Learning at Disney University!

Whenever I tell people that I'm doing the Disney College Program, they say, "There's a Disney college?!" To my delight, I can answer yes! Disney does offer classes during the DCP, and they range from engineering, to business, to entertainment!

There are many benefits to taking classes during the DCP. It can help you maintain full-time student status at your college, help you earn college credit (if allowed), help you network with important people within the Disney company, and above all help you gain exceptional knowledge from a leading business that you probably won't find anywhere else.

Personally, I decided to take two classes: Exploring Guest Service and Exploring Marketing (I'm a marketing major). These will not count as college credit for me, beings that I'm technically not going to be in school during the program and I'm transferring to a different one after my program ends. Some classes can count as college credit though, if your school allows it. The only way to make sure is to know which classes you're going to be taking, and then speak to a college counselor to verify whether or not they will count as credit. Some schools take certain classes, and others do not. It really depends on the school.

There's technically no tuition for these classes. Some classes (the ones that require more homework, usually) cost around $30 per class. This fee covers supplies and books you might possibly need during the course. The entire list of classes offered during the program can be seen here.

From what I remember during registration, the collegiate courses were the ones that had a fee, but the Exploration Series (which includes my two classes) were completely free. It will tell you which classes cost how much during your registration.

You can select up to two classes to take, and each class will take place during non-peak periods during your program. You will also be assigned 30-40 work hours per week while you're taking classes, and 30-50 hours if you're not. I was hesitant about taking two classes because I didn't want to stress about having to work also, but I can't pass up the opportunity to learn and network with important people if I want to try and have a career with Disney.

Oh! One last important note! If you need to take classes at your college to stay up to date with credits, you can take a Distance Learning class. This will give you pre-planned blocked out time for you to work on your online class(es) and stay up to speed with your school! They also have proctored test options if necessary.

I hope this helps anyone who had questions about the education opportunities during the DCP! Here's a video that can show you a little more about the classes:

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