Acceptance to PhD program with Masters from distance learning program

I am currently attending University of Phoenix going for my MSCIS (Masters of Science in Computer Information Systems) degree. I would like to continue on to get a PhD/Doctorates in a software engineering/computer science/information assurance discipline as I would like to do research one day. I have had some concerns about how PhD/Doctorates programs view my current Masters. I have been in the computer industry for 12 years as a Systems Analyst, Systems Administrator, Systems Engineer, IT Manager and Network Security Engineer. I also hold several industry certifications and designations.

Has anyone obtained a MSCIS from University of Phoenix and tried to go on to a PhD/Doctorates program? What about anyone with a masters degree from any other distance learning programs?

~Surge

 

surge,



I read your post and I was curious why do you think any other school would have a problem with your master's from uop? Do you feel that other school will have a problem with uop as a online school ? or do you think they will have a with you obtianing your cis degree and not a mscs? why not a phd in information technology or cis? The reason I ask is I would like to pursue my phd in the future and I may run into similiar problems.

 

Good question.. I have talked to several graduate advisors and during the interview I have gotten so-so responses after telling them I am working on a degree from UoP. Also I considered transferring into a similar MIS program to my old alma matter and was told that they wouldn't accept any transfer credits from UoP whereas they would typically accept them from other schools. Now this school has a distance learning option so this may be a ploy to have me take more classes. Im not sure.

The second question deals with the importance of a particular degree. There may be a problem with an MSCIS getting into a engineering discipline based doctorates, or people that get the MSCIS never plan to go any further so they don't care. Hopefully this list can shed some light on this issue. I would love to hear the experiences of someone that went this route.

I do find it interesting that of the graduate advisors I spoke with only one was from a school that offers any type of distance learning program. Could it be that these old-school people shy away from distance learning programs and play them off as not comparitable to their program?

~Surge

 

I am no expert by any means but I dont think you will not have a problem at all this is why. Harvard which usually sets the trend for colleges and universitys throughout the country has several online degree programs. Also most of the top tier schools also have online campus such as carnigie mellon, rit, rpi, university of illinois ,penn state worlcampus and duke just to name a few. So as far schools are concerned I dont think there is going to be a problem I think you will have more of a problem with companies and inept human resource managers that do not know what your degree is or thinks its substandard compare to a land based degree (even though you probably worked harder to get yours than they did to get theres).As long as top tier schools accept online degrees as valid means of education then you should have no problem with any other college. Although you may want to check the reputation of the college you are attendending to see if it has a good reputation with other colleges as far as a quality education that does make a difference with good schools. One of my classmates at aiu wanted to become lawyer after graduated so he called the college and asked if there would be a problem getting into I believe georgia state and they told him they would accept him with no problem you may want to try this just to see what they say.

 

I suspect that your bigger problem will be using any MSCIS degree to get into a CS Ph.D program. CIS and CS are traditionally quite different disciplines. Software Engineering might be less of a problem, but there aren't a lot of Software Engineering Ph.D programs.

 

From my discussions with several friends and relatives who are higher level administrators and professors at B&M Universities, the problem with UoP not being looked upon highly probably has less to do with them being distance, and more to do with them advertising so much on TV. It seems to lower the reputation of the school among other universities.

Jon

 

I'd questioned several friends who teach within traditional Univ. programs about this same issue. Their responses indicated a rather pronounced bias towards UoP and distance degrees in general. Fortunately none of them have any influence on admissions.

a few observations :
* these are derived from casual conversations with several young university academics ( US Phd's , early thirties - 40 ), none of whom hold engineering or sciences degrees.

academics tend to like academia - they believe that immersion in on-campus academic cultures is integral to learning.

they perceive autodidacts as eccentrics and seem to believe that only extraordinarly bright people are capable of educating themselves adequately.

they're a bit wary of adult students , though they acknowledge that adults tend to be more serious about their studies. I think that they assume that adult students are somehow immature. They do look more favorably on female and minority adults.

The emphasis by UoP and other DE institutions on accelerated program completion discredits these programs in the eyes of traditional academia.

The don't perceive professional degrees as academic degrees.

They don't trust the grading standards of DE programs and for-profit institutions in general.

Their universities haven't adequately prepared them to teach and administer online courses. This fact may influence their perceptions of the validity of DE in general. If they don't believe that they're capable of teaching the course competently, it's not unlikely that they assume that their DE students are less competent in the subject.
_______________________________

A caveat is that none of the people from whom I've derived these observations has ever been out of school for more than three or four years. They are career academics and , though I regard them as friends, do tend to have a rather insular view of the world.

 

The mode,

You should ask them If they had a choice between a choice between accepting a graduate to a phd program from a land based state school and a graduate from online based havard or MIT online grad school. Of course they would accept the grad from harvard or mit online ! If they say the state school there lying. They are just are agreeing to the idea of distance learning as being a substandard means of education being this trend of land based professors. I would invite any of the professors that agree with the idea of substandard distance learning to gather some of there best students to comapre agianst some of the students from other schools with with comparible academic coarses and grades at a distance school to take a test at graduation to compare what they know agianst what some one know from a distance institution. I guarentee they wont because a person that self study will get higher marks. not because one is smarter than the other but one had more disipline in school and guess which one that is. when you are at a Web based school you have to set aside your own time to study and learn the assignments you can't relay on anyone but your self and your own determination. At land based schools the displine level is just above that of a high school. Plus the professors give you notes at land based schools which are nothing more than cheet sheets given to the students test which takes away from the students actually reading the chapters in the book. But that is getting a bit off the subject. I strongly recommend distance learning friends and family for its focus,unbiased teaching and grading methods and flexibility. Given all that I dont think he should have a problem being accepted into a good phd program being that fact that even though they talk about distance as a substandard means of education within the next two years they will probably have distance programs of there own and I guarentee they'll praise distance learning as a god sent willingly or unwilling . I truely believe within the next 10 years every school in the country will have some sort of distance learning program !

 

Preference for a Harvard or MIT grad over a state school grad is not as clear cut as you make it out to be. This is why most full-time, on-campus graduate programs require things like the GRE to actually evaluate students objectively with a standardized test.

Then, there's the difference in perception of programs and how they stack up. If you are talking engineering or CS, then state schools like Berkeley, Michigan or UIUC would get the nod over a place like Harvard.

If ALL things were equal (undergrad program rank, GRE Scores, ECs, etc.) then I'd agree, a Harvard/MIT person would get the nod on intangable factors.

But if you think just having a Harvard degree is going to get someone somewhere just because of that alone in admissions, then I'd have to disagree. Especially when you're talking about computers and IT. Outside of MIT, Cal Tech and Stanford, the state schools are at the top.

 

I have spoken to the alumni office at UoP as well as admissions personnel to try and find students that obtained a MSCIS to find out if anyone has been accepted into a PhD/Doctorates program and I have yet to find one. It seems like this program is simply designed to get the student a Masters and thats it.

I agree that a MSCIS wouldn't necessarily prepare a student for a CS doctorates but I have also been told that my 10+ years professional experience is desirable by many of the programs. It depends on which area you want to go towards.

Can anyone recommend a good Masters distance learning program in CS, Software Engineering or Information Assurance?

 

CSU Chico offers a CSAC , CSAB , WASC accredited MS in Computer Science.

http://rce.csuchico.edu/cen/msdegree/generalinfo.asp



It's $1,675 (!!!) per 3-unit course.

 

Outrageous Prices !

Considering therevenuethey make a year from online you would think they would be cheaper

 

Try this one:

http://www.online.uillinois.edu/catalog/ProgramDetail.asp?ProgramID=38




Master of Computer Science

Program URL: http://www.cs.uiuc.edu/education/i2cs/

Campus: Urbana-Champaign

Number of Required Campus Visits: 0


Program Type: Master's Degree

Award Conferred: Master of Computer Science

Total Number of Credit Hours: 9 Grad. Unit(s)

Description:
The Internet Masters of Computer Science (IMCS) program is an Internet-delivered version of the on-campus Masters of Computer Science (MCS) degree. The MCS degree is a professional degree requiring nine units of course work and no thesis. The coursework for the degree is accomplished by taking courses online over a period of sufficient time to acquire the nine units. Courses are offered each semester (including a summer semester). One can participate in the MCS program as either a full-time or a part-time student. Full-time students typically enroll in three units of coursework per semester. If you are employed full time, you can participate as a part-time student and enroll in one or more courses per semester.

Admission Requirement(s):
Students interested in completing the MCS degree are strongly encouraged to complete the admissions requirements within the first semester of coursework. Students interested in pursuing a degree in Computer Science should have completed a bachelors degree from a four-year accredited university, preferably in computer science or engineering, with a grade-point average (GPA) of at least 3.0/4.0 (A=4.0). If the degree is in another area, the applicant's professional experience should include a working knowledge of software and data structures, computer architectures, and algorithms. Applicants should also have a score of 1900 or more on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test (Verbal + Quantitative + Analytical). All transcripts of undergraduate and/or graduate degrees or course work must be sent directly from the college or university to the departmental advisor. Completion of the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) exam is required by all applicants who native language is not English. The TOEFL requirement can be waived for those that have studied at an institution for at least two years within the last five years. However, being a naturalized US citizen or permanent resident may not automatically waive this requirement. Students do not be admitted to the University of Illinois graduate program to register as off-campus non-degree students and participate in an online course. Visit http://www.cs.uiuc.edu/education/i2cs/degadm.html for details.


Technical Requirement(s):
To participate in the IMCS program, students will need the following minimum hardware configuration and software applications. A variety of software applications are used to enhance the educational experience for the distance learner.

Hardware Requirements:

Pentium 166 (Pentium II class recommended due to the nature of some applications)
16 MB of RAM (32 MB RAM recommended)

Windows 95, 98, or NT
56K modem with Internet connection
Color monitor with 800x600 resolution
16 bit sound card and speakers
Double speed CD ROM drive
These are the minimum requirements. A faster CPU and more RAM will enable you to utilize more applications simultaneously. A faster Internet connection will provide better audio and video quality.

Software Requirements:

Internet Explorer 4.01 or higher or Netscape 4.01 or better
Microsoft Media Player™
Microsoft PowerPoint™ (included with Office Professional) or you can download the free PowerPoint player if you do not have PowerPoint. (2.7 MB file)
Adobe Acrobat Reader 3.01
Microsoft NetMeeting™ (video conference card is optional)
Internet access through an Internet Service Provider

E-mail software (Netscape and Internet Explorer each provide options for free e-mail applications)
Additional software may be required for individual courses.



Program Cost(s):

Contact Institution

Program Contact(s):
Laura A Miller
Interim Coordinator of Online Programs
Engineering Administration - OCEE
400 Engineering Hall
1308 West Green Street
Urbana, IL 61801
Phone: (800) 252-1360 Ext. 36634
Fax: (217) 333-0015
E-mail: [email protected]
URL: http://online.engr.uiuc.edu/

View a list of courses associated with this program.

 

9 Grad units @ $2360 each (1 class per grad unit) = $21240.

UoP is $~540 per credit unit and each class consists of 3 with a total of 45 units for the degree.

Anyone know of any other sites that ranks distance learning programs? I guess I need to do more research.

~Surge