How can an agent learn to make good decisions through repeated interaction with an uncertain environment? This course introduces the mathematical and algorithmic foundations of classical reinforcement learning, with an emphasis on finite Markov decision processes and tabular methods.

The course begins with the simplest settings in which the central ideas are clearest: deterministic decision processes, discounted rewards, and Bellman optimality equations. It then introduces stochasticity through Markov chains and Markov decision processes, where learners study policies, value functions, expected discounted reward, and dynamic programming. With this foundation in place, the course turns to planning methods for known models, including value iteration, policy iteration, and linear programming formulations. The second half of the course studies reinforcement learning when the model is unknown and the agent must learn from sampled experience. Topics include multi-armed bandits, exploration and exploitation, Monte Carlo methods, temporal-difference learning, SARSA, Q-learning, and convergence principles. The course ends with a final assessment in which learners solve the same finite MDP from both model-based planning and model-free learning perspectives. By the end of the course, learners will be able to formulate finite decision-making problems as Markov decision processes, solve them using classical planning algorithms, and implement tabular reinforcement-learning algorithms from sampled data. This course provides the foundation for later study of deep reinforcement learning, reward programming, and trustworthy AI systems. This course can be taken for academic credit as part of CU Boulder’s Masters of Science in Computer Science (MS-CS) and Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence (MS-AI) degrees offered on the Coursera platform. These fully accredited graduate degrees offer targeted courses, short 8-week sessions, and pay-as-you-go tuition. Admission is based on performance in three preliminary courses, not academic history. CU degrees on Coursera are ideal for recent graduates or working professionals. Learn more: MS in Artificial Intelligence: https://www.coursera.org/degrees/ms-artificial-intelligence-boulder MS in Computer Science: https://coursera.org/degrees/ms-computer-science-boulder