- International Fees
International fees are typically 3.25 times the domestic tuition. Exact cost will be calculated upon completion of registration.
Course Overview
Students with no prior computer programming experience are introduced to using Python to write simple programs. This hands-on introductory computer programming course is the foundation for all BCIT Computing Flexible Learning programming courses. COMP 1516 is not a Python development course, it is the first step in a series of three (3) applied programming fundamentals courses. Students must provide their own current model Windows capable PC, i5 or higher equivalent processor, 8 GB of RAM minimum, and 256 GB minimum storage. High-speed internet access is needed for online sections and for homework. Topics include: Data structures, data modelling, programming constructs, lists, strings, sets and maps. Labs and exercises focus on writing code for projects, assignments, and activities. Participants will design, implement, test, and debug simple programs that incorporate: variables, expressions, assignments, I/O, conditional and iterative control constructs, functions, and parameter passing. Please Note: Attendance, participation in class and the BCIT Learning Hub are mandatory. Students may have an average total time commitment of 15 hours per week; 3 hours of class time, a 1-hour online component and 10+ hours of homework each week. COMP 1516 is required for the Applied Software Development (ASD) and the Applied Computer Information (ACIS) Associate Certificates, as well as the Computer Systems Certificate (CSC). Upon completion, successful students will have a basic understanding of computer programming and be prepared to move on to COMP 2501 –Programming Fundamentals Part 2.
Domestic fees
$568.16 - $611.10 See individual course offerings below for actual costs.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Install and set-up Python.
- Analyze and explain the behavior of simple programs.
- Create simple algorithms for solving simple problems.
- Choose the appropriate data structure for modeling a given problem.
- Choose appropriate conditional and iteration constructs for a given programming task.
- Apply the techniques of decomposition to break a program into smaller pieces.
- Write programs that use primitive data types, variables, expressions, and command line I/O.
- Write programs that use conditional and iterative control structures, functions, and parameter passing.
- Write programs that use each of the following data structures: lists, strings, sets, and dictionaries.
- Write programs using the standard libraries available with a chosen programming language.
- Write programs that use file I/O to provide persistence across multiple executions.
- Design and implement a class.
- Utilize Regular expressions to build search patterns.
- Apply a variety of strategies to the testing and debugging of simple programs.
- Conduct a personal code review on a program component.
- Practice how to work with a partner as part of a team.
- Move on to COMP 2501 - Programming Fundamentals Part 2.
Effective as of Fall 2023
Related Programs
Programming Fundamentals Part 1 (Python) (COMP 1516) is offered as a part of the following programs:
- Indicates programs accepting international students.
- Indicates programs eligible for students to apply for Post-graduation Work Permit (PGWP).
School of Computing and Academic Studies
- Applied Computer Information Systems (ACIS)
Associate Certificate Part-time
- Applied Software Development (ASD)
Associate Certificate Part-time
- Computer Systems
Certificate Part-time
Course Offerings
Winter 2026
Below are six offerings of COMP 1516 for the Winter 2026 term.
CRN 88158
Dates
Jan 05 - Mar 30 Loading
- CRN 88158
- $596.44 Domestic fees
Class meeting times
Duration
12 weeks
Instructor
Mike Mulder
Course outline
Course outline TBD — see Learning Outcomes in the interim.
Important information
- International fees are typically 3.25 times the domestic tuition. Exact cost will be calculated upon completion of registration.
- Course is 48 hours - 36 hours on campus and 12 hours asynchronous activities/labs. The class meets once per week for 3 hours on campus and requires an additional 1 hour per week asynchronously. Students cannot attempt COMP 1516, COMP 2501, and COMP 2601 simultaneously. BCIT does not provide technical support for student's hardware or operating systems. Please Note: Attendance, participation in class and the BCIT Learning Hub are mandatory. You should prepare to spend 2-3 hours on homework for every 1 hour of class time. This course may require an average total time commitment of 13-16+ hours per week. 3 hours of synchronous class, 1-hour asynchronous class time and 9-12+ hours per week for homework. Late registration is not permitted. BCIT Computing is primarily a Microsoft Windows environment. Students must provide their own current model Windows-compatible PC. i5 or higher equivalent processor, with 8 GB of RAM minimum, and 256 GB minimum storage. Highspeed internet access is needed for online sections and for homework. Mac users must have the ability to manage and support their iOS computer. They may need to create a virtual Windows environment using Parallels or VMWare Fusion. COMP instructors may not be able to assist Mac users with software compatibility issues. BCIT does not provide access to Parallels or support for students to use a Mac to run Windows. No class February 16 (Family Day)
Status
CRN 88164
Dates
Jan 06 - Mar 24 Loading
- CRN 88164
- $611.10 Domestic fees
Class meeting times
Duration
12 weeks
Instructor
Mathew Linder
Course outline
Course outline TBD — see Learning Outcomes in the interim.
Important information
- International fees are typically 3.25 times the domestic tuition. Exact cost will be calculated upon completion of registration.
- Course is 48 hours - 36 hours on campus (in a lab with PCs provided) and 12 hours asynchronous activities/labs. The class meets once per week for 3 hours on campus and requires an additional 1 hour per week asynchronously. Students cannot attempt COMP 1516, COMP 2501, and COMP 2601 simultaneously. Please Note: Attendance, participation in class and the BCIT Learning Hub are mandatory. You should prepare to spend 2-3 hours on homework for every 1 hour of class time. This course may require an average total time commitment of 13-16+ hours per week. 3 hours of synchronous class, 1-hour asynchronous class time and 9-12+ hours per week for homework. Late registration is not permitted. BCIT Computing is primarily a Microsoft Windows environment. Students must provide their own current model Windows-compatible PC. i5 or higher equivalent processor, with 8 GB of RAM minimum, and 256 GB minimum storage. Highspeed internet access is needed for online sections and for homework. Mac users must have the ability to manage and support their iOS computer. They may need to create a virtual Windows environment using Parallels or VMWare Fusion. COMP instructors may not be able to assist Mac users with software compatibility issues. BCIT does not provide access to Parallels or support for students to use a Mac to run Windows.
Status
CRN 88166
Dates
Jan 07 - Mar 25 Loading
- CRN 88166
- $568.16 Domestic fees
Class meeting times
Duration
12 weeks
Instructor
Rana Al-Sammarraie
Course outline
Course outline TBD — see Learning Outcomes in the interim.
Important information
- Internet delivery format.
- Important course information will be sent to you prior to your course start date. Check your myBCIT email account to access this information.
- International fees are typically 3.25 times the domestic tuition. Exact cost will be calculated upon completion of registration.
- Course is 48 hours - 36 hours synchronous online classes and 12 hours asynchronous activities/labs. The class meets once per week for 3 hours online and requires an additional 1 hour per week asynchronously. Students cannot attempt COMP 1516, COMP 2501, and COMP 2601 simultaneously. Please Note: Attendance, participation in class and the BCIT Learning Hub are mandatory. You should prepare to spend 2-3 hours on homework for every 1 hour of class time. This course may require an average total time commitment of 13-16+ hours per week. 3 hours of synchronous class, 1-hour asynchronous class time and 9-12+ hours per week for homework. Late registration is not permitted. BCIT Computing is primarily a Microsoft Windows environment. Students must provide their own current model Windows-compatible PC. i5 or higher equivalent processor, with 8 GB of RAM minimum, and 256 GB minimum storage. Highspeed internet access is needed for online sections and for homework. Mac users must have the ability to manage and support their iOS computer. They may need to create a virtual Windows environment using Parallels or VMWare Fusion. COMP instructors may not be able to assist Mac users with software compatibility issues. BCIT does not provide access to Parallels or support for students to use a Mac to run Windows.
Status
CRN 88165
Dates
Jan 08 - Mar 26 Loading
- CRN 88165
- $568.16 Domestic fees
Class meeting times
Duration
12 weeks
Instructor
Mathew Linder
Course outline
Course outline TBD — see Learning Outcomes in the interim.
Important information
- Internet delivery format.
- Important course information will be sent to you prior to your course start date. Check your myBCIT email account to access this information.
- International fees are typically 3.25 times the domestic tuition. Exact cost will be calculated upon completion of registration.
- Course is 48 hours - 36 hours synchronous online classes and 12 hours asynchronous activities/labs. The class meets once per week for 3 hours online and requires an additional 1 hour per week asynchronously. Students cannot attempt COMP 1516, COMP 2501, and COMP 2601 simultaneously. Please Note: Attendance, participation in class and the BCIT Learning Hub are mandatory. You should prepare to spend 2-3 hours on homework for every 1 hour of class time. This course may require an average total time commitment of 13-16+ hours per week. 3 hours of synchronous class, 1-hour asynchronous class time and 9-12+ hours per week for homework. Late registration is not permitted. BCIT Computing is primarily a Microsoft Windows environment. Students must provide their own current model Windows-compatible PC. i5 or higher equivalent processor, with 8 GB of RAM minimum, and 256 GB minimum storage. Highspeed internet access is needed for online sections and for homework. Mac users must have the ability to manage and support their iOS computer. They may need to create a virtual Windows environment using Parallels or VMWare Fusion. COMP instructors may not be able to assist Mac users with software compatibility issues. BCIT does not provide access to Parallels or support for students to use a Mac to run Windows.
Status
CRN 88162
Dates
Jan 10 - Apr 11 Loading
- CRN 88162
- $568.16 Domestic fees
Class meeting times
Duration
12 weeks
Instructor
Jason Wilder
Course outline
Course outline TBD — see Learning Outcomes in the interim.
Important information
- Internet delivery format.
- Important course information will be sent to you prior to your course start date. Check your myBCIT email account to access this information.
- International fees are typically 3.25 times the domestic tuition. Exact cost will be calculated upon completion of registration.
- Course is 48 hours - 36 hours synchronous online classes and 12 hours asynchronous activities/labs. The class meets once per week for 3 hours online and requires an additional 1 hour per week asynchronously. BCIT does not provide technical support for student's hardware or operating systems. Students cannot attempt COMP 1516, COMP 2501, and COMP 2601 simultaneously. Please Note: Attendance, participation in class and the BCIT Learning Hub are mandatory. You should prepare to spend 2-3 hours on homework for every 1 hour of class time. This course may require an average total time commitment of 13-16+ hours per week. 3 hours of synchronous class, 1-hour asynchronous class time and 9-12+ hours per week for homework. Late registration is not permitted. BCIT Computing is primarily a Microsoft Windows environment. Students must provide their own current model Windows-compatible PC. i5 or higher equivalent processor, with 8 GB of RAM minimum, and 256 GB minimum storage. Highspeed internet access is needed for online sections and for homework. Mac users must have the ability to manage and support their iOS computer. They may need to create a virtual Windows environment using Parallels or VMWare Fusion. COMP instructors may not be able to assist Mac users with software compatibility issues. BCIT does not provide access to Parallels or support for students to use a Mac to run Windows. No class March 14 and April 4 (Easter)
Status
CRN 88159
Dates
Jan 09 - Mar 27 Loading
- CRN 88159
- $596.44 Domestic fees
Class meeting times
Duration
12 weeks
Instructor
TBD
Course outline
Course outline TBD — see Learning Outcomes in the interim.
Important information
- International fees are typically 3.25 times the domestic tuition. Exact cost will be calculated upon completion of registration.
- Course is 48 hours - 36 hours on campus and 12 hours asynchronous activities/labs. The class meets once per week for 3 hours on campus and requires an additional 1 hour per week asynchronously. Students cannot attempt COMP 1516, COMP 2501, and COMP 2601 simultaneously. Please Note: Attendance, participation in class and the BCIT Learning Hub are mandatory. You should prepare to spend 2-3 hours on homework for every 1 hour of class time. This course may require an average total time commitment of 13-16+ hours per week. 3 hours of synchronous class, 1-hour asynchronous class time and 9-12+ hours per week for homework. Late registration is not permitted. BCIT Computing is primarily a Microsoft Windows environment. Students must provide their own current model Windows-compatible PC. i5 or higher equivalent processor, with 8 GB of RAM minimum, and 256 GB minimum storage. Highspeed internet access is needed for online sections and for homework. Mac users must have the ability to manage and support their iOS computer. They may need to create a virtual Windows environment using Parallels or VMWare Fusion. COMP instructors may not be able to assist Mac users with software compatibility issues. BCIT does not provide access to Parallels or support for students to use a Mac to run Windows.
Status
Programs and courses are subject to change without notice.