phil·o·math
noun. One who loves learning
Live courses at the intersection of science, AI, and CS from Carnegie Mellon faculty.
Welcome back 👋
Go to the StudioWhat we teach
One membership covers all of it. Several of these are free and open to anyone, membership or not.
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Algorithms and Data Structures
Eight live sessions on the algorithms every programmer eventually meets.
Yun William Yu -
The Vibe Coding Studio
A live cohort where you build something real with AI.
Phillip Compeau -
Great Ideas in Computational Biology
My Carnegie Mellon introduction to the field, remade for a global classroom.
Phillip Compeau -
Programming for Lovers
A fun, rigorous, science-driven introduction to Python.
Phillip Compeau -
Biological Modeling
Model living systems, from a single cell up to a pandemic.
Phillip Compeau
Meet the instructors
More join as Philomath grows, and one membership covers all of them.
Yun William Yu
Associate Professor of Computational Biology, Carnegie Mellon University
Yun William Yu is a professor in the Ray and Stephanie Lane Computational Biology Department at Carnegie Mellon, where he teaches algorithms and data structures to computer science and computational biology students.
Phillip Compeau
Professor of Computational Biology and Assistant Dean for Innovation in Computing Education, Carnegie Mellon University
Phillip Compeau is a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, where he has taught computer science and computational biology for over a decade. Building educational experiences that reach people at scale online has been the throughline of his career, from open online courses and an interactive textbook to Philomath.
What membership unlocks.
Most of Philomath's courses are free and open to everyone. Membership is how you go deeper, and one membership covers all of it, not just one course.
Everything unlocked
Every course, every companion e-book, every cohort. One membership, not one per course.
Course companion e-books
Programming for Lovers and Biological Modeling are free to take. Membership unlocks the companion e-book for each.
Cohort access and certificates
Full access to the Vibe Coding Studio cohort, and a certificate when you ship what you built.
Member Discord
A community of people who love to learn, plus direct access to instructors.
More courses on the way
Great Ideas in Computational Biology arrives in fall 2026, with more to follow.
One membership, many instructors
More teachers join over time, and your membership covers all of it.
In their own words
You don't need a CS background — you need curiosity and a biological question that drives you. The problems are so genuinely fascinating that you forget you're even learning…
The idea behind Philomath is to learn how to solve genuinely interesting problems using a programming language. Very quickly, you start creating beautiful things with your own hands: Barnes–Hut simulations, cellular automata, sandpile simulations.
Phillip is able to decompose the problems in a very natural way and also present them in a way such that you can discover the ideas as if they were your own.
Phillip is a legend at teaching programming and hardcore science in a way that feels natural and enjoyable.
This is an excellent computational biology course taught by an outstanding instructor from Carnegie Mellon University.
I went from zero coding knowledge to building two projects and multiple assignments. Philomath taught me exactly how to turn small, foundational lessons into maximum results.
The Rosalind Problem Solving sessions involving dynamic programming and breadth first search to solve bioinformatic problems are priceless.
One membership unlocks it all.
Monthly
$6.95/month
- Live Studio lectures, recorded for members
- Course companion e-books
- Member Discord
6 Months
$29.95/ 6 months
- Everything in Monthly
- Full Vibe Coding Studio cohort access
- Bring your own project, earn a certificate
- Programming for Lovers project cohorts
Best value Annual
$49.95/year
- Everything in the 6-Month plan
- A full year of access
- Best price, billed yearly
Secure checkout through Memberful. Cancel anytime, and everything unlocks the moment you join.
About Philomath
Do I need to be a member to attend the free live courses?
No. The free live courses are open to anyone, with no membership and no paywall, and they stay that way. Membership is how you go deeper: the Vibe Coding Studio's recorded sessions and cohort, course companion e-books, certificates, and the member Discord.
Who teaches the courses?
Carnegie Mellon faculty. Phillip Compeau teaches Programming for Lovers, Biological Modeling and the Vibe Coding Studio, and Yun William Yu teaches Algorithms and Data Structures. More instructors join as Philomath grows, and one membership covers all of them.
Do I need coding experience?
It depends on the course, and for several of them the answer is no. The Vibe Coding Studio is built around AI-assisted coding, so you can start building real things without writing code from scratch, and Programming for Lovers, Phillip's free Python course, starts from nothing at all. Algorithms and Data Structures assumes you have programmed before. Every course page says who it is for.
What if I can't attend live?
Come anyway, later. The free live courses are recorded and stay open to everyone, and the Studio's sessions are recorded for members. Live attendance makes it better, but all of this is designed for people with jobs.
How much time does it take?
Roughly one session a week, plus whatever you put into your own work. In the Vibe Coding Studio that means four sessions and then four Monday nights building your project; the free live courses are one session a week and nothing due.
Do I get a certificate?
Yes. Members on the 6-Month or Annual plan who ship a project in a Vibe Coding Studio cohort earn a certificate of completion.
Can I cancel?
Anytime. You keep access through the period you've paid for.
Can my team, lab, or department join together?
Yes, we work with groups directly and handle a single invoice. Email phillip@philomath.press.
What does membership include?
A lot. One membership unlocks the companion e-books for Programming for Lovers and Biological Modeling, full access to the Vibe Coding Studio cohort, the member Discord with direct access to instructors, and every new course as it launches.