Ever heard of a Bachelors of General Studies in IT?

Hello all,

I am considering a bachelors degree in I.T. but it is not a B.S. Instead it is labeled a BGS (bachelors of general studies).........is this not as good as a B.S. in I.T.?

the school is Jacksonville University (private college)
and the degree is the Computer Infomation Management (BGS)


Thanks in advance for you input,

WeBeTheInfamous

 

General Studies? Never heard of it.

 

General Studies? Never heard of it.

 

General Studies? Never heard of it.

 

Dear "webetheinfamous":

Greetings & felicitations!

A Bachelors degree in specialized studies is a degree in specialized studies, not a degree in IT. If you choose an IT concentration for you BSS, however, your degree will resemble an IT degree, more or less. Whether a BSS with IT concentration will be close enough to a BSIS, either for educational or employment purposes, I certainly couldn't say. You may wish to ask me again in several years, as I'm pursuing a BSGS (BS in "General Studies", i.e. my schools version of a BSS), with a concentration in "Engineering Studies".

Another thing you might want to do is to compare the curriculum for the BSS concentration you are considering with a traditional information science degree curriculum. A bit of web searching should be able to reveal the latter.

You probably would not choose to pursue a BSS/BSGS/etc. if you had the choice, if you don't have the choice, it sure beats nothing. <g>


Cordially,
Richard Kanarek

P.S. You should also determine whether your "private college" is regionally accredited, and allow the status of its accrediation to be a factor in you final decision.

 

Degrees earned nontraditionally are occasionally bestowed with odd designations and subriquets. Some examples are Master of Liberal Studies (Harvard and Fort Hayes State), Bachelor of Liberal Studies, and Bachelor of General Studies (with concentration) in Computer Information Systems. If these degrees were to be earned traditionally (on-campus) from the same schools (Harvard or Fort Hayes State), their labels or cognomens would certainly change but lab works in Physics and other sciences may be required. Some colleges also award BLS degrees in a traditional program with no major but they are mostly awarded to nontraditional learners.

Ike Okonkwo, PhD

 

for that matter, COSC has a BSGS with concentration in Information Systems. would this be regarded as an IT/IS degree or just a general studies degree ? could one list this kind of degree in their resume as an IT/IS degree ?

 

JU is an RA school and has been around for many years. It is a very well respected school in Jacksonville and quite expensive. My wife looked into JU but has opted for UNF due to cost.

JU has a great staff, very kind and helpful. I know several people that are in or have graduated from JU and they can no say enough good thinks about the school.

Good luck.

 

Why not?

BGS (Concentration in IT/IS/Whatever)

or

Bachelors Degree in IT/IS

or

BGS (with xx semester hours in IT coursework)



I honestly do not believe that someone is going to have a big problem with qualifications BASED exclusively on the fact that their degree is a BGS rather than a traditional BS. As long as you have all the coursework a typical IT/IS degree is comprised of and you indicate that your concentration is in IT/IS on your resume, you should be good to go.

Best Regards,
Bill

 

Thanks Bill.

sounds fair. so what about Excelsior's BS MIS degree ? can that be treated as an IT/IS degree. some think it is some dont. what do you think ?

 

My first impression of an MIS degree is something close to an IS or IT management type degree. Excelsior is pretty flexible in what you can put into your degree, so if you shove a lot of IT/IS courses in their MIS program then YES, it can be treated as an IT/IS degree. Are you in the field already Etech?

Best Regards,
Bill

 

It's the math requirement that you do not want to go through w/ the CIS program, correct? Is it the calculus or the discrete math (or both) that you do not want to take? If you are sweating calc, there are "applied" calculus courses that are geared towards business applications (college algebra is the pre-req for these classes usually).

Bill

 

yes Bill, its the Discrete Math. I am ok with everything else in this program but this. I dont even know what and how difficult this will be. I have no idea. but what I have heard from people here it seems difficult for someone with virtually no Math in the last 12 years. So I may consider MIS but CIS seems the most suitable with all the certifications and electives that can transfer in.

But then I think for someone with years of experience in IT going through CIS (and such hard Math) is really worth it. I think I may even get by with MIS degree. Now in case there is time to change jobs how will MIS degree will be seen in the market place is what concerns me.

 

etech,

Before making a final judgement maybe you should take a look at a few learning methods for Calculus.

Aside from the classroom and book learning there are video tapes such as the Standard Deviants series that (albeit in a bit cheesy fashion) make it humorous and fun.

I agree with Bill - look for the "applied" courses. When I last took calc in '86 I was heavy with physics and astronomy so I took the "theoretical" offering...and it was hard. But then again, the prof was a dud so that made a huge difference.

In high school I took calculus in Grade 13 (that Ontario dinosaur indicating a 5th year of high school for those going to university) but my teacher was great, and I enjoyed it.

If you don't "get" math, then you probably should search around for either a method or a teacher that will help you. You deal with networks all day...I'm sure that you have no issues with IP subnets, parsing bytes, understanding hex, etc. So it's not a "math" issue...just a fear of the unknown.

Although you may not end up pursuing a BSCS, certainly NOT pursuing it because of a lousy few credits worth of calculus is probably not the best logic, right?

As you're not a hardcore programmer type I don't think having a BS MIS vs. BSCS will hold you back. But why limit your options? Think of it this way - if you're going to spend, say, 12 months in getting your degree completed, spending a few weeks and making a start with calc (start with LIM) is a worthwhile investment.

Honestly, I think you can do it...people can learn all sorts of things. My 75 year old father just got a computer a year ago and HE didn't think he could do it...now he sends me e-mails, hooked up a new printer and installed new programs.

Cheers,
Mark

 

Originally posted by guitarmark2000


Aside from the classroom and book learning there are video tapes such as the Standard Deviants series that (albeit in a bit cheesy fashion) make it humorous and fun.

Thanks for the info Mark. its a good idea, I will check this out and yes mostly its the fear of the unknown. I dont know how hard or easy Discrete Maths would be for me.


As you're not a hardcore programmer type I don't think having a BS MIS vs. BSCS will hold you back. But why limit your options? Think of it this way - if you're going to spend, say, 12 months in getting your degree completed, spending a few weeks and making a start with calc (start with LIM) is a worthwhile investment.

Actually I was contemplating between Excelsior's BSCIS and BSMIS. You know both are Information System degrees. Although BSCIS has the ingredients of a BSCS but its not titled BSCS (which I think it should have been). So question is as both are giving me and Information Systems degree, is it worth the effort to get Calculus and Discrete Math.

I think I am going to make up a plan and start with Math classes and Standard Deviant series. I would have to atleast get College Algebra even for MIS. If I do good I willl move forward to another Maths class.

 

etech,

you may want to check with the folks at www.math.com

might have some pointers.