Guide
Best University Coding Bootcamps: Ultimate Guide + Market Research
Written By Liz Eggleston
Edited By Jess Feldman
Last updated on August 17, 2023
Written By Liz Eggleston
Edited By Jess Feldman
You've heard of household bootcamps like General Assembly, Springboard, and Flatiron School – but have you noticed universities that offer coding bootcamps? Universities have now been partnering with coding bootcamps since 2016, but these university coding bootcamps aren't all the same! Research your options below and find out which coding bootcamps offer college credit, which are part-time to accommodate your schedule, and read our tips for choosing the best university coding bootcamp for you.
In 2021, there are about 120 university bootcamps in the Course Report directory (and counting)! The leading OPM is Trilogy Education/edX (owned by 2U), followed by Quickstart and Fullstack Academy, as well as HackerU. Between 2019-2020, university bootcamp market has grown by 73%, from 64 university bootcamps in 2019 to 120 university bootcamps in 2020.
Generally, no. Because coding bootcamps are unaccredited, they are not eligible for traditional student loans, Pell Grants, or FAFSA. Instead, bootcamp students use private loans through lenders like Skills Fund, Climb Credit, and Sallie Mae. There are a couple of exceptions – Dominican University + Make School students are eligible for financial aid – students should fill out the FAFSA and will receive a financial aid package within 2-7 days. In the Bachelor of Science degree offered by Alliant International University in partnership with Sabio, student financial aid (FAFSA) is available for eligible applicants.
These are partnerships where a coding bootcamp either offers classes on the university campus, taught by the bootcamp’s own professors, or students can study at the coding bootcamp campus but get college credit. Some of these partnerships also allow students to use the GI Bill to pay for coding bootcamp tuition.
Historically, Alliant International University has partnered with Sabio to offer credits toward its Bachelor of Science Degree. Yale University's Yale Summer Session has previously collaborated with Flatiron School to offer college credit.
A number of universities have now launched internal coding bootcamps themselves, and are not affiliated with an outside education provider.
While having an a program manager like edX or Promineo Tech power a technical skills bootcamp at a college is more typical, some universities now run their own in-house bootcamps:
Several universities have partnered with edX to launch full-time and part-time bootcamps in their continuing education departments. Each bootcamp is offered online or on the university campus through the school’s department of continuing education. Graduates are not eligible for college credit but will receive a certificate of completion from the host university.
A number of universities have partnered with Fullstack Academy (owned by Simplilearn) to offer online tech bootcamps in coding, cybersecurity, DevOps, data analytics, product management, and AI/machine learning.
A number of universities have partnered with course provider Promineo Tech which provides curriculum for front end and back end development and data engineering bootcamps. The online bootcamps are run through each school's continuing education department.
A number of universities have partnered with course provider QuickStart which provides curriculum for coding bootcamps, data science bootcamps and cybersecurity bootcamps. The bootcamps are run through each school's continuing education department, and some graduates may be eligible for certifications.
A number of universities have partnered with course provider Stack Education which provides curriculum for coding bootcamps, data science bootcamps, UX design bootcamps, digital marketing bootcamps, and more. The bootcamps are run through each school's continuing education department, and some graduates may be eligible for certifications.
A number of universities have partnered with course provider ThriveDX which provides curriculum for cybersecurity bootcamps and more. The bootcamps are run through each school's continuing education department, and graduates may be eligible for certifications.
A number of community colleges have partnered with course provider Upright Education which provides curriculum for coding bootcamps and UX design bootcamps. The bootcamps are run through each school's continuing education department, and graduates may be eligible for certifications.
A number of universities like University of Virginia have partnered with Online Program Manager Noodle Partners, which (along with General Assembly), powers online web development bootcamps.
Curious about EQUIP? In essence, a university partnered with a coding bootcamp and a quality assurance entity (QAE), and as a result, students could effectively get financial aid and/or college credit for completing a coding bootcamp. The DOE called these partnerships “test sites” and announced awarded $17M in grants in August 2016 (see Trend #4 for more information). We haven’t heard an update on EQUIP since August 2016, but we’ll update this article if that changes. Some say that financial aid is a great idea for coding bootcamps. Others, like Jordan Weissmann at Slate, say that expanding the financial aid system will “ruin coding bootcamps.”
These examples are proof that collaboration between bootcamps and universities takes many nuanced forms. There isn’t a cookie-cutter formula that schools can apply to create a partnership. The partnership has to fit the needs of students and benefit both the bootcamp and the university. Some coding bootcamps have also been acquired by universities – check out our coding bootcamp acquisitions article.
FURTHER READING:
Did we miss a collaboration that you know about? Leave us a comment below!
Liz Eggleston is co-founder of Course Report, the most complete resource for students choosing a coding bootcamp.
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