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Announcing Online MS in Computer Science in Collaboration with Georgia Tech

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Re: Announcing Online MS in Computer Science in Collaboration with Georgia Tech

#61

I'm surprised they started with a masters, but I guess it makes sense. They are only targeting people who've already gone through an accredited degree program. Makes the program more likely to be taken seriously. Udacity already issues credit for a fewer lower level classes via SJSU. I wonder how soon the gap will be closed and a whole online degree available.

I think you'll be surprised about what degrees are actually "accredited" and what ones are not. For example, UCSD, Princeton and Cal Tech do not have ABET accredited C{S,E} degrees.

Re: Announcing Online MS in Computer Science in Collaboration with Georgia Tech

#62
post #58

This is a huge step in the right direction, but I'd be lying if I didn't say I'm disappointed about the BS in CS requirement. Plenty of people with BS degrees in other technical fields probably could pass a fair placement/entry examination given the chance.

Apparently you can try to apply with another kind of BS : "Formal admission into the OMS CS program will require a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science from an accredited institution, or a related Bachelor of Science degree with a possible need to take and pass remedial courses"

I wonder if you can get in with just a BA.

Re: Announcing Online MS in Computer Science in Collaboration with Georgia Tech

#63
This is truly revolutionary. I can't wait for this show to get on the road. The FAQs don't mention a requirement of a GRE or other standardized exam for formal admission. Does anyone know if that is likely to change in future (I hope not)?

Re: Announcing Online MS in Computer Science in Collaboration with Georgia Tech

#64
I wish I'd had this article to post instead. It has some detailed information about the cost of a traditional MS in CS (the online version is "one sixth the cost"), revenue share with Udacity, admission requirements, and a lot more.

  http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/05/14/georgia-tech-and-udacity-roll-out-massive-new-low-cost-degree-program

Re: Announcing Online MS in Computer Science in Collaboration with Georgia Tech

#65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tech's MSCS is pretty competitive in terms of admissions. I assume this will be somewhat broader in its acceptance?

Well, there's no real scarcity of teaching faculty and other resources in a MOOC format, so that pressure will be removed. But I don't know how the standards will be set. I'm not sure Georgia Tech knows that yet, either.

According to http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/05/14/georgia-tech-a...:

> Georgia Tech said it does not plan to lower admission standards to find 6,000 or so students for this track -- a number than is 20 times larger than its current computer science master’s degree program. Instead, Georgia Tech hopes to attract more qualified applicants from across the world, including inside the military and at companies – places that harbor nontraditional students who could not previously come to a traditional campus or find the money for a full degree, on campus or online.

Re: Announcing Online MS in Computer Science in Collaboration with Georgia Tech

#66
post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a non-CS grad, could I really get an MS in CS from doing an online class? Seems pretty insane, but something I might consider for 7k.

Yes. Maybe you'd have to take some remedial courses first though. SNHU offers B.S. in CS online. http://www.snhu.edu/ There is nothing in CS that requires your physical presence in a lecture hall to learn.

I would worry about the legitimacy of any MS in CS program that did not make someone without a CS undergrad degree take significant remedial coursework.

Re: Announcing Online MS in Computer Science in Collaboration with Georgia Tech

#67
post #4

http://www.omscs.gatech.edu/faq/ > How much does the degree program cost? We’re not yet ready to announce a specific program cost, but the plan is to offer the Georgia Tech OMS CS for a total cost of under $7,000—a fraction of the cost of Georgia Tech’s on-campus program and even less than that of comparable private universities. > The total workload is the same as the residential program; the weekly or hourly worklo…

katholieke universiteit leuven offers a masters course in AI for about EUR 5000, on campus. I checked with them in Jan of 2012. I then asked the professor if this was for students of Belgium and what is the price for international students ( I am from India). He confirmed that the price was the same. The university is ranked about 68-75 in the world, of course that is subjective. I feel the USD 40,000-50,000 price is…

In Europe education is usually cheaper.

The general idea is that the society can afford to foot the bill for education better than it can afford to have people not attain the highest level they could reach.

Re: Announcing Online MS in Computer Science in Collaboration with Georgia Tech

#68
I'm so very happy about this. But I'm still wondering why they decided to launch a masters course as opposed to bachelor? And I hope they provide an option for people without bachelor degree take this course (perhaps with entrance test of some kind?).

Re: Announcing Online MS in Computer Science in Collaboration with Georgia Tech

#69
post #12

I'm so happy to see this - it's a sign of progress of the education system, and it gives me so much relief to see that someone gets it at the top of the education totem pole. I discussed this with a master's degree student a few years ago, because the cost (especially for computer science, no labs) seemed too low to ignore. I will sign up for this as soon as possible. Also, having a master's in Comp Sci will really h…

I too am happy about this. I received my BS in chemical engineering from Georgia Tech last year. I had a few friends in CS, and I can say the program is really top-notch and up-to-date. I really like chemical engineering, but I also really like CS, so maybe after graduate school I'll sign up for this program. By the way, how is applying for software engineering positions as a chem eng. working out for you? I'm gettin…

Heh, about as expected. I can get to the final interview no problem, but I always fail when they ask the "basic" technical questions, such as "How does a garbage collector work?" and "How would you populate a binary tree?". My one formal class of C wasn't enough to cover those topics.

However, I am enrolled in App Academy, so I can start doing web dev. My advice is to show you've taken at least an Algorithms/Data Structures course, that plus the skills you've picked up from programming on the side should be enough to get a junior dev position.

In terms of a job that combines both fields...the closest thing I know to a software person in ChemE is an Aspen Troubleshooter for Exxon. Personally, I want to do advanced controls and modeling/simulation. Can I shoot you an email? I might have a lead for you with Tesla.

Re: Announcing Online MS in Computer Science in Collaboration with Georgia Tech

#70

This is truly revolutionary. I can't wait for this show to get on the road. The FAQs don't mention a requirement of a GRE or other standardized exam for formal admission. Does anyone know if that is likely to change in future (I hope not)?

Apparently the GRE will not be a requirement. From http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/05/14/georgia-tech-a...:

> The second type of student will be “prospective degree-seeking” students who will be admitted to the program tentatively because they will not have to take the GRE as other applicants do. If they do well in two core classes, Georgia Tech will put them on the degree track. The university expects to enroll 2,000 such students in the next three years.

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