Affordable University of London online degrees (starts from 6k GBP)

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by nomaduser, Dec 11, 2020.

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  1. nomaduser

    nomaduser Active Member

    I found there are lots of affordable online degrees from University of London.
    Some of them are offered by very well-known institutions like Birkbeck, University of London
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birkbeck,_University_of_London


    If you just need a degree of any kind under $10k, I think they're the best deals out there.

    Birkbeck, University of London - Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy (£6146) - Online
    https://london.ac.uk/courses/philosophy#fees-1027

    London School of Economics and Political Science - BSc in Mathematics and Economics (£6408) - Teaching center
    https://london.ac.uk/courses/mathematics-and-economics#fees-13516

    King's College London - BSc in Psychology (£15341) - Online
    https://london.ac.uk/courses/psychology#fees-17438


    I really like the London School of Economics' BSc in Math and Economics course but not sure how their teaching center option works. I think I've read that they assign you a local library that is affiliated with University of London and give you lectures there.
     
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  2. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    ...To say nothing of London School of Economics. Doesn't get any better-known than that! Some people in this forum have said that they found Univ. of London programs to be on the unresponsive side. They were 'left alone' more than they thought was appropriate and the only real interest shown in them was at exam-time. I'm not talking newbies to DL here - mature people, professionals - one or two who had earned multiple degrees.

    I'm not saying all responses here were like that - but it did happen -more than once, IIRC. These are really good degree programs - especially at the price of the first two, though I, personally, wouldn't rush to sign up for a Philosophy program at any price. I don't want to be a philosopher any more than I want to be a priest. YMMV and the usual disclaimers.

    Wonder why the King's College Psychology program is priced so much higher than the first two - 15K pounds vs. 6K? What does it get you that a similar Psych degree at half the price wouldn't?
     
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  3. GregWatts

    GregWatts Active Member

    Yes, my wife started a distance degree program from the London School of Economics years ago and it was as you suggest. Heriot-Watt the same. They are exam focused credentials, unusual in the US but less so across the pond. Not a big fan of Birbeck philosophy, but that is a bit of inside baseball.
     
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  4. nomaduser

    nomaduser Active Member

    I'm interested in the LSE program.
    How long does it take to finish the program? could she finish the program in two years?
    I see that UoL force you to take their fixed schedule / curriculum and there's no way to finish their degree any faster than their suggested timeline.
     
  5. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Yes, Greg. they are as you say - exam-focused. The people whose comments I read said that U. of London were very interested in administering exams, but not much help when someone was trying to prepare for exams. I first heard of the Birkbeck program a while back - our erstwhile moderator Kizmet posted a link - philosophy was one of her major interests IIRC.
     
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  6. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Indeed they do. I believe the exam schedule is cast in stone. No way to get past that. Bachelor programs in UK are usually three years never less. So on these UoL degrees, I'm thinking there's no way to do them in less, no matter how smart or diligent you are - unless you can get advanced standing, of course. If you go directly into second year, then I suppose you might do it in two. It would be a heavy commitment. A year's full-time study, done in a year at home, in addition to normal life and work commitments. Not an easy gig.
     
    Last edited: Dec 12, 2020
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  7. nomaduser

    nomaduser Active Member

    And the best part is that they ACCEPT transfer credits through Recognition of Prior Learning:
    https://london.ac.uk/courses/bsc-economics#recognition-of-prior-learning

    It looks like their courses are not too different from US courses... you can potentially take some Earned Admission ASU courses and transfer to UoL:
    https://london.ac.uk/economics-standard-route

    They have the same Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Statistics, Algebra, Calculus, etc...
    I just asked them how many courses I can transfer from a US university.
    You need to take 12 of their modules to get their degree. If they accept 6 transfer courses from US university for example, you can finish their program much faster under maybe 4k GBP.
    If they indeed accept US transfer credits, I may go with this option LOL

    Tomorrow, I will ask them if they will accept Earned Admissions Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Calculus for transfer :D
     
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  8. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Great job! I hope they go for it! ~$5,300 US for a LSE degree would be the scoop of the Century! I don't expect it will be easy - but it's not supposed to be. Good luck!
     
    Last edited: Dec 12, 2020
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  9. GregWatts

    GregWatts Active Member

    No be clear, it appears that "Recognition of Prior Learning" is a little different than how the term is sometimes used elsewhere. At London, as you note, it is "transfer credit" (i.e. I send in a transcript and syllabus showing that I passed a course in Canadian Art History from a recognized institution and they evaluate)... this is different from some other schools where they grant credit based on non-academic portfolio of work (i.e. Johann might request RPL credit for a course in Canadian Art History by submitting a portfolio of pictures he drew as a child). :)
     
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  10. nomaduser

    nomaduser Active Member

    I've asked them before. 'Recognition of Prior Learning' is their transfer credit evaluation process based on transcripts you submit. The transcript you submit must be from a regionally accredited institution.
     
  11. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Yep. Just might get credit, too. As a kid I was an inspiration to the class. Some of those kids got together, later, when they grew up. Harris, Thomson, Jackson an' them ... Called 'emselves The Group of Seven, I think. Quite popular, back then. Good painters, all. Got a whole bunch of their stuff in the attic. Should pull it out and see if it's worth anything these days. You never know.... :) :)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_of_Seven_(artists)
     
    Last edited: Dec 13, 2020
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  12. smartdegree

    smartdegree Active Member

    Just be aware that these are University of London degrees and NOT LSE degrees. This was discussed in this board more than a decade ago, but the University of London no longer awards degrees of its member institutions (except in some cases). LSE issues its own degrees and they do not consider students or graduates of these programs as LSE alumni.

    Currently, a University of London degree now means you did the degree at a distance/online and not at any of the member colleges. Sort of like doing a Purdue Global degree rather than a Purdue degree. Nothing wrong with that, but just saying they are not the same degree.
     
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  13. GregWatts

    GregWatts Active Member

    Johann,

    BTW, if you don't worship Leonard Cohen you are dead to me. (in jest)
     
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  14. nomaduser

    nomaduser Active Member

    I understand that. That's why their degree is very cheap.
    So, do you think their Coursera BSc in Computer Science is the same UoL degree? not Goldsmiths degree?
    I'm asking because so many people who enroll into that Coursera program list 'Goldsmiths, University of London' as their education on LinkedIn lol
     
  15. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Of course I do. Since the 60s. You had to ASK? :)
     
  16. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Thanks for the warning, smartdegree. I was totally unaware - even though I've been around DI for about 13 years. I'll keep that in mind. I still think these are good programs - but obviously, they're not quite what I thought they were. Still not badly priced and well-recognized. No sticker-shock. :)
     
  17. smartdegree

    smartdegree Active Member

    I've been posting at degreeinfo for a long, long time, albeit with different usernames LOL. Only person I see consistently still here is Rich although I don't see him post often now.

    I started off researching distance learning MBAs almost 20 years ago. I ended up doing a full-time MBA degree instead around a decade ago. Stopped visiting this forum after that but rejoined recently after being interested in getting a distance PhD/DBA. Distance learning is now completely different and people's views have changed (for the better). It's no longer seen negatively and with Covid, online degrees have now become solid options.

    Agree that University of London is still a good deal though.

    @nomaduser In my mind, listing it as a Goldsmith degree would be very misleading and unethical. It would be like listing Purdue Global as Purdue University or UM Flint as University of Michigan on your resume. I remember an extensive discussion here on listing UMUC on resumes, with some insisting on using "university of maryland". I think that ended with a general consensus that you should not do it. You should be proud of where you got your degree and there is no need to fudge it.
     
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  18. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    I agree. There is now a kind of desperation - a SEO-type cult to gain attention to resumes - hoping to get them to the top of the (desired) pile. This brand-switching type of deception is typical. In SEO - anything (that might work) goes - that is, many people think it does. If a few more people got called out on this... but that's wishful thinking, I guess.
     
  19. nomaduser

    nomaduser Active Member

    This one's very confusing. Purdue Global diploma will look different from their original Purdue diploma. It will say 'Purdue Global' instead of 'Purdue University'.
    However, the original Goldsmith's diploma isn't so different from the one you'll get from UoL program:

    [​IMG]

    This is the original Goldsmiths diploma and you'll get the same looking diploma after completion of that Coursera program.
     
  20. smartdegree

    smartdegree Active Member

    The way the degree looks has nothing to do with how to list it on a resume. Not sure if you are aware, but all of the University of California institutions give you the same looking degree with just "University of California" on top. That doesn't mean UC Berkeley and UC Riverside are the same institution. Same with University of Michigan. UM Flint UM Dearborn also have diplomas identical to the University of Michigan Ann Arbor. I can go on and on with other examples (such as Indiana University or University of Illinois, etc).

    This question on how a degree looks has been hashed out for many decades/years not only in this forum but other forums as well. I don't want to start that discussion again as those become heated and reach 20+ pages. That is not my intent.

    The easiest way to solve your problem is to ask Goldsmiths directly - call them and ask them to clarify. Ask them if you become a Goldsmiths alumni and/or are considered a matriculated Goldsmiths student while on the edx program. Who knows, maybe they say yes. Or maybe they say no, which is consistent with what the University of London has been doing for decades with the LSE-affiliated distance degrees. Even back when LSE and the other london colleges still issued University of London degrees, they clearly mention that the UofL distance learning students are not LSE students and are not LSE graduates, but are rather UofL graduates.
     
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