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Ask HN: What are good distance learning Bachelor's/Master's degrees one can do?

by polyphonicist on 2/24/20, 3:46 PM with 66 comments

• by jaredtn on 2/24/20, 4:40 PM

  I'm currently enrolled in Georgia Tech's OMSCS program - http://www.omscs.gatech.edu/. 2-3 years of part-time work for $7000, and it's a fully accredited degree with no distinction from the on-campus degree. It's no pushover, a lot of work is required. But the opportunity to get a top-10 CS degree for under ten grand total is unparalleled.

• by tequila_shot on 2/24/20, 5:49 PM

  Last semester OMSCS. One of the best Masters Program. Loved it.

  It's not easy, I had to spend 60 hour weeks sometimes while taking the harder classes. There are easy classes as well, where I spent between 3-5 hours every week. You can take a look at the courses here: https://omscentral.com/courses

  Bonus: My Employer pays for it and I work evenings.

• by tonyedgecombe on 2/24/20, 4:45 PM

  The Open University is pretty good for mathematics.

  http://www.open.ac.uk/postgraduate/

• by gshubert17 on 2/24/20, 5:32 PM

  This site,

  https://www.abet.org/accreditation/find-programs/

  lets you search for distance learning programs for ABET-accredited degree programs. (ABET stands for Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. They've been leaders in the field of engineering education, accreditation, and professional development for a long time.)

  I've taught online computing classes at Regis University, which is ABET-accredited, and offers BS degrees in Computer Information Systems, Computer Networking, Computer Science, and Information Technology; but any of the programs listed have passed their accreditation process.

• by EliRivers on 2/24/20, 7:42 PM

  I did a Masters in Maths with the OU, continuously over five and a half years. It was brutal. The percentage of people who make it all the way to to the end is savagely low (although you can cash in your chips part-way through for a lesser, but still impressive, post-graduate award).

  It's guided, and the tutors are available to help, and there's the help of your fellows in the forums, but it's very much on you; this does mean that if you're motivated and persistent, you don't just get good at maths - you learn how to take a textbook and tear it into tiny little pieces like some kind of math monster.

  "Here's the textbook, here's some problem sheets that will buy you a seat at the exam if you do well enough, and here's that exam - it's three hours, you'll race to answer enough questions, everything rides on it and there's five of them, plus your thesis". They were not messing around, I discovered :/

  If you really are eager to learn more, and ready to challenge yourself, it's good.

• by montenegrohugo on 2/24/20, 5:26 PM

  Harvard's Extension School offers a variety of Bachelor and Masters degrees, and whilst not fully online, you can fulfill most of the requirements without setting foot on campus.

• by perplex on 2/24/20, 5:43 PM

  Something I've looked for a few years now is Oregon State University has undergrad program that is 100% online: https://ecampus.oregonstate.edu/online-degrees/undergraduate...

  I'm not enrolled but it it is accredited and (at least in my opinion) OSU has a good CS program.

  They also have a postbaccalaureate program that gives you a a CS Degree if you have an existing undergrad.

• by bitL on 2/24/20, 5:05 PM

  I think Georgia Tech's OMS CS for its affordability and breadth of classes and Stanford HCP/SCPD for the depth of classes are the best choices at the moment.

• by GiuseppaAcciaio on 2/25/20, 2:58 PM

  I would avoid anything provided by Laureate Online, I have an MSc from the University of Liverpool that was provided by them and although the degree was legitimate, the quality of the "tuition" and course material was very low; ultimately I still got some value out of doing the coursework and dissertation but definitely not good value for money IMO.

• by rasikjain on 2/24/20, 5:01 PM

  Georgia Tech has a Master's degree in Cybersecurity for less than $10K. Here is a HN thread from couple of years ago.

  https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17770135

• by cbush06 on 2/25/20, 12:45 AM

  Just finished my MS IT Management with Western Governors University for around $11,000. I thought the best value was having a mentor who called me every week to keep me focused and on track. They also offer MS Cyber Security and Data Analytics degrees.

• by npmanor on 2/24/20, 5:33 PM

  The University of Texas at Austin has begun offering an online Masters in Computer Science (https://www.cs.utexas.edu/graduate-program/masters-program/o...). I've noticed a few other universities offering online programs through edX in areas other than computer science like Purdue's Electrical or Computer Engineering (https://engineering.purdue.edu/ECE/Academics/Online)

• by tdhoot on 2/24/20, 11:01 PM

  Currently working on a Masters degree from Stanford through the Stanford Center for Professional Development [0].

  I like it. It's a lot of work on top of your normal day job, but the instructors and community are unparalleled IMO. It is on the pricier side though, but at a lot of companies you can get reimbursement. I believe it takes longer than OMSCS (but not sure), most people take around 4-5 years. At any point, you can convert to a full-time on campus student and you can always go on campus for classes or exams if you're in the area.

  [0]: http://scpd.stanford.edu/home

• by michalc on 2/24/20, 9:54 PM

  I’m currently enrolled on the Data Science, Technology and Innovation distance learning MSc at the University of Edinburgh.

  So far, I like it: a variety of modules, and each I have taken so far has sparked potential dissertation ideas :-)

  https://www.ed.ac.uk/bayes/about-us/our-work/education/data-...

• by ramboldio on 2/24/20, 5:17 PM

  OpenHPI has awesome lectures and nano degrees https://open.hpi.de/?locale=en

  Greetings from Berlin

• by trilinearnz on 2/25/20, 1:35 AM

  If you decide to grow your business knowledge to compliment your technical skills, Otago University in New Zealand has a highly-rated online MBA programme which I am currently undertaking. We have many international students who attend lectures via Zoom. Would recommend.

  https://www.otago.ac.nz/mba/online/index.html

• by adchari on 2/24/20, 5:30 PM

  University of Illinois also runs an online MCS program, similar to the Georgia Tech one. The curriculum is very comparable to the on-campus degree, and is supposed to take 2 years or less, I believe

• by s3nnyy on 3/1/20, 3:24 PM

  I think https://www.fernuni-hagen.de/ has such degrees but I think it is in German.

• by reinkaos on 2/26/20, 10:35 AM

  Can someone recommend a masters in CS, statistics or applied mathematics with thesis option or at least a capstone? I haven't been able to find one.

  Ideally with focus on ML.