Local Supervisor for UNISA Research Degree

First of all, thanks to everyone at Degree Info for creating such a great resource. There is a lot of useful information and discussion here. I wonder if anyone can provide some guidance or suggestions on the following situation:

I applied to UNISA a few months ago (through IACI Canada) for admission to their MSc in Mathematics program. I recently received the following reply: “Your application can be referred for recommendation to the relevant academic department on receipt of a curriculum vitae for a suitable and possible supervisor for your topic where you reside.” Up until this point, I wasn’t aware that this program required a local supervisor. I now realize that this requirement is stated in the UNISA 2011 Masters and Doctoral Studies Registration brochure, but I must have been looking at outdated material previously.

I do not currently have contact with any local university faculty members who may be possible candidates. I still live in the vicinity of my alma mater, but as far as I can tell, all of the professors from whom I took upper year courses are no longer there. I plan to contact the math department there anyway, to start, and also some other local universities. I have no idea if such an arrangement would even be possible.

Has anyone encountered a similar requirement, or have any suggestions on how to approach the situation?
Thank you.

 

It has been a few years since I graduated from Unisa, but I remember nothing [at that time] about local supervision.

I really think it is a good idea, though it may be a bit challenging to find someone.

Best wishes!

 

This is newer requirement but but not new to the universities. Both Unisa and Free State asked me to provide a name. I have been active in research which has allowed me contacts that can help. The local name need not be from a university where one has previously studied. It needs to be someone of academic merit in a university or research institution that can evaluate your work as you progress and provide advice when needed. It would be difficult for advisors in South Africa to know the local subject matter as well as someone with that knowledge from North America. The same might be asked for a doctoral candidate at UCLA or Université de Montréal to have an advisor from the home country if the subject matter touched on something in India or the Congo.

Have a look into both the local universities your know and the connected research institutes that might have someone willing to supervise on a limited scale. It might be to their advantage to be connected to a university overseas when they prepare their CV for the next academic review for their own position.

Brad

 

Brad, while there are plenty of topics in, for example, business or history that might conceivably require local supervision, I don't understand why this would be the case for a Mathematics thesis. OP, do you have any insight on this? I might be interested in this particular program at UNISA in a couple of years, but its attractiveness would be diminished if I have to coordinate additional supervision- I might as well do an MS at the local German university instead of through UNISA.

 

Sorry, no additional insight to add at this time. The only communication that I have received from UNISA since applying is the single sentence that I included in the original post. If I learn anything further about this requirement, I'll be sure to post it here.

 

Hello,

I wish to update this thread, since I know that both the topics of UNISA and DL Math Degrees come up on DI from time to time.

I was not able to find someone to act as a local supervisor for the UNISA MSc program. I contacted several faculty members from local universities, but ultimately with no success. About two months after receiving the original letter from UNISA, they advised that they were closing the application, since I had not responded. Dr. Esselen (IACI Canada) indicated that, if I was still seeking a candidate, we may be able to ask UNISA to keep the application open for a while longer, but at that time I decided to consider some other masters programs.

One of the options that I am considering is UNISA’s MSc in either Operations Research or Financial Modelling. However, based on the entry requirements, I believe that I would have to complete the Honours program first, before entering the MSc.

Another program that I am considering is the MS in Industrial Engineering with a concentration in Operations Research from New Mexico State University:
NMSU: College of Engineering Distance Education
However, I’m not sure that this will continue to be a feasible option for me out-of-state students taking 6 or fewer credits are no longer eligible to pay resident rates.

I am also looking at the MS in Mathematics programs from Emporia State and Western Florida:
Emporia State University - Distance Education
UWF - Online Campus - Graduate Programs

Does anyone have any knowledge of either the Emporia or Western Florida program?

Thank you.

 

@muaranah: If you speak German Mathematik - Fakultät Mathematik und Informatik - FernUniversität in Hagen might be another distance learning option. With a total tuition of €800 for the MSc in Mathematics this should be at least as affordable as UNISA.

 

I do research in Operations Research and Finance and am full time faculty at a Canadian University. I have few projects that might interest you and might be willing to supervise. Please PM if interested.

 

That's an excellent suggestion, thanks. I do speak German (I am a translator).