By Lookout Staff

September 28, 2026 -- Santa Monica College (SMC) will be accepting applications for its second baccalaureate program -- a Bachelor of Science degree in Cloud Computing, school officials announced this week.

Slated to begin in the Fall 2027 semester, the new program will begin accepting applications October 1 for those seeking to enter as a junior, officials said.. The program will be offered online, in-person and in hybrid options.

Applications received by January 15 will fall into the “priority application” category, with the final application deadline for remaining available seats on March 1, officials said. Information on the program -- including course offerings, program launch timelines and admission requirements -- is available at smc.edu/cloud.

The cost of the four-year baccalaureate degree for California residents (not accounting for financial aid) is an estimated $10,000, making it "one of the most affordable career education options in this high-demand field," school officials said. The baccalaureate program also qualifies international students for up to three years of Optional Practical Training (OPT) upon graduation.

The four-year degree is designed to meet "strong demand for software developers and cloud-related occupations" in the Los Angeles region's rapidly growing tech sector," where median annual earnings exceed $150,000, SMC officials said.

A recent labor market study commissioned by the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office estimates there will be 2,777 annual job openings, with 65 percent of workers needing a baccalaureate degree.

The SMC’s second baccalaureate program – which follows the Bachelor of Science in Interaction Design program launched in 2015 -- "builds upon the success and foundation of the lower-division cloud computing curriculum the College developed and launched in collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS)," officials said.

SMC will also be partnering with the AWS Skills to Jobs Tech Alliance, "a coalition that connects higher education and industry, to bring additional applied learning to SMC students, giving them more opportunities to build job-ready skills through real-world projects."

SMC also offers a short-term department certificate, a certificate of achievement, and an Associate degree option in the field, "providing students with various options to receive hands-on training to become a cloud computing professional," officials said.