
Ask HN: What are good distance learning Bachelor's/Master's degrees one can do? - polyphonicist
I do not belong to USA or UK. I am a software engineer with a Bachelor&#x27;s degree in computer science. But I would like to do a distance learning program to earn an additional bachelor&#x27;s or master&#x27;s degree in math or physics or another related topic to satisfy my eagerness to learn more.<p>I would like a distance learning degree from a UK or European University because they are cheaper than American ones. Any suggestions of degree programs and universities?
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jaredtn
I'm currently enrolled in Georgia Tech's OMSCS program -
[http://www.omscs.gatech.edu/](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.

~~~
toomuchtodo
Any recommendations as to a distance learned BS to pair with this?

~~~
bitL
University of London has a BS in CS, however it's a 3-year degree so I am not
sure it would be relevant in the US.

[https://www.coursera.org/degrees/bachelor-of-science-
compute...](https://www.coursera.org/degrees/bachelor-of-science-computer-
science-london)

~~~
Zircom
BS degrees in the UK are a little different than in the US, 3 years is
standard because a lot of what would be first year coursework in the US is
covered and credited by their GCSE/GCE exams(somewhat similar to to how you
can test out of lots of first year credits in the US with AP tests).

In any case I've never seen anyone with a UK degree have any difficulty having
it being equated to a US degree for hiring purposes, and that online CS degree
from University of London specifically requires 30 hours of college credit
from US students so it still comes to 4 years in the end.

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tonyedgecombe
The Open University is pretty good for mathematics.

[http://www.open.ac.uk/postgraduate/](http://www.open.ac.uk/postgraduate/)

~~~
JoelMcCracken
Have you studied here?

~~~
vishbar
I've studied there for an MSc in Computing. It was good. The classes are a bit
business-schooly but I got some good support from tutors. Obviously it depends
on the individual tutor--the one for my project module wasn't as clear and
supportive--but some are really fantastic.

~~~
rezeroed
I abandoned the BSc computing. It was rubbish. Java this, java that, java
something else. There was one interesting course, a third year course Natural
and Artificial Intelligence; nothing else was interesting - bread and water.
There was a first year course something along the lines of What is the Web. If
you've only ever used ms office, maybe ok, but for an HNer or tech enthusiast
a waste of time.

~~~
tonyedgecombe
They really need a CS curriculum, the trouble is the current government has
pared back funding so I don't think they can afford much right now.

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gshubert17
This site,

[https://www.abet.org/accreditation/find-
programs/](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.

------
tequila_shot
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](https://omscentral.com/courses)

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

~~~
mzarate06
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 appreciated.

Congrats on completing your last semester btw; no doubt a significant
commitment and accomplishment.

~~~
tequila_shot
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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EliRivers
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.

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

~~~
Eggdog
open university

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montenegrohugo
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.

~~~
montenegrohugo
Can't edit my comment on mobile, so I'm adding relevant info here:

[https://www.extension.harvard.edu/](https://www.extension.harvard.edu/)

It's not exactly cheap (tuition can cost ~50k$ for a bachelor's). Quality of
tuition also varies, there's some fantastic courses and some less stellar
ones. Still, I recommend taking a look if you are interested in completing
your bachelor's/master's degree mostly online.

For a CS oriented degree, I'd definitely recommend the following courses:

CS50 [https://cs50.harvard.edu](https://cs50.harvard.edu)

CS61 [https://cs61.seas.harvard.edu](https://cs61.seas.harvard.edu)

CS20
[https://lewis.seas.harvard.edu/pages/csci-e-20](https://lewis.seas.harvard.edu/pages/csci-e-20)

CS40 [https://www.extension.harvard.edu/course-
catalog/courses/com...](https://www.extension.harvard.edu/course-
catalog/courses/communication-protocols-and-internet-architectures/14296)

CS121 [https://cs121.boazbarak.org/](https://cs121.boazbarak.org/)

CS124
[http://sites.fas.harvard.edu/~libcs124/cs124/index.html](http://sites.fas.harvard.edu/~libcs124/cs124/index.html)

~~~
davidwihl
And CS109 which I used to TF: [https://www.extension.harvard.edu/course-
catalog/courses/crn...](https://www.extension.harvard.edu/course-
catalog/courses/crn/15178)

Not sure where you got the $50k? Mine was significantly less like $25k, which
is a great value for many of same classes as the College.

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perplex
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...](https://ecampus.oregonstate.edu/online-
degrees/undergraduate/computer-science/)

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.

~~~
j_walter
I'm enrolled in the postbac program. It's good so far and while not a great
value (~$30K) compared to some, it's still a good program and worthwhile.

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bitL
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.

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GiuseppaAcciaio
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.

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cbush06
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.

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rasikjain
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](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17770135)

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npmanor
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...](https://www.cs.utexas.edu/graduate-program/masters-
program/online-option)). 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](https://engineering.purdue.edu/ECE/Academics/Online))

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tdhoot
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](http://scpd.stanford.edu/home)

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michalc
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-...](https://www.ed.ac.uk/bayes/about-us/our-
work/education/data-science-technology-and-innovation)

------
ramboldio
OpenHPI has awesome lectures and nano degrees
[https://open.hpi.de/?locale=en](https://open.hpi.de/?locale=en)

Greetings from Berlin

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trilinearnz
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](https://www.otago.ac.nz/mba/online/index.html)

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s3nnyy
I think [https://www.fernuni-hagen.de/](https://www.fernuni-hagen.de/) has
such degrees but I think it is in German.

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adchari
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

~~~
Orcus90482
I am currently enrolled in the online MCS program. So far the classes I’ve
taken are very high quality. Feel free to AMA.

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

~~~
Orcus90482
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).

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reinkaos
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.

