AI Engineering & Technical Pathways
Fall 2026 · Instructor syllabus & reference
The Big Idea
"Understand AI, set up the tools, build with intent, then go deep in a pathway."
AI Engineering & Technical Pathways is an upper-level course for returners. It moves in four arcs: an AI crash course (what AI and LLMs actually are, and where they break), taught before anyone leans on one; an AI dev environment (VS Code + free GitHub Copilot, reused directly from the summer AI-training track); AI-assisted engineering (prompt with intent: understand what you're building, write detailed prompts, and build to a spec you thought through); and finally a pathway the student chooses (Full Stack Web, Cybersecurity, Data Analysis & Management, or Android App Development), worked through required office-hours-style sessions into a project and a capstone with final presentations.
Who This Is For
This is an upper-level course for returners: students who have already completed a prior Code2College course (for example Summer SDE or Elite 101). It assumes basic programming comfort and builds on it toward real, AI-assisted engineering work.
Did the Summer AI Training Track?
If a student completed the AI Training Track this summer, their environment is already set up. In Lesson 4 they'll verify it works and jump ahead to a warm-up build instead of installing from scratch. Everyone else sets up VS Code + free GitHub Copilot together in class.
The 17-Session Syllabus
| # | Session | Arc | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | How Machines Learn | AI crash course | Teach |
| 2 | How LLMs Actually Work | AI crash course | Teach |
| 3 | Where LLMs Break, and How to Supervise One | AI crash course | Teach |
| 4 | Your AI Dev Environment | Dev environment | Teach / setup |
| 5 | AI-Assisted Engineering I: Prompts, Context, Specs | AI-assisted eng. | Teach |
| 6 | AI-Assisted Engineering II: Build to a Spec | AI-assisted eng. | Teach / build |
| 7 | Choose Your Pathway + Write Your Project Spec | Pathway kickoff | Teach / kickoff |
| 8 | Pathway Session 1: Foundations | Pathway project | Office hours |
| 9 | Pathway Session 2: Core Build | Pathway project | Office hours |
| 10 | Pathway Session 3: Feature Complete | Pathway project | Office hours |
| 11 | Pathway Session 4: Project Demos | Pathway project | Office hours (mini-demos) |
| 12 | Capstone Kickoff: Scope It Like an Engineer | Capstone | Office hours / kickoff |
| 13 | Capstone Session 1 | Capstone | Office hours |
| 14 | Capstone Session 2 | Capstone | Office hours |
| 15 | Capstone Session 3: Feature Freeze | Capstone | Office hours |
| 16 | Polish + Presentation Prep | Capstone | Office hours |
| 17 | Capstone Presentations | Capstone | Closeout |
The Four Pathways
On the Pathway Kickoff (Session 7), each student picks one pathway and writes a project spec. They stay in that pathway through the project (Sessions 8–11) and capstone (Sessions 12–17). Read the device warnings below closely. They decide who can realistically pick which pathway.
Full Stack Web Development
Build a real full-stack web app: front end plus a backend and data store, built with AI-assisted engineering against a spec the student wrote.
Device-friendly Works in the browser via GitHub Codespaces. Chromebook-friendly.
Cybersecurity
A modern defensive security pathway: security fundamentals, safe hands-on labs, and CTF-style defensive challenges.
Browser-first Designed for free, legal, browser-based platforms. No offensive tooling on school devices. Any VM-optional extras are clearly flagged as optional.
Data Analysis & Management
Turn raw data into insight: Python data tooling, SQL, cleaning, and visualization, distilled into an AI-assisted analysis project and capstone.
Device-friendly Works in the browser / Codespaces. Chromebook-friendly.
Android App Development
Build a native Android app. The most powerful pathway, and the most demanding on hardware.
Office-Hours Session Shape (Sessions 8–16)
The pathway and capstone sessions run office-hours style, but they are still required (they are not optional). Each one moves through the same four beats:
- Intro. A short focus for the day plus the pathway-specific milestone students should be aiming for.
- Standup. Each student marks progress and captures blockers in the lesson: what they got done, what they're blocked on, and what they've tried.
- Open work time. The bulk of the session: students build with AI-assisted engineering while you circulate and unblock, using the per-pathway guidance.
- End-of-class writeup. A required writeup of what they accomplished, plus an optional note on what support they need from Code2College.
The blocker and support-needed answers are your instructor follow-up surface. Read them after each session and follow up with students who flagged they're stuck or need help.
Scoring & Pass Model
Every session is scored out of 100: participation 60 (the interactive zones and standup) + exit ticket 40 (the writeup and any keyed checks). There is no bonus or stretch scoring anywhere in this course. The two parts always sum to exactly 100.
A student passes the course when attendance ≥ 80% AND their exit-ticket average ≥ 80%, the same model as SDE and Elite 101, applied at report time.
Fall 2026 Term
- Term runs Sep 14 – Nov 10, 2026 (17 sessions, twice a week).
- Sections A & C meet Mondays & Wednesdays; Section B meets Tuesdays & Thursdays.
- Class is held on Monday, Oct 12 (Indigenous Peoples' Day).
- No class on or after Nov 11 (Veterans Day and Thanksgiving both fall after the course ends).