Apple shutters its iOS Developer University Program for students

Apple has discontinued the iOS Developer University Program for students as of May 15, 2024, the company announced in a notice on the program's webpage. It added that accredited educational institutions can enroll in the Apple Developer Program for free.

The iOS Developer University Program allowed educators to create development teams of up to 200 students. Students could create apps for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch using the iOS SDK and other resources available on Apple's developer website.

Furthermore, the program allowed students to test and debug their apps with the help of Xcode's graphical debugger. Students and professors who were part of the same team could share their development applications for presentation and grading by sending them over email or posting them to a private website.

In addition to the notice, Apple also sent emails to program members who shared it on social media (spotted by MacRumors). Apple said that accredited educational institutions who want to enroll in the Apple Developer Program can apply for a fee waiver by submitting a request.

The fee waiver applies to non-profit organizations, accredited institutions, or government entities who meet certain requirements. Otherwise, developers need to pay an annual fee of $99 to access the membership, which makes them eligible to distribute their apps through the App Store and access tools and resources to build apps for Apple products.

As part of the fee waiver, Apple doesn't charge the Core Technology Fee (CTF) it levies from developers who want to distribute their apps outside of the App Store in the EU region. Core Technology Fee is already applicable to iOS apps after one million first annual installs and Apple previously announced it will make its way to the iPadOS apps later this year.