Bachelor of Computer Science Honours
Industrial Applications Internship Option
What is it
Students in the Internship Option are both full-time BCS students and paid employees of the option’s Industrial Partner. At the end of four years, you will earn our usual Honours BCS degree and in addition have four years of work experience with a leading software development company. This program is a new model for work-integrated learning that combines an accredited university degree with double the experience of a traditional co-op.
Who is it for
This is a program for students who have a high degree of motivation and a passion for building software. The program is demanding but does not require previous programming experience.
How does it work
Starting right at the beginning of first year, you become a paid employee of our Industrial Partner. The partner also pays for Carleton tuition and fees. Our initial partner is Shopify, an Ottawa-based company that has created one of the world’s leading eCommerce platforms.
In the Internship Option, you will take time off work to take your courses in the usual way, attending lectures with other BCS students.
Many of the courses taught at Carleton will be supplemented by instruction at the partner in order to integrate academic learning with practical work at the partner. You work alongside industry mentors and gain critical skills to solve real problems with modern technology.
Industrial Partner
Our initial partner, and co-founder of this unique new program, is Shopify, a company based in downtown Ottawa.
Shopify is the leading cloud-based, multichannel commerce platform designed for small and medium-sized businesses. Merchants can use the software to design, set up, and manage their stores across multiple sales channels, including web, mobile, social media, marketplaces, brick-and-mortar locations, and pop-up shops. Shopify currently powers over 500,000 businesses in approximately 175 countries and is trusted by brands such as Tesla Motors, Budweiser, Red Bull, LA Lakers, the New York Stock Exchange, GoldieBlox, and many more.
For additional information about the Shopify side of the internship option, called Dev Degree, please see the Dev Degree website.
In the News: Carleton Computer Science Students Complete First-in-Canada Shopify Dev Degree
Admission Requirements
In addition to meeting the requirements for admission to the BCS Honours program, you will need to go through a separate application process for employment with Shopify. The interview process at Shopify does not require previous work experience. Shopify’s Dev Degree provides the training and mentorship necessary for the work placement.
How to Apply
Due to limitations of the Ontario Universities’ Application Centre (OUAC) system, it is not possible to apply directly to the BCS internship option. You need to choose from the BCS Honours programs listed in OUAC. Once you’ve applied into the BCS Honours program, you will receive an email with a link to apply to Shopify’s Dev Degree. The deadline for completing this step will be early-mid February (precise dates will be in the email you get from Shopify) and we expect to notify successful applicants to the option by mid-late March.
You can accept Carleton’s offer of admission to the program you chose on OUAC at any time. You can apply to Dev Degree at Shopify without having accepted the offer from Carleton.
Frequently Asked Questions
See Shopify’s FAQ.