College of DuPage Offers New iPhone/iPad Developer Proficiency Certificate

College of DuPage is offering a new iPhone/iPad Developer Proficiency certificate program this fall that trains students to create applications for Apple’s mobile devices.

Recently approved by the Illinois Community College Board, the program will provide skills for graduates to find entry-level positions as mobile application developers in a variety of work settings, including companies that specialize in computer and hand-held software development.

“This is an opportunity for programmers who have a background in high-level programming languages such a C, C++ or Objective C,” said John Kronenburger, Associate Dean of Technology at College of DuPage. “What it takes to develop applications is a sound programming background, and this certificate provides a solid foundation.”

The certificate program consists of 16 credit hours and includes two new courses: “iPhone/iPad Application Development” and “Advanced iPhone/iPad Application Development. Both courses explore application development under iOS, the Apple operating system employed in devices such as iPad, iPhone and iPod. Kronenburger said the College is developing a second track for the certificate that will explore development of Google’s Android-based applications, which require Java programming as a prerequisite skill.

While most students interested in this area are non-traditional in age, with a number already working as software engineers, Kronenburger expects the new certificate to appeal to traditional-age students overall who are looking to be a part of a booming industry.

“More than 800,000 iOS as well as 800,000 Android apps have been developed to date, and that number is growing,” he said. “Right now, there are almost as many apps coming out as there has been in the past five years combined.”

For more information about the iPhone/iPad Developer Proficiency certificate program or Android courses, contact Kim Groesbeck at (630) 942-2599 or email groesbec@cod.edu.