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Earn a Master of Information and Data Science Online

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Re: Earn a Master of Information and Data Science Online

#51

Post by newppc »

The biggest thing that hasn't been discussed yet is that the admissions counselors and marketing seems to be entirely run by 2U.

Not saying this is not a good company or that online education is not good - just that 2U is representing themselves as part of Berkeley Admissions.

Check this - http://2u.com/partners/berkeley/

Was contacted by this person when I wanted to learn more about the program, who's email signature looked like this:

Peter Wahlberg

Admissions Counselor

datascience@berkeley Admissions Office

UC Berkeley School of Information

pwahlberg@datascience.berkeley.edu

datascience.berkeley.edu

But he also works for 2U - maybe only for 2U - http://www.linkedin.com/pub/peter-wahlberg/67/800/27b

Again this admissions counselor and the company are innovating in the education space which is a good thing, but I do find it odd to misrepresent 2U employees as Berkeley admissions counselors - especially when I talked to him on the phone and he defended the $60k price tag by saying an MBA is $80k.

Re: Earn a Master of Information and Data Science Online

#52

Post by Hortinstein »

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…

I agree, after just being admitted to OMSCS, if this was roughly the same price I might consider taking it as an augmentation to my resume. GRE/Tuition requirements kill the ROI in my case

Re: Earn a Master of Information and Data Science Online

#53

Post by platformeR »

I find this to be an excellent offering and justified overall.. some may not agree but:

You don't have to "go anywhere" to complete it. The course load IS comprehensive. The tuition cost might be steep but in the end as the commenter said, it is cheaper and vastly superior to a MBA.

From what I gained, the partner also works with the likes of Duke and American U to bring the program online.. among others. Who cares & thank you partner. (http://2u.com/partners/)

This is the future and happens to be the future done right.

Re: Earn a Master of Information and Data Science Online

#55

Post by mbrzusto »

Or ... you could stay in the city and get an MS in Analytics from University of San Francisco at the downtown 101 Howard campus. http://www.usfca.edu/analytics/ The program is excellent, has a REAL practicum experience and boasts nearly 100% employment 3 months post graduation. It comes in at about half the cost of cal's program. [Full disclosure ... I'm an adjunct there] Here's what you can learn in one year http://www.usfca.edu/artsci/msan/courses/ The combination of location, instruction and work experience is unprecedented.

Re: Earn a Master of Information and Data Science Online

#56

Post by ForHackernews »

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…

I had a similar experience. Their "admissions counselor" (read: salesperson) was fairly aggressive and persistent.

Also, FWIW, I was told it's not 100% online--you do have to come to campus for a week at some point[0]

I would be interested, but I'm pretty unclear how much value a degree like this would have, and $60K is a lot of money.

[0] http://datascience.berkeley.edu/academics/immersion/

Re: Earn a Master of Information and Data Science Online

#57

Post by ForHackernews »

SwellJoe wrote: post #45
taude wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 har…

Not to diminish your accomplishments, but you should know that Google casts a very wide net in their recruiting. I've been contacted several times by them for positions that I am not even remotely qualified for.

Re: Earn a Master of Information and Data Science Online

#58

Post by ForHackernews »

grumblestumble wrote: post #26

Are their any legitimate programs like these for Bachelor's degrees? I've had my eye on doing something like this, but as I never completed my undergrad before getting sucked into the tech goldmine, I'm ineligible. Online undergrad degrees seem to mostly be diploma mills with no real value.

In the US, probably the most legitimate option is Western Governors University http://www.wgu.edu/. They're an accredited, non-profit institution. Obviously, it's not the most prestigious degree out there, but it's not looked down on as being a for-profit scam like University of Phoenix or similar.

Re: Earn a Master of Information and Data Science Online

#59

Post by eranation »

winslow wrote: post #28
eranation wrote: post #25

I'm taking the GTOMSCS from Georgia Tech, for less than $7,000. I asked Berkeley if they have any plans to change their steep price tag ($50-60K), and they said no, because I'll be allowed to go on campus and get all benefits of an on campus student. I told them I don't plan to do so, and that I think I'm paying a high premium for a "feature" that I don't use. They didn't reply. in G.Tech you CAN'T go on campus, alth…

I just got accepted to the GT OMSCS as well for the January group. When do you start or have you already started? What's your focus? I'm focusing on parallel computing and machine learning.

Welcome aboard! I started in the first cohort (last Spring semester). I'm not sure yet what focus to take, probably software engineering & databases and machine learning, (we have enough credits to take both, but I guess we'll have to chose one officially...)

I'm taking software dev process this semester, a bit of relaxation after advanced OS (good course, but not easy)

Re: Earn a Master of Information and Data Science Online

#60

Post by sonalid »

sourc3 wrote: post #54

Based on this conversation, what are some of the Big Data/Data Science programs with hands on experience that you guys think are worth the price tag?

Zipfian Academy (http://www.zipfianacademy.com/) definitely has hands-on experience and is worth the $16k tuition. That's where I'm going now that I've left the Berkeley MIDS program, where I learned almost nothing.
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