'Would you like a degree with your burger?'
Traditionally, working at the hamburger chain has often been seen as a less-than-desirable vocation, even giving rise to its own slang word: the dreaded 'McJob'.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a McJob is an "unstimulating, low-paid job with no prospects".
But McDonald's senior vice-president David Fairhurst says the course challenges these misconceptions about the employer.
"The old 'McJob' label is lazy and snobbish", he says.
The course is a demonstration of how seriously the company takes the training of its staff, says Mr Fairhurst. He also wishes for the company to be seen as a "pioneer" in educating employees.
"People no longer want to choose between jobs and education. They should not be parallel universes," he says.
The new degree will be taught by a combination of classroom study, e-learning and training in the workplace.
However, McDonald's is not the only company which is developing its own qualifications. Department store Harrods has set up its own degree course, and Microsoft awarded qualifications to 17,500 people in the UK last year.