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Earn a Master of Information and Data Science Online

requestinfo.datascience.berkeley.edu

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Re: Earn a Master of Information and Data Science Online

#41

Post by bjterry »

guybrushT wrote: post #27

Its difficult to deny the need, relevance and popularity of the topic of this degree. I just think that there may be a startup idea here: just offer an opportunity to learn the curriculum as a vocational training/course over 4-6 months, along with a practical project at the end of it (say a Kaggle problem). I can imagine a tie up with companies to solve problems, very much like Kaggle and tie ups with companies looki…

There are already a large number of bootcamps being formed for data science. For example Zipfian Academy (former Berkeley students), Insight Data Science, Metis (owned by Kaplan), Leada (a startup of former Berkeley students which has our company as a partner), and probably others I'm not aware of.

Re: Earn a Master of Information and Data Science Online

#42

Post by anigbrowl »

codegeek wrote: post #7

I have/had my eye on this one. I spoke to the admission counselor for this program. Apparently, they assign each student one counselor if you join this program. Here are some details: - 100% online [0] (you do have to visit the campus for a week during the course) - Total price tag: $60,000 (Yes, pretty steep) - You can finish in 1-2 years depending on how much you can do - You must take the GRE or GMAT. No exception…

Forgot to mention that they are aggressively selling this. The counselor called me like 15 times (literally) before I responded.

Sounds depressingly like the real estate bubble before the financial crisis.

Re: Earn a Master of Information and Data Science Online

#43

Post by disjointrevelry »

codegeek wrote: post #7

I have/had my eye on this one. I spoke to the admission counselor for this program. Apparently, they assign each student one counselor if you join this program. Here are some details: - 100% online [0] (you do have to visit the campus for a week during the course) - Total price tag: $60,000 (Yes, pretty steep) - You can finish in 1-2 years depending on how much you can do - You must take the GRE or GMAT. No exception…

My personal experience with paid fully online course was for a 1 year program in micro systems development/design. It was pretty steep at the time, several thousand, but the benefit was the awesome professor. He and his assistants read every line of code, ran every assignment, and gave fully detailed explanations to the score and gave constructive criticisms. Afterwards, they continued to be helpful even after the course.

As for full curricilums... I can't stand curriculums. It's like going to a buffet to eat some shrimp, lettuce, a slice of roast beef, some smashed potatas except they stack a bunch of other meals on top of it.

Re: Earn a Master of Information and Data Science Online

#44

Post by stfu »

washedup wrote: post #9
codegeek wrote: post #7

I have/had my eye on this one. I spoke to the admission counselor for this program. Apparently, they assign each student one counselor if you join this program. Here are some details: - 100% online [0] (you do have to visit the campus for a week during the course) - Total price tag: $60,000 (Yes, pretty steep) - You can finish in 1-2 years depending on how much you can do - You must take the GRE or GMAT. No exception…

Yea, I came to the same conclusions. $60K seems like a lot for any online degree. Obviously there are still people working behind the scenes, but to me a majority of the cost is covering the Berkeley brand. While that is very attractive, I wouldn't pay more than $20,000 for this program. The knowledge itself is very valuable, but attaining it should not be so costly when there are amazing free resources all over the…

Totally see your point. The true value of a program like this would be the personal network, recruiters on campus, etc. It is going to be a lot of work to create a similar team spirit in a virtual context. By the way, the Harvard Extension School has its Master degrees priced around the $20,000 area so your estimate is pretty much on spot.

Re: Earn a Master of Information and Data Science Online

#45

Post by SwellJoe »

taude wrote: post #23
washedup wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yea, I came to the same conclusions. $60K seems like a lot for any online degree. Obviously there are still people working behind the scenes, but to me a majority of the cost is covering the Berkeley brand. While that is very attractive, I wouldn't pay more than $20,000 for this program. The knowledge itself is very valuable, but attaining it should not be so costly when there are amazing free resources all over the…

I like the Georgia Tech MS Computer Science [0] which was in the 8K range. That seems reasonable for an online education that's mostly self-driven. I hate the feeling pay to play of a lot of our higher-level education as it seems that what you learn has nothing to really do with where you learn it. [0] http://www.omscs.gatech.edu/

So much of the value of going to a place like Stanford or Caltech or Harvard, etc. is in the people you will interact with. In an online program, that value is probably completely lost. Given that, I just don't see why someone would choose this over a much more cost-effective program. While a "top tier" university does look nice on the resume, I don't believe it is mandatory, anymore. If you're competent and work hard, you can build a reputation in Open Source software that will get you a job at most places, including the really sought after places (I've gotten two recruitment letters from Google, and a handful from other places), regardless of where your degree is from.

Of course, if you're competent and work hard, you can probably build your own job from scratch in any number of software and technology fields.

Re: Earn a Master of Information and Data Science Online

#46

Post by steinbecksrev »

I don't know. If you want to pay-to-play, it's not a terrible deal, especially considering that it can be just one year and you don't need to leave your job to do it. Opportunity cost is the largest outlay when it comes to masters and doctoral degrees, and this format essentially eliminates that. But yes, networking beyond your cohort would be difficult. It would be really nice if they had a good placement program, but I can't speak to that.

The real kicker here though is that these classes aren't open to other Berkeley students. There are general equivalents in the Stats department, in CS, and in the iSchool, but not tailored to generalists looking to add some kind of "Data Science" specialization. The curriculum is really walled off from the rest of the students, which is annoying because I want to take some of these classes.

Anyway, I think the real question here is how much opportunity cost you can avoid in the online format and the placement/salary you should expect coming out of it.

Re: Earn a Master of Information and Data Science Online

#48

Post by ajones »

bequanna wrote: post #29
ajones wrote: post #10

I spoke with Berkeley when deciding where I was going to apply and got the sense that they plan on leaning on their more established programs to provide instruction. While this may sound great, you won't get the specific data science instruction that these curriculums require. After an awful experience with Northwestern's online analytics program, I don't want to touch any of these programs.

As someone who is interested in Northwestern's Predictive Analytics program, I would be interested in hearing your specific issues with that program.

I only got through one class, but have heard my concerns echoed by many who are only continuing the program because the have invested so much into it.

The program is based on weekly discussion board posts and a few exams per course. For the most part, I find myself attempting to put fluff into my posts rather than meaningful analysis.

There are "sync sessions" throughout the courses, but they don't occur every week. This is much unlike a MOOC, which provides a set of weekly lectures to view and gain understanding.

There was zero project work in my initial class and projects at or below the level of undergrad projects in more advanced courses.

I managed an A average while spending the absolute minimum amount of time on the class.

When paying 4,000 dollars per course, I had hoped that the instruction would be at the same level or better than that of a set of MOOCs. In the field of data science, I believe the time can easily be directed towards side projects for greater knowledge and similar employment prospects.

Re: Earn a Master of Information and Data Science Online

#49

Post by gbrock16 »

oakleon wrote: post #32
gbrock16 wrote: post #14

Here is another option from a different UC university if you are in the San Diego area: http://maseng.ucsd.edu/dse/

Hey thanks for posting this. It looks like a great opportunity for me! Are you enrolled in this by any chance?

I actually just got enrolled into the program. It begins at the beginning of October and this will be their first cohort for the program as it is brand new.

Re: Earn a Master of Information and Data Science Online

#50

Post by sonalid »

I was a student of this MIDS program for one semester after attending Hack Reactor in the spring. I took three classes this summer, which is the closest thing they have to full-time. I can say without hesitation that it would be an enormous financial mistake for most people to join the program.

Just a quick overview of some of the problems they have:

- Poorly considered curriculum. Our data visualization class involved no d3js or training with data viz tools. Students were told to teach themselves the tools in their spare time while studying data viz theory (Edward Tufte, etc.) in class.

- Cost. There's absolutely no way to justify the $60k price tag, especially with no in-state tuition option.

- Choice of instructors. They're trying to increase the size of the program too quickly, while throwing in new instructors with zero teaching experience. These instructors also have part-time or full-time jobs outside of MIDS, so I didn't even get my grades back for assignments from the first month by two weeks before finals. It would often take a minimum of 2-4 weeks to get grades back.

I've officially withdrawn from MIDS, and I'm attending Zipfian this fall. I strongly recommend considering any and all alternatives to MIDS before even applying.

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