How Long Are Coding Bootcamps?

You won’t find many 1-2 week coding bootcamps, but there are some, such as the five-day bootcamp at Master21. Bootcamps of this length require an intensive commitment, with students often attending sessions from around 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day of the bootcamp.

Sometimes these short bootcamps are introductory in nature, helping students become familiar with the basics of coding or even prepare for a longer-term bootcamp. For example, the two-week LearningFuze prep course teaches basic web development skills and prepares students to enroll in its longer-term programs. The Codesmith prep course is also two weeks, and prepares students for Codesmith’s longer software engineering bootcamp.

Other 1-2 week bootcamps may focus on just one programming language, like Python, and require learners to be proficient in the foundations of programming before enrolling. They may operate more like a traditional course and be better suited to technology professionals looking for training in one discrete skill.

Prospective students can expect to spend a few hundred to a few thousand dollars on a 1-2 week intensive bootcamp.

Like 1-2 week bootcamps, 1-2 month programs are not very common. Many 1-2 month bootcamps are run online, with students logging on at their convenience and following a self-paced format. Learners can find programs ranging from a couple hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars.

In terms of curricula, bootcamps of this length do not usually provide a comprehensive overview of coding. Instead, they focus on a specific subject, like introductory coding skills, HTML, SQL, or JavaScript. For example, there are coding bootcamps from One Month that cover each of these languages, as well as an introductory bootcamp called “Programming for Non-Programmers.”

Bootcamp prep courses can also last one month, like App Academy’s part-time prep course that focuses on web development, JavaScript, and getting students ready to enroll in a comprehensive bootcamp program.

1-2 month bootcamps can be great for individuals who want to learn the basics of coding quickly, or for established coders who want to expand their skills to include a specific coding language.

Bootcamps that last 12 weeks are very common in the bootcamp industry. Because this length is so prevalent, students can find three-month bootcamps in several learning formats: online, hybrid, and in person. Some bootcamps are immersive, requiring students to attend classes full time. Others include evening and weekend classes or self-paced study.

These bootcamps tend to offer more comprehensive curriculum options than shorter programs. Many students enroll in bootcamps that cover full-stack web development, learning about both front-end and back-end programming. Instructors usually require students to complete a hands-on project — or sometimes several projects — over the course of the bootcamp. While some bootcamps of this length expect incoming learners to have some familiarity with coding, others are appropriate for beginners.

Students can find three-month bootcamps offered by both independent bootcamp providers, like Hack Reactor and General Assembly, and universities, like Northwestern University. The prices for three-month bootcamps fall into a wide range, with students most commonly paying around $10,000-$15,000.

Aspiring coders can find several four or five month bootcamps offered in both remote and in-person formats. Since these coding bootcamps span a longer period of time, they tend to be less intensive. Most of these programs do not follow a full-time schedule. Instead, students enroll part time, attending class sessions 1-3 times per week on campus or online. Some programs of this length offer self-paced online options.

Many 4-5 month bootcamps accept beginners who want to start learning programming at the basic level. These bootcamps tend to offer a more comprehensive curriculum, with topics often including front-end and back-end programming, user experience (UX) design, mobile development, and even project management. Therefore, these programs are great options for anyone who wants to start from scratch and learn many different technical skills.

Devmountain has a four-month bootcamp for UX design, Prime Digital Academy offers a five-month full-stack engineering program, and Evolve Academy offers a five-month cybersecurity bootcamp. These bootcamps also vary in cost, with the least expensive costing about $3,500 and the most expensive reaching around $20,000.

Some bootcamp providers offer bootcamps lasting six months or longer. Generally speaking, six-month programs follow part-time schedules, with students attending classes during the evenings and weekends or following a self-paced schedule online. Therefore, students who work full time often prefer these longer-term bootcamps. Six-month, part-time bootcamps usually require 5-15 hours of study time per week outside of instruction time.

While you can find six month bootcamps at independent bootcamp providers, it is a common length for university-affiliated bootcamps. Harvard University, for example, offers a 24-week coding bootcamp. Schools like Washington University in St. Louis and the University of California, Berkeley, offer similar bootcamps. The typical cost is similar to 3-5 month programs, usually falling between $10,000 and $15,000.