GitHub introduces new discounts to support student coders

GitHub is typically one of the first tools that budding developers use when they’re learning to code.

So it’s no surprise that the social coding and community site would delve into education. The company announced via a blog post that a new service called GitHub Education will support students as they pick up computer science skills.

According to GitHub’s education liaison, John Britton, the company will now offer free “micro” accounts for students and teachers, free “organization” accounts for classrooms (these help groups manage their workflow), and 25 percent off for other educational uses. Micro accounts cost those who aren’t students $7 per month.

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GitHub has been offering discounts to schools for some years, but according to Britton, today it’s “making [the practice] it official.” The company claims that more than 1,200 classrooms and 70,000 students have signed up. It’s a smart strategy with a long-term payoff. Computer science (and GitHub) may hook a portion of these students, and they may opt to pay for these services in their future careers.

A GitHub spokesperson said the education discounts will be available to “all kinds of classrooms” and not just traditional schools. That includes community colleges and the learn-to-code academies, which specialize in teaching adult learners. In California, these learn-to-code schools are in hot water for failing to comply with state regulation.

To apply for a discount, add and verify a school-issued email address and then check out the new site.