With successful tech founders from Mark Zuckerberg to Steve Jobs dropping out of school before finishing their degree, the debate continues to rage on whether aspiring technologists need a traditional college education.
In recent years there's been no shortage of code bootcamps and other engineering-focused short-term programs popping up to help people land a job at a startup. But Make School, which launched in 2012, took a slightly different approach. It launched a two-year certificate program that aimed to replace the traditional college experience with a code-focused program for aspiring techies.
Backed by Y-Combinator, Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian and Andreessen Horowitz, Make School has taught over 2,000 students how to code. And in addition to its 2-year program, Make School has also launched a two-month summer program that helps students learn the skills to build an app. Make School has brought its summer program to countries across the US and Asia, and this year is bringing the academy to Chicago.
Make School's summer program isn't intended as purely a job placement program, but rather as a way for high school students to beef up their college applications, or for college students to get the skills they need to build an app.
"Our goal isn’t to get you a job, it's to teach you the skills of how to make a product that people will love," said Asim Zaidi, who's heading up Make School's Chicago program.
Zaidi said the program is like an "8-week-long hackathon" as students learn the fundamentals of iOS app development and apply those skills to an app they build throughout the program. The course ends by students submitting their apps to the Apple App Store and presenting it during the program's Demo Day.
The program will be held at 1871 and will run from June 17 to August 12. The 8-week program costs $7,000, and the application deadline is May 15. Scholarships and financial aide are available, Zaidi said.
Zaidi said Make School expects to continue the Chicago program beyond this year, and may open a winter cohort in the future.
"We want to continue it and expand it around the Midwest," he said.
Image via Make School
