University of Pennsylvania launches first online master’s degree in computer science

The University of Pennsylvania’s School of Engineering and Applied Science has announced its first completely online master’s degree in computer and information technology.

The university said MCIT Online is designed to be affordable, at one-third the cost of an on-campus degree, and open to students with no previous background in computer science and offered exclusively on online education company Coursera.

“Computer science is now as fundamental to our future as math, reading or writing. And while we can’t predict the future, we can help people prepare for it by making a strong grounding in these fundamentals as easy to acquire as possible,” Vijay Kumar, Nemirovsky Family Dean of Penn Engineering, said.

“Our vision is for a high-impact program that is more accessible and more affordable for more students,” Kumar added.

MCIT Online confers the same degree as the on-campus MCIT, the only Ivy League computer science degree that has no computer science prerequisites, according to the university, and enables people with diverse academic backgrounds to pursue a career in technology.

“This degree represents the democratisation of computer science. It brings a world-class, Ivy League degree within reach of people of all backgrounds, from anywhere in the world,” Coursera’s CEO Jeff Maggioncalda said.

The total cost of the MCIT Online degree will be $26,300, roughly a third of the cost of the on-campus degree, due to its online delivery model.

The curriculum, composed of six core courses and four electives in areas such as data science and machine learning, features a blend of both computer science theory and applied, project-based learning.

The first cohort of the ten-course program will begin in January 2019.

Note: Applications are open now. Click here to learn more about this new online degree.