Frequently Asked Questions
Interested in applying to Dev Degree? Want to learn more about the student experience or advantages of the program? Here are our most frequently asked questions from students. If you still have questions, feel free to connect with us at info@devdegree.ca
Advantages of Dev Degree
At Shopify, culture is very important. We work hard to build an inclusive environment that encourages creativity. As part of Dev Degree, you’ll receive:
- The opportunity to work with a small cohort of students
- Mentors to support your growth
- Dedicated staff to support your wellbeing and impact throughout the program
- A MacBook Pro for your work at Shopify, this cannot be used for school
- Flexible vacation days and university fall and winter reading weeks
- A monthly allowance to be used towards your wellness and professional growth
Yes. All of our university partners offer residence services. You should contact each university to learn more.
No. Accommodations are not covered in Dev Degree. However, we do pay for tuition and a competitive intern salary which can help cover some of these costs.
Definitely! You can opt into the meal plan, use the gym, library, and other facilities. You have the same access to university services as any other student.
You’ll receive a competitive intern salary that is in line with industry standards. In addition, Shopify will pay your university tuition and provide generous perks.
Applying to Dev Degree
- Grade 12 students
- Mature students / Career switchers
- International students
- First year undergraduate Computer Science students
Yes. If you are in your first year of an undergraduate Computer Science (or related) program at any university, you are eligible to apply to Dev Degree.
If you’re further along in your university Computer Science journey (2+ years), Dev Degree might not be the best program for you as you are still required to complete work experience at Shopify.
Submit your application to the Dev Degree team at Shopify . Applying to the Dev Degree program is pretty easy; we promise! We need some basic information about you to start the application process. You aren't committing to anything at this point.
Dev Degree offers are conditional upon acceptance into one of our university partner’s programs, so you'll also need to apply to Carleton University's Bachelor of Computer Science Honours program and/or York University's Bachelor of Applied Science in Digital Technologies program and/or Dominican University's Applied Computer Science for your cohort year.
Note: You can apply to Dev Degree before submitting your application to the university partner.
If you are accepted into Dev Degree, your original application stream will be automatically replaced with the Industrial Applications Internship option at Carleton University.
Note: You will need to apply to Carleton University's Bachelor of Computer Science Honours (B.C.S. Honours) program.
While computer programming experience is an asset, it's not required. We’re interested in hearing about your passions and experiences, and how you demonstrate a growth mindset, resiliency, and time management skills.
Yes. You do not need to wait for your university acceptance to apply to Dev Degree.
Yes. If you receive a scholarship, it’s yours to keep. You’ll still earn your full Dev Degree salary and your tuition will be paid in full by Shopify.
Dev Degree receives hundreds of applications each year. Our team carefully reviews each application and you will hear back from our Dev Degree team.
No, you do not need to include references in your application.
To update your submission, resubmit a new application using the same name and email and we will use your most recent submission for screening. As a best practice, double-check your application, and copy and save your original application responses in the event that you have to resubmit.
Absolutely! All interviews are done via video conferencing.
This varies from year to year, but we usually accept 10-15 students from each university.
Students who have previously completed a bachelor's degree are eligible to apply for Dev Degree.
One exception: If a student has already completed a bachelor's in computer science, they are not eligible for the program.
Life in Dev Degree
Unlike a co-op where students switch between terms of schooling and industry experience, Dev Degree students learn theory which can be applied to industry problems in real-time. The Dev Degree model layers in specific work-integrated experiences to a traditional University degree for greater impact. Dev Degree layers include:
- Development Skills: programming languages, tools, methodologies, testing, debugging, databases, performance tuning, system architecture, and navigating large codebases
- Technology Breadth: web, mobile, cloud, data, AI/ML, fraud detection, security, financial transactions, scalability, HA, operations, front-end, animations, and incident management
- Feedback Loops: mentorship, self-assessments, reflection, self-awareness, evaluations
- Personal Growth: teamwork, giving and receiving feedback, time management, customer thinking, communication skills, writing, growth mindset, resourcefulness, and resilience
In Dev Degree, students have access to a variety of resources and opportunities, including:
- 3 to 4 years of work-integrated learning
- Competitive intern salary and tuition paid for by Shopify
- 3,800+ hours of work experience
- Internships on different teams within Shopify
- Internships support the learning of new skills
- Support in finding a new team placement
- Shipping production code on your first team placement
- Flexible and balanced workload
- Collaborative environment
- Small cohort
- Deep professional network
- Support from the Dev Degree team
- Life at Shopify mentorship
Throughout your 3 to 4 years in Dev Degree, you’ll be placed on 3 - 5 different development teams depending on your university program and course of study. Each placement will be in a different discipline with a different mentor.
- Frontend and backend web development
- Data engineering and data science (big data)
- Mobile development
- Security and privacy engineering
- Production engineering and cloud computing
- Machine learning and artificial intelligence
Absolutely! While on your team placements, you’ll be working on production code, solving complex problems, and delivering new features and fixes that impact Shopify merchants.
Please defer to the university partner for all course schedule questions.
Your typical day will be dependent on your university program.
Yes, the Dev Degree program goes year-round.
We respect any student’s decision to exit the program at any time.
Although departure from Dev Degree is equivalent to termination of your current employment contract at Shopify, you are still able (and encouraged!) to pursue your degree in Computer Science.
Unfortunately, Shopify will no longer pay tuition or salary. All credits you have received will remain on your transcript and will count towards your degree.
Shopify is now Digital by Default : Shopify employees do not work in office spaces and have the freedom to work from home. As part of Shopify, Dev Degree students will be working from home, but students must also meet our university partner’s requirements. Classes with our Canadian university partners are now back on campus and Dev Degree students will be expected to attend classes per the university’s requirements.
International students who are accepted into Dev Degree must live and work in Canada and attend Carleton University as per their student visa conditions.
Through our partnership with Dominican University of California, we can offer remote learning alongside remote work so students can live just about anywhere in the US and Canada. You will have to check with Dominican on what states are recognized. However, international students who are accepted into Dev Degree must live and work in Canada and attend Carleton University as per their student visa conditions.