**Hidden** Degrees--Not Listed in Bear's Guide???!!!

Hello,

I am looking for a bachelor's degree program in English, literature, writing/creative writing, communications, or any similar subject area. I have checked the latest edition of Bear's Guide, and, although there are several programs available, none of them interest me.

I have more than 90 undergraduate credit hours, most of which were earned at 4 year institutions (via distance education), and am trying to decide where to complete my bachelor's degree. Below are some questions I have--any response anyone could provide would be greatly appreciated!!!

Question #1: Does anyone know of any accredited programs in the subject areas I mentioned above that are *not* listed in Bear's Guide?

Question #2: Are there any short, limited, or summer residency programs, or any degree completion programs, in the subject areas I mentioned (that are *not* listed in Bear's Guide)?

Question #3: There seems to be many more undergraduate distance degrees available in liberal arts/general studies/university studies/interdisciplinary studies/specialized studies/humanities, etc., than in specific majors. Does anyone know of any accredited programs in these more general subject areas that are, again, *not* listed in Bear's Guide? I realize there are a lot of these types of programs listed in Bear's Guide, but none of the ones I have read about interest me. I feel like there are programs that I just haven't found out about yet because they haven't been listed.

Question #4: Sometimes colleges and universities do not admit that certain programs can be obtained entirely through distance learning; it's almost as if they are trying to keep it a secret!!! Does anyone know of any colleges and universities who are running distance learning programs yet who do not always acknowledge that they are? (I read in Bear's Guide, Chapter 29: Bending the Rules, that a major state university claims to offer distance degrees for residents of that state only, but actually allows anyone to enroll in the program and does not want to be listed in Bear's Guide because they believe so many people would apply--I would REALLY love to know which university THAT is!!!)

I have searched long and hard, but have found nothing that interests me. There seems to be many more options available for distance learning at the graduate level than undergraduate level. Distance learners, in general, however, are much more limited in the types of degree programs they can choose--I just wish that all of the degree programs that are available for traditional learners would be available for distance learners as well.

There are several colleges/universities that seem to have good academic reputations, yet the degrees they offer through distance education are nontraditional (e.g., Bachelor of General Studies, Bachelor of University Studies). On the other hand, there are several colleges/universities that offer very traditional degrees (e.g., Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science with a specific major), yet the reputation of the institution itself is not very good. I would like to find a college or university with a good academic reputation that offers traditional degrees via distance learning, but if I can't, I would be willing to enroll at a college or university with a good academic reputation even if the degree is nontraditional.

Thanks so much for reading if you've actually made it this far!!!

Hope to receive some responses to my questions . . .

 

This doesn't exactly answer your question, but you might be interested in knowing that Excelsior College has recently begun offering its liberal arts bachelor's degrees with specific majors--communications and English literature being two choices--rather than in liberal arts with concentrations.

Good luck!


Cheers,

 

Dear Mr. or Ms. 5

The manuscript for the current edition of Bears' Guide was turned in just about a year ago, so of course there is lots of new stuff, but, with the possible exception of the on-line teacher certification at Rio Salado, and perhaps the diverse array of non-resident PhDs at Northcentral, there is nothing that I know of from the past year that seems a major new development.

The specific school you wonder about in my 'bending the rules' chapter was, as I recall, offering only a Bachelor's in electrical engineering.

Good luck in your quest, wherever it takes you.

 

You must have purchased a used copy of Bears’ Guide. New copies come with special 3D glasses that, when used in conjunction with an ultraviolet lamp, reveal all the “hidden” degrees. Moreover, if you read Bears’ Guide backwards, you will eventually encounter the “hidden” phrase, “Dr. Dante is dead.”

 

Easter Eggs in Bear’s Guide? Which buttons do I press?

Denver
Loyal reader and follower of Bear’s advice since 1984

 

Read backwards, my Bear's Guide says, "Buy Chia Pets". What's a Chia Pet?

 

Bill: What's a Chia Pet?

John: Damn. The secret's out, and we haven't prepared the TV spots for Christmas yet.

 

12345, we might be able to help you better if you told us why none of the programs that you've found interest you. For example: Why does the Bachelor of Arts in English at the University of Houston, or the one at the University of London, not interest you? Why is it important to you that the school you graduate from have a good reputation, when you can transfer in credits from anywhere to Excelsior College, so you could still take all your remaining courses from very prestigious schools? If you think there are more opportunities at the Master's level, why do you not want to get your Bachelor's as quickly as possible so you can proceed to that?

 

If you are looking for something more "academic" than Excelsior, I would rec. Skidmore College, although I'm not sure if they have a degree that is exactly one of those listed above. They seem to have a very academic reputation.

If you are as close as 90 credits, my thought is, it would be almost be foolish not to just finish at Excelsior. Then, just to get the academic wiggles out, enroll in the graduate program of your choice.

Chris

 

Hello,

I'd like to thank everybody who responded to my post. I haven't been able to access my computer in a few days, or I would have made this reply sooner.

The degrees I've found in Bear's Guide do not interest me because of either the degree offered (as I said in my previous post, the degrees usually seem "generic" because they are titled "Bachelor of General Studies/Liberal Studies/Specialized Studies, etc." or because of the institution's academic reputation. I would like to find the **!!!most respectable and traditional degree program as possible!!!** that is available via distance/nontraditional education (I am interested in limited/short residencies and summer residencies as well).

I've heard about Harvard Extension School, but I would hate to work so hard to have only a "semi-Harvard" degree. I've also noticed that so many respectable institutions offer many online/independent study/correspondence courses that are identical to traditional campus courses, but students can usually only apply up to 30 credit hours of nontraditional credits toward a traditional degree, and, similarly, no more than 1/4 of the credit hours in the major(s) can be completed nontraditionally. This is really a shame, since there are certainly enough distance courses to complete a *traditional, respectable* degree at many institutions (New York University, The University of California-Berkeley, The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, The University of Tennessee-Knoxville, and several others I'm forgetting have a lot of distance courses that are seemingly identical to campus courses).

QUESTION: Since most institutions limit nontraditional education credits to no more than 1/4 of the credit hours required for a degree, does anyone know of a ***respectable*** institution where it would be possible to complete the last 30 credit hours nontraditionally and be granted a traditional degree (i.e., Bachelor of Arts or Science with a specific major)? Most of my credits have been nontraditional (listed on my transcripts as either independent study or correspondence), but institutions do vary in how they evaluate credits--I have heard of people applying to traditional schools with nontraditional credits and having these credits transferred as traditional credits!!! If that were possible, I could complete the last 30 hours nontraditionally at a traditional institution without having my previous nontraditional credits count toward the limit on nontraditional credits. One of the problems with this might be, however, is that most schools require at least a 30 hour residency, and some schools do not consider nontraditional credits as residency.

********If anyone has applied to institutions and had their nontraditional credits transferred as traditional credits, I would appreciate knowing at what institution(s) this occurred.********

Thanks for reading if you've made it this far--hope this hasn't caused any headaches!!!

Any responses to my questions would be ********sincerely******** appreciated!!!

 

It really depends on your definition of "respectable". If that means regionally accredited schools, there are many options. If it means top-tier or "prestige" schools, you're probably going to be disappointed.

 

What about the University of Maryland. They offer an English degree. I think it kind of depends on what you want to do with your degree. For one thing I think you might really want to consider the English degree itself. I have an English degree and I can tell you it did not do squat for me in the job market. If you are going to major in English you need a clear goal. If your goal is to teach you need to go for teacher certification in which case you need a teaching degree with a concentration in Language arts. If you want to get a job you need to look at technical writing. If you want to be a "writer" and attempt to get published then you also don't need a degree for this although it might help. In this case you'd be looking into creative writing programs but the bottom line is English is not a degree that automatically lands you a job and if you want to get hired you will want to go for something very specific.

 

Actually the University of Maryland does not offer an English degree online.

University of Maryland University College does however, but it is a different school.

 

Check-out Indiana State University

Indiana State University maybe what you are looking for. They have a complete online Regionally accredited program for many degree majors.

They have no resident requirements for many of the programs. International Students are welcome too.

 

"...Indiana State University maybe what you are looking for...."
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Good program, but not a "hidden degree." They've been described in Bears' Guide for many years.