Who is served: Adults with at least some programming experience 

Number of participants served annually: 225–240 

Location: Downtown Brooklyn 

Frequency/Duration: 1 week, 6 weeks, or 12 weeks  

Eligibility Criteria: Must have some previous coding experience and a desire to improve your skills 

Application process: Written application and 2 interviews conducted by alumni 

Curriculum: Self-directed by participants. RC is “not a programming bootcamp” and “not a job prep program” and is structured more like a writer’s retreat. 

Skill level: Advanced 

Outcomes: Employment as a programmer, upskilling. While RC is not focused on job prep, it has a dedicated career services team that partners with companies looking to hire engineers and data scientists. 

Partnerships: Xandr, Heap 

Cost: Free  

Sources of funding: Recruitment services  

What makes this program stand out? Recurse Center is a community of programmers who engage in self-directed learning to refine their technical skills. RC caters to people who already love programming but have a desire to dramatically improve their skills. The program has hosted students of all experience levels, from 3 months of experience to 30 years as a professional programmer.  

The program is based out of Downtown Brooklyn and organized into groups of roughly 30 people called “batches.” Participants have the option to sign up for batches of 1week, 6 weeks, or 12 weeks. During that time, participants determine what they are curious about and select what they are interested in learning. The Center does not have a predetermined curriculum that focuses on specific languages or proficiencies. Instead, they encourage people to “un-school” and focus on what interests them. 

What do participants need to succeed? The Recurse Center offers need-based living expense grants to women, trans people, and people from racial and ethnic groups traditionally underrepresented in programming, which grantees can then use for housing, food, childcare, or anything else needed while participating in the training. Qualified participants can request grants ranging from $500 to $7000 depending on need and duration of stay at RC.

What does the organization need? Support for students not familiar with a self-directed educational environment.