Access Labs

Adult Program

Brooklyn

81 Prospect St

Brooklyn, NY 11201

Software Engineer

produced by

Access Labs

curriculum
CodingDataDesign

Access Labs’s Software Engineer is a featured program in the 2019 Report.

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Who is served: Low-income adults

Number of participants served annually: Approximately 200 enrolled students in 2018 

Location: DUMBO, Brooklyn 

Frequency/Duration: Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–6 p.m., 15 weeks  

Eligibility Criteria: Applications must be 21 or older at the start of the program, earn less than $35,000 per year, hold a high school degree or equivalent, and be legally authorized to work. 

Application process: Applicants submit a written personal statement and complete both an admission interview and technical review 

Curriculum: Curriculum follows Flatiron School’s software engineering immersive: HTML5 and CSS, JavaScript, React, Ruby, and Rails. 

Skill level: Advanced  

Outcomes:  Careers in software engineering 

Partnerships: WeWork, Flatiron School, 2U 

Cost: $0 upfront. Upon securing a job in tech, graduates pay a percentage of income in monthly installments until tuition is covered. 

Sources of funding: Flatiron School, Tuition 

What makes this program stand out? Access Labs is a Flatiron School initiative geared towards removing barriers to accessing intensive, bootcamp-style tech training for low income New Yorkers.  

The program launched in April 2018 and operates out of the WeWork Dumbo space. Access Labs is committed to creating an equitable tech ecosystem and equipping students with the soft skills they need to succeed in their tech careers.  

To prepare admitted students for the rigor of the full-time, on-campus immersive, all participants complete a 100-hour introduction to programming course before stepping on campus. 

The technical curriculum offered through Access Labs is nearly identical to the coursework in Flatiron School’s flagship software engineering immersive: a full-time, 15-week program broken into 5 3-week modules starting with the fundamentals like HTML5 and CSS to get students comfortable with object-oriented programming. The program culminates in a showcase of independent portfolio projects.  

What do participants need to succeed? The Access Labs program is designed for individuals seeking a full career transformation, and so it requires a major time commitment and motivation. Even with deferred tuition, the time commitment of the program may present barriers to some students who need additional support in covering non-tuition costs such as childcare and food while they are enrolled full-time. 

What does the organization need? Additional support for students to fully immerse themselves in the tech training. There is a need to ensure that students understand financing options and have a variety of financing options.  

Organization Type
Non-Profit
Program Cost
Paid
Skill Level
Advanced

Population Served

21 Years and Over, Income Less Than $35,000

Program Length

15 weeks

Founded

2018