York University has partnered with Shopify to launch a hands-on computer science program called the Dev Degree in the Greater Toronto Area.
The program embeds students directly into development teams at Shopify through a paid internship opportunity that culminates with an Honours Bachelor of Computer Science degree. Shopify also pays the students’ tuition for the full four-year program, and students receive academic credits for the work they do on Shopify development teams.
“We’re excited to announce the expansion of our Dev Degree program to York University’s Lassonde School of Engineering,” said Jean-Michel Lemieux, SVP of engineering at Shopify. “Dev Degree layers personal development and accelerated software skills, industry mentorship and real-world practice on top of an accredited degree. We can’t wait to see what unique problems our first York University class will solve.”
“The future of education, especially in the technology sector, will include increasingly fluid interactions between workplaces and universities.”
– Richard Hornsey
The first cohort will include eight York Lassonde Computer Science students splitting their time equally between Shopify’s downtown offices and coursework at Lassonde. The initiative is part of the Industry Partnership Stream within the Honours BSc program in computer science at the Lassonde School of Engineering, which offers an integration of program learning and experiential education.
Students admitted to the stream will complete the practicum credits in addition to all existing degree requirements for the Computer Science program.
Upon completion of their degree, the students will have over 4,500 hours of paid work experience when they graduate, which is over double the hours of a traditional co-op.
“The future of education, especially in the technology sector, will include increasingly fluid interactions between workplaces and universities, so it is essential for us to explore new learning opportunities and continually evolve,” said Richard Hornsey, interim dean and university professor at the Lassonde School of Engineering. “Our partnership with Shopify is also an exceptional new opportunity for students to apply their newly acquired university skills in the workplace and at the same time bring their industrial experience into the classroom.”
Applications are open on January 2019.