Troy University reputation and quality?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by joi, Aug 6, 2005.

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  1. joi

    joi New Member

    My wife is intending to earn a mater's degree in International Relations, and is considering troy, which has what looks as a very interesting program.

    Can someone give us some input on this institution? Does someone know of ohter choices in this field?

    I can think of only one option, though not exactly in IR, and that is Virginia Tech's MA in Political Science, which offers several IR related courses.

    To the best of my knowledge, V TECH is quite prestigious (and also nomore expensive.

    I deeply appreciate your help.


    joi
     
  2. joi

    joi New Member

    Ups!!! Sorry, I meant Master's:D
     
  3. qvatlanta

    qvatlanta New Member

    How much is the Virginia Tech tuition? I didn't think it was cheap at all (if you're not a Virginia resident).

    I met a few people who have gone or planned to go Troy. Troy has a very large online learning program, and to the best of my knowledge their programs are catered mainly towards back-to-school professionals and military, and they serve that market well. They're a perfectly decent school... but nowhere near the league of VA Tech, which is a major research university. I don't have any further suggestions on political science, but comparing the two choices so far, Troy would probably be best for flexibility of scheduling (many locations, divisions, terms) and VA Tech would be best for prestige and comprehensiveness.
     
  4. anthonym

    anthonym New Member

  5. Delta

    Delta Active Member

    Troy

    My wife just graduated Troy University DL. The price was right! About $10K out of state tuition for a masters. I think they are ranked 2nd or 3rd tier.

    We went to the campus for graduation. It is certainly a remote campus but very nice! The only thing bad to say is that I don't want her wearing her tee shirt that says, "I'm a Trojan"
     
  6. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Troy has been a solid player in delivering degree programs to working adults since the 1970's.

    Unless a school has a national reputation, it really doesn't matter much whether it is 2nd or 3rd or 4th tier (or whatever). The exception is for schools with a regional reputation and you're using your degree in that region.

    Troy degrees are just as good as those from most accredited schools.
     
  7. BillDayson

    BillDayson New Member

    The University of Sheffield's School of East Asian Studies offers an MS in Chinese Business and International Relations by DL.

    http://www.seas.ac.uk/PostgradTaught/DLChineseBusiness.shtml

    It lasts three years and requires three trips to England, I believe. But Sheffield is one of Britain's more prestigious universities and there's some cool aspects of the program, like DL Chinese language classes. (Getting the pronunciation correct won't be easy in a DL format.)

    Norwich University has an MA in Diplomacy by DL.

    http://www.diplomacy.norwich.edu/overview.htm

    It requires one trip to Vermont at the end of the program.

    Another English contender is the University of Staffordshire's MA in International Policy and Diplomacy by DL.

    http://www.staffs.ac.uk/schools/art_and_design/postinfo/maintpolicydl.htm
     
  8. joi

    joi New Member

    Thank you very much for your opinions!!!!

    And please accept my apologies for my spelling mistakes. This is the reason why I prefer to do things with plenty of time.

    All programs with some kind of residency requirements (which unfortunately includes Sheffield) are out of our possibilities now. We live in Cuba and prefer to complete any program wholly online (or at a distance).

    As for British options, I also know of a program in Asian Studies at Leeds, which seems quite interesting. Can anyone comment on Leeds? I know that quality is much more uniform in the British system, but this does certainly not mean all institutions have the same standards.

    V Tech costs about $20 000 for the MA in Political Science.

    As Cuba, and just for informative purposes, there is a very prestigious program in International Relations (I am talking of prestige at the national, not international level).

    This program is offered by the Instituto Superior de Relaciones Internacionales (ISRI-which stands for Higher Institute of International Relations). The institute is part of the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs (which conducts one of the most active and vocal foreign policies in the world) and is accredited by the Cuban Ministry of Higher Education.

    The Program is conducted as a resident program, but almost al courses are offered online(mainly to allow Cuban diplomats to complete their degrees while abroad, but also open to anyone). Courses only cost about US$ 55 and are for credit. The program includes a Master’s Thesis. Cost for the Mater’s:US$2000(but free for my wife, who is Cuban). There are 2 concentrations: Political International Relations and Economic International Relations.

    Web site: www.isri.cu (there’s an English page)

    The reason why we are looking for alternatives are not due to quality, but to concentrations.

    I will look at all suggested options.

    Thank you again
     
  9. joi

    joi New Member

    Re: Re: Troy University reputation and quality?

    bill, where do you obtain information on British Distance Learning degrees?

    I used to browse the ICDL database, but it now contains much less info.

    Do you know anything about Staffordshire?
     
  10. mcse2020

    mcse2020 New Member

    Troy STATE University is a good choice. Most countries worldwide look positively toward a name tagged to "state university" if they've never heard of the school.

    Remember when Moscow State University was up there with Paris & Oxford, etc when funding was higher under Soviet govt. It is still very respected despite the boring "State U" name.

    But overall, I generally encourage people to get the MPA or MBA; they're more useful when looking for a job.

    If your wife is ok with no USA degree, she can take a few history and government courses online via Harvard University Extension School.... ISRI degree should accept the credits no problem.

    I say Harvard Extension because the International studies community can be a club full of elite snobs, and some Harvard background in your pocket will always help.

    Good luck! :D
     
  11. -kevin-

    -kevin- Resident Redneck

    Troy University had a name change recently and "State" is gone from their name. However they also implemented some other changes to ensure consistency from all campuses so that regardless of where you attend you will receive a Troy University diploma vice TSUM, TSUD, etc...

    Regards,

    Kevin
     
  12. joi

    joi New Member

    How would St. Mary compare to Troy in terms of quality and reputation? St. Mary has a better rank in US News. Does anyone have experience with their IR program? Does anybody know their tuition? I didn't find any info on financial issues in their web page.
     
  13. abnrgr275

    abnrgr275 Member

    joi,

    I'm currently working on my MPA at Troy University and highly recommend the school and their online programs to anyone looking for an affordable, high-quality graduate distance degree program. Troy's administration and student support services have been very easy to deal with overall and the five, 10-week terms each year allow students to complete their degrees in a relatively short time period. Another aspect of Troy's distance learning program that I like is that each term there are numerous courses offered for each degree program, plus the tuition is reasonably priced at $270 per semester hour.

    According to the most recent USNWR rankings, St. Mary's appears to be a top-tier Master's school out here in the west while Troy is in the top-tier Master's category in the south. St. Mary's is a private school while Troy is a public institution, and in the Master's categories the highest rankings generally favor private colleges and universities.

    St. Mary's offers a couple of doctorate programs and their business programs have AACSB accreditation, so it looks like their reputation is well-deserved. However, in reviewing their 2005 class schedules it looks like there are only 2 online IR classes offered each semester. This could pose a problem if one were hoping to complete a degree in 1-2 years, or if an emergency came up and your wife was forced to miss one or two semesters of coursework. Plus the tuition is pretty steep at $585 per semester hour ($255 per SH at military sites).

    St. Mary's also requires proficiency in a foreign language as a graduation requirement, and there is only one specialization offered in their online IR program versus the three specializations currently offered in Troy's MSIR program.

    All in all I would recommend the Troy MSIR program over St. Mary's program based on my experiences and the convenience/costs associated with each program, however St. Mary's may hold an edge over Troy in the final quality/reputation ratings of USNWR.

    abnrgr275
     
  14. joi

    joi New Member

    Abner, thank you very much for your input.

    You said there are 5 terms each semester at Troy. What is the maximum number of courses a student is allowed to take?
     
  15. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

  16. joi

    joi New Member

    Ted, I tried to find out about the South Bank program, but I couldn't find any distance learning-related info. Do you have any additional info on this university and its program?
     
  17. abnrgr275

    abnrgr275 Member

    joi,

    Troy offers five, 10-week terms/semesters a year but I'm not sure of the maximum number of courses one is allowed to take during each term. Depending on your wife's work and home life (i.e. job/kids) situation she could probably handle 1-3 classes a term. If you have kids or if she works I would tend to say 1-2 classes per term is more realistic.

    Either way, Troy offers a convenient schedule for their online graduate degree programs along with the necessary classes several times a year so your wife should be able to complete an MSIR within 1-2 years no problem.

    abnrgr275
     
  18. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    With British schools (and schools in countries that follow the British system, such as Australia, India, Ireland, New Zealand, and South Africa, to name a few), the master's degree is usually by thesis only. Mind you, thesis-only degrees are not designed as DL programs, though you can usually negotiate to have just a few short residency periods. One should never ask British system schools about distance programs, but rather about part-time programs.
     
  19. japhy4529

    japhy4529 House Bassist


    Why is that? Will the school Administrator's head spin around and vomit pea soup? :D What is so horrible about the phrase "distance programs" that is so reprehensible to British schools?

    Just curious!

    - Tom
     
  20. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    Not sure. Ask agilham.
     

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