# Recurse Center

> The Recurse Center is a self-directed, free educational retreat in New York for programmers who want to get better at their craft. There is no curriculum, no teachers, and no grades - people spend six or twelve weeks working on whatever they find most interesting, alone or in pairs, guided by a few light social rules. Founded in 2011 as Hacker School and renamed the Recurse Center in 2015, it is free for participants and funds itself by running a recruiting agency that connects its community with hiring companies.

- **Founded:** 2011
- **Headquarters:** New York, New York, United States
- **Founders:** Nicholas Bergson-Shilcock (Co-Founder & CEO), Sonali Sridhar (Co-Founder), David Albert (Co-Founder)
- **Team size:** Approximately 77 (LinkedIn headcount, includes broader network); core staff is small
- **Products:** The Retreat, Mini Retreats, Recruiting Agency, Community & Alumni Network
- **Notable:** Pioneered a free-to-attend educational model funded entirely by recruiting., Ran continuously as a self-directed programmer retreat since 2011., Built a large, durable alumni community of 'Recursers' who keep collaborating for years after their batch.

## Products & services

- **The Retreat** — A free, self-directed programming retreat in New York (and remote) for six or twelve weeks, where participants join a 'batch' and work on projects of their own choosing, alone or collaboratively.
- **Mini Retreats** — Shorter one-week retreats for people who cannot commit to the full six- or twelve-week batch.
- **Recruiting Agency** — An integrated recruiting service that places programmers from the RC community with partner companies. This is how RC funds the free retreat.
- **Community & Alumni Network** — A lasting community of thousands of alumni ('Recursers') who continue to collaborate, mentor, and support one another after their batch ends.

## Achievements

- Pioneered a free-to-attend educational model funded entirely by recruiting.
- Ran continuously as a self-directed programmer retreat since 2011.
- Built a large, durable alumni community of 'Recursers' who keep collaborating for years after their batch.
- Known for its influential four social rules, widely adopted by other tech communities and companies.
- Alumni include notable technologists such as AI researcher Timnit Gebru (Summer 2012 batch).

## Latest updates

- **2015-02** — Hacker School officially renamed itself the Recurse Center.
- **2020-03** — Shifted to offering remote batches, expanding access beyond New York.
- **2026-01** — Continues running six-week, twelve-week, and one-week mini retreats with active recruiting partnerships.

## Links

- Website: https://recurse.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/recurse-center
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/recursecenter
- GitHub: https://github.com/recursecenter
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RecurseCenter
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/hackerschooldotcom

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/recurse-center
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-03