This post documents my journey through Harvard's CS50 Introduction to Programming with Python, from enrolling in the course to building my final project, sharing the GitHub repository, YouTube demo, and earning the official certificates.
Course Links
Following are the course links:
- Harvard - CS50's Introduction to Programming with Python
- edX - HarvardX: CS50's Introduction to Programming with Python
Cost
I enrolled for the verified certificate on edX. Total cost was USD 209.30 i.e., INR 19,375.30 in the month of September 2025. I started with Audit Course on edX and then paid for the verified certificate.
What is Harvard's CS50 Introduction to Programming with Python?
Harvard's CS50 Introduction to Programming with Python is a beginner-friendly course created for people who want to learn programming from scratch using Python. It is part of Harvard University's well-known CS50 series and is taught by David J. Malan.
The course was introduced as a Python-focused alternative to the broader CS50x course. Instead of diving into low-level computer science concepts, CS50 Python keeps things practical and beginner-oriented. You start with the basics like variables, conditions, loops, functions and gradually move on to more useful real-world topics like file handling, error handling, regular expressions, unit testing, and object-oriented programming.
One of the best things about this course is its self-paced structure. On average, most learners complete it within 10 weeks, spending around 3 to 5 hours per week. If you are completely new to programming, it's perfectly fine to take longer and move at your own pace which makes it ideal for students and working professionals.
Do keep in mind the deadlines.
You can follow the course online on Harvard.edu and after completing all the problem sets and the final project, you can earn an official free certificate from Harvard. The free certificate does not include ID verification.
This course is also available online on edX, and after completing all problem sets and the final project, you can earn an official verified certificate. This is a paid certificate.
Criteria to earn the certificate
You must complete all the problem sets and the final project with at least 70% score.
Course Journey
During the course, I worked through the problem sets using cs50.dev, a web-based environment built on GitHub Codespaces for CS50 students. You need to link your GitHub account with CS50, and everything gets synced automatically to GitHub, which made the entire setup effortless.
What I enjoyed even more was stepping away from the screen at times. I often used a paper, and pencil to think through problems, sketch out logic, and break things down before writing code. That process was surprisingly fun and brought back memories of my college days, making the learning experience feel both nostalgic and refreshing.
My CS50 Python Final Project: couponpy
GitHub link https://github.com/yusufshakeel/cs50p-final-project
For my final project, I built a custom Python tool called couponpy a flexible and user friendly coupon code generator. This project was my opportunity to apply everything I learned throughout the course in one real-world program, including functions, command-line tools, testing, and clean code structure.
This tool lets users generate custom coupon codes directly from the terminal. You can specify how many coupon codes you want, how long each code should be, and even add custom prefixes or suffixes to the generated coupons.
To make this work, I used argparse module to parse command line options and organized my code into clean, testable functions. I also wrote unit tests using pytest, making sure each part of the project behaves exactly as expected.
Tools and tech used
- VS Code
- iTerm2
YouTube Demo of the Final Project
How to submit
Three steps to submit the final project. All mandatory.
- Create a short video (no more than 3 minutes) in which we have to present the project to the world.
- Create a
README.mdfile that explains the project. Make sure to upload all the files and folders related to the final project on cs50.dev and then execute thesubmit50command. - Once the project is submitted successfully, be sure to visit the grade book at cs50.me/cs50p after a few minutes.
More details here.
Why I Took This Course?
I am a software engineer with experience building enterprise applications for large clients. I graduated back in 2014, and since then, most of my learning has been practical, experimental, and work-driven rather than academic.
I've worked with Python before, so my goal wasn't to learn the language from scratch. What I really wanted was to revisit the university style learning experience like lectures, thoughtfully designed problem sets, weekly assignments, and a final project, but at my own pace, since I was working full-time while taking this course.
CS50 Python fit perfectly into my routine. I often watched the lectures while traveling to the office or late at night after work. Whenever I found some free time, I worked through the problem sets. The flexibility made the process stress-free and enjoyable.
Most importantly, it was fun. Solving problems again in a structured way reminded me why I enjoyed learning computer science in the first place.
This course also served a bigger purpose for me. My main goal was to get back into a weekly study habit, and CS50 Python turned out to be the perfect starting point for the learning plans I have for next year.
My Certificates
Here are the certificates I earned for CS50P: CS50's Introduction to Programming with Python.
Next
I have also completed CS50x.
Thank you for reading. Have fun learning.