Apple's 'App Development With Swift' Curriculum Expanding to Dozens of Community Colleges

Apple today announced that its App Development with Swift curriculum will now be offered in more than 30 leading community college systems across the United States in the 2017-2018 school year.

app development with swift
The full-year course, available for free on the iBooks store, teaches students how to build apps using Apple's open source programming language Swift. Apple says the course takes students with no programming experience and enables them to build fully-functional apps of their own design.

“We’ve seen firsthand how Apple’s app ecosystem has transformed the global economy, creating entire new industries and supporting millions of jobs,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We believe passionately that same opportunity should be extended to everyone, and community colleges have a powerful reach into communities where education becomes the great equalizer.”

The community college systems adopting the App Development with Swift curriculum in the fall include Austin Community College District, Northeast Mississippi Community College, Northwest Kansas Technical College, and additional campuses in the Alabama Community College System.

“We’re thrilled to have Apple join our mission to make Austin more affordable for people who already live in the city,” said Austin Mayor Steve Adler. “Apple is going to be a force multiplier in the community’s ongoing efforts to lift 10,000 out of poverty and into good jobs over the next five years.”

Austin town mayor Steve Adler said Apple CEO Tim Cook is in Austin today. Cook will visit the Austin Community College District, meet with employees, and speak with local app developers at tech accelerator Capital Factory in downtown Austin, according to the Austin American-Statesman.

Popular Stories

apple store down feature

Here's Why the Apple Store is Going Down

Thursday November 27, 2025 1:01 pm PST by
Apple's online store is going down for a few hours on a rolling country-by-country basis right now, but do not get your hopes up for new products. Apple takes its online store down for a few hours ahead of Black Friday every year to tease/prepare for its annual gift card offer with the purchase of select products. The store already went down and came back online in Australia and New Zealand, ...
iPhone Pocket Short

iPhone Pocket is Now Completely Sold Out Worldwide

Tuesday November 25, 2025 7:16 am PST by
Apple recently teamed up with Japanese fashion brand ISSEY MIYAKE to create the iPhone Pocket, a limited-edition knitted accessory designed to carry an iPhone. However, it is now completely sold out in all countries where it was released. iPhone Pocket became available to order on Apple's online store starting Friday, November 14, in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, ...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone to Debut These Three Breakthrough Features

Tuesday November 25, 2025 7:09 am PST by
Apple's first foldable iPhone is expected to launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models in fall 2026, and it's shaping up to include three standout features that could set it apart from the competition. The book-style foldable will reportedly feature an industry-first 24-megapixel under-display camera built into the inner display, according to a recent JP Morgan equity research report. That...
streaming black friday 2025

Black Friday Streaming Deals Include Big Savings on Disney+, Hulu, Apple TV, and More

Monday November 24, 2025 8:03 am PST by
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a...
streaming black friday 2025

Best Black Friday Streaming Deals - Save Big on Apple TV, Disney+, Hulu, and More

Thursday November 27, 2025 1:14 pm PST by
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Apple TV, Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When...
New Intel Logo

Apple and Intel Rumored to Partner on Mac Chips Again in a New Way

Friday November 28, 2025 7:33 am PST by
While all Macs are now powered by Apple's custom-designed chips, a new rumor claims that Apple may rekindle its partnership with Intel, albeit in a new and limited way. Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today said Intel is expected to begin shipping Apple's lowest-end M-series chip as early as mid-2027. Kuo said Apple plans to utilize Intel's 18A process, which is the "earliest...
General Apps Messages Redux

Singapore Orders Changes to iMessage by December

Tuesday November 25, 2025 6:39 am PST by
Singapore has ordered Apple to block or filter messages on iMessage that impersonate government agencies, requiring the company to implement new anti-spoofing protections by December as part of efforts to curb rising online scams, the Straits Times reports. Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that it had issued an Implementation Directive to Apple under the Online Criminal Harms...
iphone air camera

iPhone Air Flop Sparks Industry Retreat From Ultra-Thin Phones

Thursday November 27, 2025 3:14 am PST by
Apple's disappointing iPhone Air sales are causing major Chinese mobile vendors to scrap or freeze their own ultra-thin phone projects, according to reports coming out of Asia. Since the ‌iPhone Air‌ launched in September, there have been reports of poor sales and manufacturing cuts, while Apple's supply chain has scaled back shipments and production. Apple supplier Foxconn has...

Top Rated Comments

Zirel Avatar
108 months ago
They make it sound way to easy. Some people’s brains are wired for coding but a lot are not. If you’re someone who didn’t/doesn’t excel at math in school I think learning to code will be more difficult. I don’t think anyone can code.
This is untrue.

Programming is basically using the pattern recognition capacity of our brains.

Which is something anybody can do.

Of course some people can’t learn to program, can’t learn anything because it’s easier to turn off their brains and watch junk TV all day.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Solomani Avatar
108 months ago
Thank goodness for Apple recognizing the important (vocational) role of US community colleges.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JoJoCal19 Avatar
108 months ago
They make it sound way to easy. Some people’s brains are wired for coding but a lot are not. If you’re someone who didn’t/doesn’t excel at math in school I think learning to code will be more difficult. I don’t think anyone can code.
I agree that not everyone can "get" coding, but there are TONS of people who are great at it, and have been successful, and haven't done math beyond high school basics. I know plenty myself. I have talked to people who are doing MSCS degrees, even at like GT, who say the degrees and crazy math are definitely not needed to code.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jonnysods Avatar
108 months ago
Man I hope they still push teaching trades to people. So many trades colleges have closed us around here. Cant put plumbing or electrical in a building using swift!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
69650 Avatar
108 months ago
I've never written any code before but Swift looks fun so I'm going to have a go and create my own app.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sledgehammer89 Avatar
108 months ago
... and we are thrilled to announce Xcode for iPad.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)