Quantum Information Science I (MIT Open Learning Library)

MIT’s 8.370x series is the interactive companion to the institute’s quantum information science curriculum, taught by Isaac Chuang and Peter Shor. Unlike the static lecture notes on OCW, this version includes problem sets with automatic grading, making independent study significantly more tractable.

The series is split into three self-contained parts, each of which can be taken independently. All materials are free to use on MIT’s Open Learning Library, no payment or certificate required.

What you’ll learn

Part 1 covers the foundations of quantum and classical computing: the postulates of quantum mechanics stated in Dirac notation, reversible classical computation, quantum measurement and the measurement postulate, and density matrices for mixed states.

Part 2 covers simple quantum protocols and algorithms: quantum teleportation, superdense coding, the Deutsch-Jozsa algorithm, Simon’s algorithm, Grover’s search algorithm with optimality proof, and Shor’s factoring algorithm including the quantum Fourier transform and period finding.

Part 3 covers the foundations of quantum communication: noise and quantum channels described as completely positive maps, the quantum capacity of noisy channels, quantum key distribution with BB84 and its security proof, and an introduction to quantum error correction.

Course structure

Each part contains video lectures, reading materials, and problem sets with automatic grading. The interactive format distinguishes this series from plain OCW materials: you get feedback on your answers immediately rather than having to check against posted solutions manually.

The three parts correspond roughly to one semester of graduate coursework. Working through all three parts takes a serious student several months at a pace of a few hours per week.

Who is this for?

• Undergraduates or early graduate students in physics, computer science, or mathematics
• Self-learners who want a structured, graded version of MIT quantum information content
• Anyone who found the raw OCW lecture notes too unstructured for independent study
• Engineers and researchers building foundational understanding before specializing

Prerequisites

Linear algebra at the level of eigenvalues, unitary matrices, and tensor products is required. Some exposure to quantum mechanics is helpful for Part 1 but not strictly necessary given strong mathematical preparation. Programming experience is not required.

Why take this course?

This is the closest thing to taking MIT’s quantum information course without being enrolled at MIT. The combination of Chuang and Shor as instructors is unmatched: Chuang co-authored the standard graduate textbook on quantum computation, and Shor invented the most consequential quantum algorithm known. The graded problem sets make this substantially more useful for self-study than the equivalent OCW materials.

The Open Learning Library hosts this content permanently and free of charge. No certificate is issued, but the depth of understanding gained from completing all three parts is the primary value.