Virginia Tech CS 1064: Introduction to Programming in Python
CS 1064 is Virginia Tech's Python programming course for non-CS majors, covering variables, control flow, functions, lists and dictionaries, and file handling. It's popular as a Pathways elective and as practical preparation for data work across majors.
Fennie is independent and not affiliated with Virginia Tech. This is an unofficial study guide.
What makes it hard
It's friendlier than CS 1114 but still a programming course: students with no coding background underestimate how different 'understanding the lecture' is from 'writing working code,' and assessments require producing code, not recognizing it. The late-semester topics assume the early ones are fluent, so quiet slippage in week four surfaces loudly in week ten.
What you'll cover
- • Python fundamentals
- • Conditionals and loops
- • Functions
- • Lists, dictionaries, and strings
- • File input and output
- • Basic problem decomposition
The CS 1064 study guide
How to study for Virginia Tech CS 1064, step by step.
- 1
Write code beyond the assignments
Watching lectures and reading code builds recognition; assessments test production. A few extra small programs each week, written from a blank editor, is what closes that gap.
- 2
Type out every example yourself
Don't read lecture code; reproduce it, run it, then change it and predict what happens. The predict-and-verify loop is the fastest comprehension check programming offers.
- 3
Debug by reading, not by shuffling
When code fails, read the error and trace the logic rather than rearranging lines hopefully. The error-reading habit is the most transferable skill the course teaches.
- 4
Keep early topics warm as new ones stack
Functions assume loops; dictionaries assume lists. A weekly pass over earlier exercises prevents the quiet week-four slippage that becomes the week-ten crisis.
Today
Today's CS 1064 plan
What a Fennie Daily Plan looks like for CS 1064. Yours is built from your own syllabus and adapts every day to your deadlines and progress.
First plan free, no card required. Fennie is independent and unaffiliated with your school.
FAQ
Is CS 1064 at Virginia Tech hard?
It's the approachable programming option, but it's still programming: producing working code is a different skill from following lecture, and the cumulative material punishes quiet slippage. Steady weekly practice keeps it genuinely manageable.
Should I take CS 1064 or CS 1114?
CS 1064 (Python) serves non-majors wanting practical programming; CS 1114 (Java, objects-first) is the CS-major track. If you might switch into CS, check current major requirements before choosing the lighter course.
Do I need math for CS 1064?
Nothing beyond basic algebra. The challenge is logical, decomposing problems and expressing steps precisely, rather than mathematical.
More Virginia Tech courses
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CS 2114: Software Design and Data Structures
CS 2114 is the second course in Virginia Tech's CS sequence: object-oriented design in depth plus the core data structures (lists, stacks, queues, trees, hash tables) in Java, with substantial projects graded by an autograder that scores your test coverage and style alongside correctness.
CS 2505: Introduction to Computer Organization I
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CS 2506: Introduction to Computer Organization II
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