MIT’s two core calculus courses are published for free in the OCW Scholar format designed for independent learners: Prof. David Jerison’s 18.01SC Single Variable Calculus and Prof. Denis Auroux’s 18.02SC Multivariable Calculus.
What’s in it? 18.01 covers limits, derivatives and their applications, integration, the fundamental theorem of calculus and infinite series. 18.02 covers vectors and matrices, partial derivatives, gradients, multiple integrals and vector calculus. Alongside the lecture videos there are problem-solving videos, worked examples and exams.
Why we recommend it: Calculus sits underneath almost every topic on this site. The Fourier transform is an integral, signal filters are defined by differential equations, and a neural network learns by following the gradient of its error. The partial derivative and gradient units in 18.02 are exactly what you need to understand what “gradient descent” in machine learning actually does.
Who is it for? High-school algebra and trigonometry are enough for 18.01. 18.02 follows on from 18.01.
- Course pages: MIT OCW, 18.01SC and MIT OCW, 18.02SC