The first cohort of 200 students in the new online master’s in computer science degree program offered by Penn’s School of Engineering and Applied Science is set to begin January 2019. Enrollment exceeded expectation and the school has opened a second cohort of 100 students for the summer. Taught entirely online, the program is a first for SEAS. Costing $26,300, it is roughly one-third the cost of an on-campus degree, and it is geared toward students with no previous background in computer science. The courses are offered exclusively on 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,” said Vijay Kumar, Nemirovsky Family Dean of Penn Engineering, when the program was first announced this past summer.

MCIT Online confers the same degree as the on-campus MCIT, the only Ivy League Computer Science degree that has no computer science prerequisites. This allows people with diverse academic backgrounds to pursue a career in technology. MCIT is a well-established program from a top-20 engineering school. The degree has more than 1,000 graduates who have gone on to work at top employers like Amazon and Google.

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

The Coursera platform enables professors to build a variety of beginner to advanced programming assignments that combine auto, peer and human grading done by on-campus teaching assistants and faculty. Students will also have the opportunity to participate regularly in live video office hours with the same faculty who teach on campus.

“Not only is computing permeating our everyday lives, but there’s so much potential for it to help solve some of the world’s major problems and have significant social impact. This program will allow people from all backgrounds to participate in that,” said Chris Murphy, associate professor of practice in Penn Engineering’s department of computer and information science (CIS) and co-director of MCIT Online. “We’ve spent the past 17 years refining the MCIT curriculum so that it prepares our students to be computer scientists, not just programmers. That’s so important for supporting their long-term careers throughout all areas of computing.”

The curriculum features a blend of computer science theory and project-based learning. Students will work as part of a collaborative development team and combine mathematical foundations and engineering principles to develop solutions to real-world computing problems. Students will have the chance to work on projects using a variety of programming languages, data analytics tools and computing environments, preparing them for technical careers in industries such as education, health care, social work, government, urban development and the core software development industry.

“One of the best things about MCIT is the incredibly strong community of students and alumni,” noted Sampath Kannan, Henry Salvatori Professor in CIS and co-director of MCIT Online. “We fully intend to include our online students in that community and give them meaningful opportunities for personal experiences.”