices and technical communication. The program includes live-online instruction, daily
problem-solving workshops and a passionate coding community to help you prepare for top coding
bootcamps, such as Codesmith’s selective 13-week Software Engineering Immersive Program.

CURRICULUM OVERVIEW

The CS Prep curriculum goes under-the-hood of JavaScript, challenging you to learn coding fundamentals,
refine your analytical problem-solving skills and build a technical communication skill set. By the end of the
2-week program, you will have developed the essential knowledge of a software engineer, gained
engineering best practices, built 2 awesome projects, and completed the CS Prep final assessment!

CURRICULUM COMPONENTS

JavaScript Fundamentals
● Functions & their execution
● Data Types
Intermediate JavaScript concepts
● Higher-Order Functions & Callbacks
● Closure
Computer Science Fundamentals
● Recursion & algorithms
● Intro to OOP & Prototypal Inheritance
Engineering Soft Skills
● Technical Communication
● Problem Solving & Debugging
Project Building

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WEEKLY SCHEDULE

CS Prep operates on an alternating schedule between Pacific Time and Eastern Time based cohorts.

WEEKS 1 & 2 WEEK 3:

Monday-Wednesday Monday - Project Presentations
● Eastern Time based cohorts: 6:30pm - 9:30pm ET ● Eastern Time based cohorts: 6:30pm - 8pm ET
● Pacific Time based cohorts: 6:30pm - 9:30pm PT ● Pacific Time based cohorts: 6:30pm - 8pm PT

Saturday
● All cohorts: 9am-3pm PT/ 12pm-6pm ET

DAILY BREAKDOWN (Approximate Times for an Eastern Time Cohort)

PART 1
6:30pm ET - PROBLEM OF THE DAY SOLUTION
You will work through the solution of the previous day’s challenge, often
live-coded by the instructor, and discuss as a group the various approaches to
solving the problem.

PART 2
7pm ET - LECTURE
During this time, the instructor will teach and walk you through a new JavaScript
or computer science concept. CS Prep teaches in the “Codesmith Style,” meaning
the lectures are highly interactive and often include diagramming to really break
down these complex concepts.

MONDAY PART 3
7:45pm ET - PAIR PROGRAMMING
–
Codesmith believes pair programming is one of the best ways to learn! You will
WEDNESDAY
work with a partner to tackle an intricate coding challenge, where you will
(weeks 1 & 2)
experiment with your new coding knowledge and refine your problem-solving
skills. Your instructor will be meeting with each pair through this time to talk
through any questions that may arise as you practice your programming.

PART 4
8:45pm ET - Q&A & PROBLEM OF THE DAY GIVEN
This is a time for you to ask your instructor questions, get tips for technical
interview prep, and discuss your future career in software engineering.

At the end of each class, you will receive an algorithm question to help you
cement newly learned concepts and help you prepare for the technical interview
at Codesmith. These problems will be reviewed during the following class session.
Although the official class is over at 9:30pm, it is common to continue working
through challenges and discuss the newly learned concepts with your peers.

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 PART 1
12pm ET - PROBLEM OF THE DAY REVISION & LECTURE:
CALLBACKS & HIGHER-ORDER FUNCTIONS
During this time, the instructor will review the previous Problem of the Day and
will give a lecture on Callbacks & Higher-Order Functions.
SATURDAY
(week 1) PART 2
3pm ET - PAIR PROGRAMMING & PROBLEM OF THE DAY
The second half of the class is spent pair-programming through a longer
challenge, where residents use the concepts covered in class to analyze a large
data set. The Problem of the Day is then released at the end of class.

PART 1
12pm ET - PAIR PROGRAMMING & LECTURE: JAVASCRIPT CLOSURE
On the second Saturday, the instructor will review the previous Problem of the
Day and give a lecture on JavaScript Closure.

SATURDAY PART 2
(week 2) 3pm ET - PAIR PROGRAMMING, GROUP PROJECT & ASSESSMENTS
The second half of the class is spent pair-programming and taking the
assessment. After a short lunch break, the students are assigned to their groups
for the final project and will spend the rest of the class working on it. We
recommend students use the following Sunday to finish their projects.

6:30pm ET - PROJECT PRESENTATIONS & FINAL ASSESSMENTS DUE

MONDAY Groups will present on Monday night, and the assessment will be due that same
(week 3) Monday at 11:59pm PT.

CS PREP ADMISSIONS PROCESS

To begin your CS Prep admissions process, complete the online application here. From there, you will be
invited to complete your CS Prep Phone Interview, where the CS Prep Admissions Team will get to know
your background, as well as your current level of JavaScript understanding. This is a great opportunity for
you to ask the team any questions you have about CS Prep, and going from CS Prep into the Software
Engineering Immersive program.

Once you have completed the interview, the team will reach out to you within a week with next steps on
enrollment. If you have completed your initial interview for the immersive program and have been invited to
schedule a technical interview, you can bypass the CS Prep interview. To do so, please email the CS Prep
team with the date of your interview and the program you interviewed for so that we can verify and send
your CS Prep acceptance.

Please keep in mind that CS Prep operates on a rolling admissions basis. If you have a specific cohort in
mind that you would like to join, we recommend submitting your application sooner rather than later.

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HOW TO PREPARE FOR CS PREP

While CS Prep does cover fundamentals, we ask that you have some familiarity with introductory JavaScript
concepts by completing the precourse, functions and execution context, and callbacks & higher-order
functions units available on our free, online learning platform, CSX. These units must be completed before
beginning the program, and are strongly recommended to complete prior to your CS Prep Phone Interview.

CSX Precourse Part 1 - The first part of the
precourse is designed to give you an introduction
to core JavaScript functionality, such as variables,
data types, and strings.
CSX Precourse Part 2 - Building on the first part,
Part 2 of the precourse advances you into arrays,
objects, loops, and control flow.
Functions and Execution Context - In this unit,
you’ll build a strong foundation in the principles of
programming in JavaScript - code execution,
memory (variable environment), execution
context, and the call stack.
. Higher-Order Functions unit on CSX for additional
Callbacks & Higher-Order Functions - This unit
explores Higher-Order Functions and Callbacks.
You’ll also learn how to build JavaScript’s native
Higher-Order Functions from scratch so you can
easily implement and debug them in your code.
To supplement your learning and work on your
technical communication skills, we recommend
attending our free weekly workshops:
Intro to JavaScript Workshops - Our beginner
workshop series, Intro to JavaScript, cover concepts
that are the foundation of all web development.
JavaScript the Hard Parts Workshops - Our Hard
Parts workshops cover more advanced concepts in
Javascript, such as Callbacks & Higher-Order
Functions, Recursion, and Object-Oriented
Programming. We recommend attending these
workshops once you have reached the Callbacks &
preparation and practice.

AFTER CS PREP

CS Prep prepares you extensively for advanced coding bootcamps, like our Software Engineering
Immersive program, and their technical interviews.

If you pass the assessment at the end of CS Prep, you are eligible to receive a fast-track code that allows you
to bypass the essay portion of the application for any of our Software Engineering Immersive programs.
Once accepted to our program, your CS Prep tuition will rollover to your Immersive program tuition.