Can I, as an American, earn my masters from outside of USA?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by danielo, Feb 13, 2017.

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  1. danielo

    danielo New Member

    Many of the universities I have contacted have either said no, or failed to respond after saying they would look into it. Is this possible and which universities would you recommend?
     
  2. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    The answer is yes. It's done all the time. No one can recommend a specific school until you tell us something about your academic background, your academic interests, goals for the future, etc.
     
  3. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    Yes, but asking which school is like asking what the size is of a gray suit; some schools don't want to deal with international students, while some not only welcome them, they aggressively market their programs overseas.

    What type of degree interests you?
     
  4. danielo

    danielo New Member

    Just realized that I had mistyped "bachelors" as "masters". I have an associates of general education, and biology and civil engineering interest me but these dont seem to be offered to distance learners. I'm thinking about going the accounting route since that seems to be a pretty well-paying field and will give me a "plan B" in case my current profession takes a down-turn. What I REALLY need is the cheapest Bachellors degree I can get because a bachellors degree is required to get a working permit/visa in just about every Asian country aside from Taiwan where I currently live and work.

    On a related note, after looking at what tution costs (really, I thought distance education was cheaper), the cheapest school i saw was 7,400 USD for a semester. Definitly leaning more towards finding the cheapest bachellors I possibly can. University doesn't seem like a cost-effective way to gain marketable skills when month long, internationally recognized training seminars are so much cheaper over here, but, like I said, need a bachellors to be elligible for work permits/visas.

    College in Taiwan is not an option. There is a law in place that prevents me from going to any OTHER college after leaving the first one, and the first one wont take me back.
     
  5. nyvrem

    nyvrem Active Member

  6. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    The University of Southern Queensland has a Bachelor of Engineering that can be completed distance but it is not 7,400 but substantially higher.
    If your budget is very low, perhaps a DL Indian school can fit the bill. There are other schools in Malaysia that might be also cheap.
     
  7. Stanislav

    Stanislav Well-Known Member

    On Accounting side, the thrifty choice is Thomas Edison's BSBA using Colorado Credit By Exam:
    BSBA in Accounting Degree at Thomas Edison State University
    https://csuglobal.edu/admissions/transfer-info/alternative-credit-options/credit-exam-cbe

    Or, you can do Oxford Brookes University with ACCA:
    Who is the BSc in Applied Accounting for? | ACCA Global

    I am currently in the ACCA program, and wish to go onto University of London's MSc: Course overview | ACCA Global. Had I wished to stop at Bachelor's and use it in US, I might have chosen TESU instead. Can't really go wrong with either. Both options I believe could be completed for far less than $6K (OBU is moke like $3K).
     
  8. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    ACCA is good but it gets harder as you progress. If all you want is a degree in Accounting and Finance that is cheap, you can try the Association of International Accountants. IF you complete 8 exams, then you can get a BS in International Accounting by writing a dissertation and complete few more classes online. If you complete 12 exams, you can get a MS in Accounting and Finance if you complete a dissertation. Total cost is about $6K that is similar to ACCA but AIA is easier, ACCA is more accepted though so there are advantages and disadvantages.

    ACCA exams can transfer to AIA but not vice versa.

    By the way Stanislv, you can transfer ACCA into TESU or Excelsior, all you need is to send your ACCA transcript to WES and get the US credit equivalence. This can transfer as credit into Excelsior or TESU.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 14, 2017
  9. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    This is an interesting suggestion, one that I've made myself, but I don't think that we've actually had any DI member actually do this. If I'm wrong about that I'd love to hear something of their experiences.
     
  10. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    I tried once to pursue a PhD in Philosophy or Interfaith studies, I contacted several schools but the communications was very poor with no email replies etc.

    I found few that were non accredited associated with Open International University that had excellent support but the degrees are non accredited by UGC.

    I think that most schools are not set up to serve foreigners so they don't have the online support that is needed.

    For online support, the best are the British, American and Australian schools but the price is very high. I found few schools that give PhDs in interfaith, consciousness in the US that are accredited but tuition fees are about 50 to 60K for a degree that are hardly justified for something you do just for love to the field. You have tons of schools that offer non accredited PhDs but it seems that people laugh at your credentials when non accredited (Few websites were posted here with people being mocked because a religious based PhD) so it might be better just to pass or get certificates instead.
     
  11. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    I combed the AIA site thoroughly for degree completion details. They specified about a dozen participating British Universities for the Bachelor's; the number of AIA papers required and the advance standing offered varied quite a bit.

    Some schools admitted qualified AIA applicants to second year, others to final year. Very few offered the Bachelor's in distance format, although several offered the degree with just the final year on campus. Only 100% DL provision I found was U. of Northampton. It's here:

    UNIVERSITY OF NORTHAMPTON | Association of International Accountants

    J.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 15, 2017
  12. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    Conspicuously absent: reference to UNISA

    Home
     
  13. Life Long Learning

    Life Long Learning Active Member

    I was sad to read your question. It is sad our poor controlled education system would not educate students that's its a semi-free Nation? Tons of great schools in the World. I hope you find the right match!

     
  14. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    There are also many universities that would accept the AIA qualification for a top up degree that are not listed.
    I started with ACCA then switched to AIA, I received offers from two schools to complete the Master's degree (I did not apply to Northampton). One was not advertised as a DL program but only required the dissertation so technically was only one trip so we could consider it distance.
    AIA is considered a lower ranked designation in the UK and does not have the same prestige as ACCA or CIMA but technically is also recognized as an Auditing credential.
    I did not became AIA member as I was not able to meet the experience requirements (Auditing experience is required) but used the exams to get a Masters. I then received an offer to switch to CGA Canada with few more exams but dropped the effort as I don't work much in Accounting.
    I am honest, I found ACCA challenging for the last level so I switched to AIA. AIA is tailored towards the small business so it is not so heavy on governance and assurance and more tailored towards small business accounting.

    I finally got the AIA diploma evaluated by WES and was given the equivalent to a post graduate diploma in Accounting for a total of 90 credits (60 credits undegraduate and 30 graduate). Technically you could use it to get a BS in Accounting from TESC or Excelsior as it is 90 credits in Accounting so you would only need 30 credits of general ed.

    AIA exams are not expensive and material is available online for low cost. AIA is basically used as a short cut to a degree but the credential by itself has little value in the market as it is not prestigious.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 15, 2017
  15. NatashaWilson

    NatashaWilson New Member

    Yes, why bother? You have to choose by your own..
     
  16. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    Of course, you can earn a non-US master's degree.
     
  17. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    The question is not if the OP can earn a non US master's degree, the question is how useful would be a degree from a non US if you live in the US. It is not easy to justify in your resume that you live in the US and your last degree is from India, many would think that you just purchased the degree.
    I think that one must be careful about this option as the perception of many is that the degree earned online from an obscure school might have little use other than getting a pay bump if you are a teacher or being able to teach more subjects if you work as an adjunct.
     

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