Greetings to the Mighty Forum~~~ The last I visited the knights of this round table was December 10th, 2006. It's nice to see how things have developed since then! I have a CA (Ryan) teaching credential, and soon will have a PhD in theology. However, given how narrow the field is, I'm also considering trying to transfer my education courses in the credential into an MA in education somewhere when I finish. That would make me marketable for two different fields, technically. Which raises the question: which MA program, either online, B & M, or DL, as long as it's RA, will accept the most transfer of credit? Often times schools like Point Loma, et. al., will offer you a quick track to finishing off the credential with only a few more courses to get the MA. However, I didn't take the bait at the time. I already had an MA, which gave me the pay raise. Now the credentials have changed and the rules have changed, as they so often do in CA. So getting the MA is a much longer track. I'm thinking it might be quicker elsewhere, if I choose to go this route. I'm wondering, which MA Ed., or MEd would accept the most transfer of credit and require the least instructional hours (alreay have quite a few built into the credential). Thoughts? Suggestions? Christopher Green
I've been told that American Military University and its sister school American Public University www.apus.edu will take 15 hours in transfer for their master's programs; by comparison, most schools will only take nine hours in transfer at the graduate level. Here is their MEd in Administration & Supervision www.amu.apus.edu/Academics/Degree-Programs/program.htm?progid=4243&program_type=Masters and their MEd in Teaching www.amu.apus.edu/Academics/Degree-Programs/program.htm?progid=4420&program_type=Masters .
You might want to take a look at Western Governor's University. http://www.wgu.edu Education isn't my field and I haven't really studied WGU, but they seem to be the closest thing that America has to the "big three" on the masters level. In particular, their idea is that to earn a degree, you have to demonstrate a series of "competencies". (They aren't a credit-based system.) My impression is that these are demonstrated by doing WGU specified exams or projects. (I don't believe that WGU accepts transfer credit.) But... how students prepare for their WGU assessments can vary a lot, ranging from taking formal classes at WGU or at other universities, to independent study or job experience. They have lots of master's level offerings in education: http://www.wgu.edu/education/overview.asp
Aberdeen Chris, I haven't been around here lately either. I'm doctorate bound after completing the Th.M. next year. Can you tell me how your program at Aberdeen was structured, i.e. how much residence was required? Not necessarily looking for DLP, but since they're one of the best UK schools, I thought I'd ask. Also, are you enjoying the program, and what do you think about their faculty for historical theology? Best wishes, David
It is very rare for an RA Master's program to accept more than 25% of the necessary credits through transfer. (California has a law to this effect.) But this is one of the reasons I always put a 'Bending the rules' section in Bear's Guide, because it is a regularly-bent rule, typically under the guise of "independent study" courses. "We can't give you credit for those three courses you took at Harvard in community development, but we suggest that if you take three independent study courses at our school, we will not ask much of you, other than reprising what you've already done." Also: one of the reasons that Heriot-Watt University's Edinburgh Business School MBA became so popular (it was the largest MBA of any kind in America) is that it was (and is) 100% exam based, with no limit on the number of exams one could take during each biannual exam week. When I was involved in marketing this program (1991-1999), there were many cases of students who had taken courses elsewhere, and as a result did little or no studying for the EBS exams. The extreme case was a man (VP of a Fortune 100 conpany) who took all nine 3-hour exams the same week (with, he said, no studying), passed them all, and earned his MBA. Only two out of nearly 5,000 students did that, during my time. But taking 2 to 5 exams in a single week was more common. John Bear, author or co-author of Bear's Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance learning, 1974-2003
Excelsior College's Master of Arts in Liberal Studies allows your to transfer up to 15 units of prior work (out of 33 total units) into the program. https://www.excelsior.edu/Excelsior_College/School_of_Liberal_Arts/Master_of_Arts_Degree_in_Liberal_Studies