Last year, Udacity promised a new path for
students to earn a diploma. The online education provider is delivering on that
promise by developing nanodegrees, online learning that is vocationally focused
and can lead to a degree within 12 months.
Learners will acquire bite-size chucks of
information through select hands-on courses with an emphasis on skills that can
be applied to a job. AT&T partnered on the program, will accept the
nanodegree as a credential for entry-level jobs, and has reserved 100
internships for graduates, according to a report in The New York Times.
The first nanodegrees to be offered this fall
will focus on front-end web developers, back-end web developers, iOS and Android
mobile developers, and data analysts. It should take a working student six to 12
months to complete the degree.
“We will teach all the necessary skills
together with why those skills matter along with career guidance,” Clarissa
Shen, vice president, business development and partnerships, wrote on the
Udacity blog.
“In other words, you won’t just learn ‘how’ to code, but also ‘why.’”
