I am hoping for some input from students that have taken a Masters Degree from American Public University. I am interested in their program in Security Management. Any information about this program, or any of their programs will be helpful. Thanks underdog
I cannot speak of the Security Management MA, but can inform you of the MA in Humanities. I completed this program with success a few years ago. It is well placed with a demanding workload. If you are not well read and fail in penmanship, the Humanities path may not work. But overall it is an excellent program to be in.
I can speak for the History program. I've having a great time taking classes at AMU. I always get the classes I want when I want them without wait lists or any other issues. I also feel the classes are very challenging and the grades aren't inflated. While I have a bunch of A's, I have a few A-'s because that is what I earned. AMU doesn't give out higher grades just because. The grade you get is reflective of the work and effort you put in.
Bazonkers - Do you happen to have any experience with the 8 week course format? I'm just curious to know how 'doable' it might be to take two at a time without burying oneself (especially working full time and having a family). Thanks -T
As long as you stay up on the work two per 8 week term is doable. I did it twice during my studies and while I was swamped I did not get too far behind. I prefer taking one course at time as my grades were actually better and my home life was not as taxed.
Thanks Cory... I appreciate the input. I like the idea of being able to knock out 4 classes a term (which would really speed up my degree) but I don't know if I can go through another year of that. (As I'm currently taking four 15 week classes at EC and I'm begging for it to be over, but once its over, my degree is finished.) I think I'd read in a different thread (I forget which one) that someone (it may have been you, sorry, I've slept since then) mentioned that doing an 8 week and a 16 week, followed by another 8 during the second half of the 16, was somewhat comfortable, in that it wasn't as bad as attempting two 8s. Do you have any experience with this? If it's not as bad as the two 8s, I could live with getting 3 classes per term done that way, I think. Thanks
You could take 2 8-week classes at a time. It's a lot of work but if you stay on top of the work, it's doable. Most of the history classes are 16-week courses so I have more experience with those. I did take one 8-week class, however, and they do move at a quick pace. If you have a full time job, I would not recommend 2 8-week courses. I'd only do it if you can focus on school full time.
I teach at AMU/APU. I would recommend if you are looking at taking two 8-week courses, try it first with a staggered start (courses start every month). Start one and then start the next a month later. That way - if it is too much you only have four weeks of overlap and you will not have two final papers due at the same time. If it works you can take two the next term or stick with the every month course start.
The staggered start times mentioned by Truckie sounds like a good idea to get your feet wet. I completed an MBA from AMU and all of my courses were 8 weeks so I have no experience in 16 week terms. I think taking two courses in 16 week terms would actually be more difficult (for me anyway) because there's ample time for procrastinating. At least with 8 weeks you're already under the gun from the start so you can usually avoid problems.
I would agree 100% - I get more requests for extensions from students taking 16 week courses than I do for the 8 week students.
First, I'd like to apologize for threadjacking Underdog's thread. Truckie, thanks for the input... That definitely something I'll look into. I'm taking 15 week classes through EC right now, and they're driving me nutty as all get out. They move so slowly and the bog you down with a lot of busywork to fill the gaps (mainly discussion questions). Thanks for all the advice! I'm looking forward to starting at APU once I get my EC junk out of the way.
My classes are 6 weeks each, and I'm doing one at a time. It's doable and I could even do another course in that same 6 wk session (and will start doubling up in about a year, to finish sooner), however... I don't sleep much and I am very, very organized (usually )
I should add that even with my warnings above, I would have loved to taken more 8-week courses for my degree. I would have been done by now and moved onto something else. I'm working on school full-time more or less so 2 8-week classes at a time would have been doable.
The work load is the same for a 8 or 16 week class. Procrastination can become an issue when the student gets two weeks to complete an assignment that a student in an 8-week section gets only one week to complete.
I've found this to be very, very true... It's much easier to put things off then. My classes right now are 6 weeks long and I HAVE to get things done in a timely fashion or I'll flunk. Being behind even a week will mess you up in this format whereas with 16 weeks courses, it wouldn't make a difference.
