15-356 Introduction to Cryptography

12 units, Carnegie Mellon University

This course is aimed as an introduction to modern cryptography. This course will be a mix of applied and theoretical cryptography. We will cover popular primitives such as: pseudorandom functions, encryption, signatures, zero-knowledge proofs, multi-party computation, and Blockchains. In addition, we will cover the necessary number-theoretic background. We will cover formal definitions of security, as well as constructions based on well established assumptions like factoring. Please see the course webpage for a detailed list of topics.

Prerequisites: 15-251 (min C) or 21-228

Offered: Fall 2026, Fall 2025

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