UT Austin CS 312: Introduction to Programming
CS 312 is UT Austin's introductory programming course in Java, designed for students with little or no prior coding experience: variables, control flow, methods, arrays, and object basics. It's the entry point to the CS major's programming sequence ahead of CS 314.
Fennie is independent and not affiliated with The University of Texas at Austin. This is an unofficial study guide.
What makes it hard
The course itself is beginner-friendly; the context isn't. Many classmates arrive with programming experience, which makes the curve and the pace feel faster than the syllabus suggests. The reliable failure mode is passive consumption: programming assignments expose anyone who understood lecture but never built fluency at the keyboard.
What you'll cover
- • Java syntax, variables, and types
- • Conditionals and loops
- • Methods and parameters
- • Arrays and 2D arrays
- • Objects and classes (introduction)
- • Code tracing and debugging
The CS 312 study guide
How to study for UT Austin CS 312, step by step.
- 1
Code daily from the first week
Many CS 312 classmates arrive with experience, so the course moves faster than the syllabus suggests. Keyboard hours close that gap; nothing else does.
- 2
Rebuild lecture examples from scratch
Retype, run, modify, predict. Passive consumption is the reliable failure mode; fluency only comes from producing code, not following it.
- 3
Start assignments early and finish early
Debugging time is unpredictable, and assignment deadlines are where beginners lose the most ground. Early starts buy office-hours time when you're stuck.
- 4
Train paper fluency before exams
Predict output by hand, find bugs on paper, write short methods without an IDE. The exams test code-reading without a compiler's help.
Today
Today's CS 312 plan
What a Fennie Daily Plan looks like for CS 312. 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 312 good for complete beginners?
Yes. It assumes no prior programming and exists precisely for that audience. The pressure comes from experienced classmates and a real pace, so beginners should expect to invest consistent daily practice rather than coast.
Can I skip CS 312 and start with CS 314?
Students with strong prior experience (such as AP CS A credit) often place directly into CS 314. If you're borderline, be honest about fluency: 314 assumes you write Java comfortably, and entering it shaky compounds quickly.
How do I do well on CS 312 exams?
Train code-reading deliberately: predict output by hand, find bugs on paper, write short methods without an IDE. Exams test fluency without a compiler's help, and that skill only develops if you practice it directly.
More UT Austin courses
CS 314: Data Structures
CS 314 is UT's data structures course in Java, covering lists, stacks, queues, trees, hashing, graphs, and algorithm analysis. It's the load-bearing course of the CS major: everything upper-division assumes it, and its material is the substance of internship interview questions.
CS 311: Discrete Math for Computer Science
CS 311 is UT's discrete mathematics course for CS majors: logic, proof techniques, induction, sets, functions, combinatorics, and graph theory foundations. It builds the mathematical reasoning that the theory-side courses (algorithms, computability) stand on.
CS 303E: Elements of Computers and Programming
CS 303E is UT's introductory Python programming course for non-CS majors, the first course in the Elements of Computing program and one of the most popular programming credits on campus. It covers Python fundamentals, control flow, functions, and basic data structures, assuming no prior experience.
CS 313E: Elements of Software Design
CS 313E is the second course in UT's Elements of Computing sequence, covering object-oriented design in Python: classes, abstract data types, fundamental data structures and algorithms, and basic complexity analysis. It assumes programming at the CS 303E level.