Image of man pointing to a chalkboard diagram.

Prof. Patrick Winston teaching about goal trees and rule-based expert systems, in a lecture video from his OCW course 6.034 Artificial Intelligence.

Thanks to Bloomberg Business for the recognition that MIT offers some of the best computer science education in the country:

Five of the Best Computer Science Classes in the U.S.
This is where the smartest coders cut their teeth
By Peter Reford

Plenty of adults wander the professional world hiding their ignorance about how computers work, a knowledge gap that can now be closed in a few hours. But in the modern workforce, to shun programming is to likely get left behind, and young learners have gotten the message. The number of college graduates who got degrees in computer science in 2011 was 2,000 percent higher than it was in 1970, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Some legendary classes at the country’s best CS programs have elevated professors to idols, and classrooms to cultural phenomena. Here are five courses where the coding elite hone their skills…

MIT’s 6.034: Artificial Intelligence 

Professor: Patrick Winston, PhD

Notable alumni: Early Googler Wesley Chan, U.S. Chief Technology Officer Megan Smith, Internet entrepreneur Brewster Kahle

Professor Winston, a pioneer in artificial intelligence, teaches students how to apply its core concepts. He “has a style all his own that you either love or hate, but you have to give it to him, he gives it to you straight,” writes an anonymous student reviewer on RateMyProf.com. Michael Connell, CEO and co-founder of education startup Native Brain called Winston’s class “one of the best courses in the major” on Quora.

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What they don’t tell you is that the materials of 6.034 Artificial Intelligence are available to the whole world, free of charge, on MIT OpenCourseWare. The OCW site includes complete lecture videos, assignment and exam problems, videos of teaching assistants working through quiz problems for the class,  and online demonstrations. Check out what the buzz is all about!