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

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

#61

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.

I take it "60 hours weeks" comprised of a 40 hour per week job + course work; was that on 2 courses per semester then? And did you maintain 2 courses per semester throughout the program? Are you willing to share a little about what made the difficult courses difficult? Heavy math component? Hard algorithms? Time consuming programming? I'm considering this program (and UT's), any additional information would be much a…

Most of the classes are project based (vs. exam based). This means that there is a lower bound on how long you spend, no matter how well you understand the material.

The projects themselves are fairly intense and, if you take 2 courses, their deadlines will likely overlap.

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

#62
post #3

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.

Does it have some form of capstone project at the end? It wasn't clear from the website.

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

#64
post #19

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

I am currently enrolled in the online MCS program. So far the classes I’ve taken are very high quality. Feel free to AMA.

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

#65

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…

What is OU? Oklahoma Univ, could you please clarify.

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

#66

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…

What is OU? Oklahoma Univ, could you please clarify.

open university

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

#67
post #19

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

I am currently enrolled in the online MCS program. So far the classes I’ve taken are very high quality. Feel free to AMA.

How much time per week do you spend on the course? what is the course fee?

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

#68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am currently enrolled in the online MCS program. So far the classes I’ve taken are very high quality. Feel free to AMA.

How much time per week do you spend on the course? what is the course fee?

The whole program is ~20k. Each course is ~2k. There are some additional fees like exams. The previous semester was probably ~3-5hrs per course. This semester my most difficult course is upwards of 10hrs weekly to complete labs. This is not including actual lecture content and quizzes (probably another 5hrs).

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

#70

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.

I take it "60 hours weeks" comprised of a 40 hour per week job + course work; was that on 2 courses per semester then? And did you maintain 2 courses per semester throughout the program? Are you willing to share a little about what made the difficult courses difficult? Heavy math component? Hard algorithms? Time consuming programming? I'm considering this program (and UT's), any additional information would be much a…

Hey - There are some courses that need heavy math. Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Computer Vision, Computer Photography and Algorithms. You can read more on the link I gave you.
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