Boston University reputation

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by krazyscotsman, Jun 7, 2005.

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  1. krazyscotsman

    krazyscotsman New Member

    I was wondering if anyone could give me (especially faculty) opinions about Boston University's reputation and quality of education received by the school. I'm thinking about starting their Information Assurance program. I would like to one day teach, even part time, at a university so I concerned how this school will compare when being reviewed by administrators at other universities.

    Thanks,
    David
     
  2. Arch23

    Arch23 New Member

    While one might not be too impressed with BU when stacked beside area schools such as Harvard and MIT, it certainly has an excellent reputation. US News & World Report, one of many rankings out there, includes it in its upper tier of best national, doctoral-level universities. The school is reknown for its research. Tuition is on the very expensive side, however.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 7, 2005
  3. krazyscotsman

    krazyscotsman New Member

    SO, in your opinion this school would be considered a worthwhile school to receive a grad degree from... Maybe I'm thinking too much on the subject. Eventually, I want to teach, as I said, I know that my choice in this degree will affect the lopportunities at more prestigous schools.

    Thanks,
    David
     
  4. nosborne48

    nosborne48 Well-Known Member

    Teach what?
     
  5. Arch23

    Arch23 New Member

    Oh yes, I'd personally consider attending this school, whether online or in residence (it's Boston!) if my program of interest were available and if I could afford the fees
     
  6. krazyscotsman

    krazyscotsman New Member

    Information System, Information Assurance, something in that field.

    David
     
  7. Rivers

    Rivers New Member

    Boston University is an excellent school, and it would be an asset to graduate from such a university. I would have no worries about reputation, Cost on the otherhand is a definate hurdle.
     
  8. Anthony Pina

    Anthony Pina Active Member

    Boston University has a stellar reputation in academia. No one should think twice about the acceptability of a degree from BU on someone's resume.

    Anthony Piña, Ed.D.
    Administrator, Northeastern Illinois University
     
  9. BinkWile

    BinkWile New Member

    Boston University is one of the most highly repuable institutions of postsecondary education in academia. Being from Boston, I can assure you that many people see the school as being on par with Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. In highschool, many kids would have died to go to BU.

    Good luck in the program, you will not be dissapointed.
     
  10. krazyscotsman

    krazyscotsman New Member

    Thanks everyone for your opinions. I've been trying to decide on programs for an MS in Information Assurance. Boston U. is at the top of my list at the moment. But I'm wondering how other schools that are NSA centers of excellence would compare in the world of academia. I would like to one day teach at a university; I'm mostly concerned with the lack of name recognition with the other schools such as Nova Southeastern University. But I think maybe coursewise, this program would be better.

    Thanks again for your thoughts.

    David
     
  11. scubasteveiu

    scubasteveiu New Member

    Keep in mind the Boston MS / CIS is 10 classes at 2680 a class. ~ $26,800.00

    It also includes classes like Stats and Accounting, certainly a good thing as it will round you out a little. Not super verbose on their Infosec track as they only have 3 classes.

    I would have loved to do this program (the Boston name), however it was tough when I could get the same educational utility from Capitol for around $11,800 with my IEEE discount.

    "Boston" would look much better on my resume, however it would be tough for anyone to convince me the education was any better than what I am receiving now.

    Has anyone else encountered something similar (name vs. utility vs. value)- DL or not? I would be interested in hearing your stories.

    -Steve
     
  12. krazyscotsman

    krazyscotsman New Member

    scubasteveiu -

    I do agree that BU is extremely expensive for an online degree. I'm still questioning whether the name recommendation justifies the cost. Fortunately, my company will cover between 15K to 21K of the cost which will help tremendously. So out of pocket is only around 11K to 15K with books.

    I just spoke to one of my best friends dad's who is a retired Dean of Students at NYU. He said in his opinion, it really depends on what you want to do. For myself, I want to move into senior level management one day and / or teach preferrably at a highly recognizable school such as BU, U Penn, etc. He said in this case, he felt that absolutely the name of the school will help. He said at NYU faculty members reviewed the list of applicants (at least when he taught there in the 80s and very early 90s). In his opinion, these faculty members would definitely look at grad schools attended. Again in his opinion, if you plan to stay strictly in the private sector, it probably doesn't matter as much. Like you, I would like to hear more opinions about the name vs skills vs cost vs acceptability in the work and academic world.

    Again, I do agree with you about the lack of strong classes offered in IA makes me concern about the true skill level I will leave with. So, I'm still considering 3 other schools as well Nova Southeastern, Capitol College * I like the live classes*, and James Madison U. I'm going to call U of Penn tomorrow to see if their program is offered over the internet. However, I'm concerned about the over all GRE requirements (1300 + min.).

    Thanks,
    David
     
  13. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    BU is a fine school, but I think you went a bit overboard there. I don't know of anyone, even BU grads, that would see them as being the equal of Ivy League schools.
     
  14. little fauss

    little fauss New Member

    I agree with you, Bruce, the poster's given a bit to hyperbole. But on the whole, I think most would put BU in that next tier down beneath Ivy League, Johns Hopkins, Stanford, MIT and the like. I believe most would put them right there with the top state schools like UCLA, Wisconsin, Berkelely, Michigan, and with good privates like Vandy, Purdue, washington U in St. Louis.

    BU's got a great reputation. I can vouch for it reaching at least here to the Midwest.
     
  15. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    That's about right.

    Now, Boston College graduates have no problem comparing their school very favorably to Harvard. :rolleyes:
     
  16. Tom57

    Tom57 Member

    As a research institution, BU isn't quite the measure of UCLA, Virginia, Michigan, Berkeley, Wisconsin etc. Nevertheless it's a good school with a good rep.

    US News (for what it's worth) ranks them 56th among national universitites.

    And Purdue is public, not private.
     
  17. BillDayson

    BillDayson New Member

    I don't know how all this higher/lower stuff is decided on the level of entire institutions. But I can think of individual departments at BU that are comparable to corresponding departments at some of the ivy league schools. Archaeology, for one.
     
  18. unprez

    unprez New Member

    Anyhow one know the hiring rates in senior mgt of accounting and IT industry is for BU MBA/Msc grads?
     
  19. AUTiger00

    AUTiger00 New Member

    I was admitted into the MS/MBA program at BU when looking at MBA programs but chose Vanderbilt. The program is very good and I've stayed in touch with a handful of people I met at admitted students weekend that have done well with the degrees, but I'm not sure I would categorize their roles right out of school as "senior management". I guess it would depend on your definition. The average starting salary out of that program is between $80-$90k.
     
  20. unprez

    unprez New Member

    That's pretty impressive still, it's just that with Distance Learning you dont really get opportunities to attend career fairs and other networking events that regular students get so I wanted to see if there are actual success stories out there for BU MET grads.
     

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