Amberton U's MS in Family Studies

I received an AA and BS from SUNY Empire State College in 2017. I took time off from study and used my credentials to further my career prospects. I'm now ready to pursue a master's degree, but I wondered if I might be able to get two degrees with minimal effort and money.

Amberton is home to a MA of Professional Development which allows students to use 30 of 36 credits to design their own degree. If I took the same courses that equate to a MS in Family Studies, do you think Amberton would award me two degrees?

Amberton accepts 12 transfer credits. I've searched for various courses to transfer in -- four of which seem almost identical to the 12 counseling electives allowed to complete the MS in Family Studies. They're much cheaper too. Yet if Amberton doesn't accept those credits for Family Studies, I should still be able to use them for the Professional Development degree.

Has anyone here done something similar?

 

No, you can't "double-dip" by taking substantial credit from one degree, and applying it to another program.

 

Thanks. Knew it was a long shot, but thought I'd ask.

 

I enrolled in two of Ambertons graduate courses... if you're looking for minimal effort and cheap this is the school. If you actually want to learn something look elsewhere. They were about a freshman level of difficulty. Needless to say I did not enroll in more courses.

 

Thanks, Bruce. I had no idea. I will admit that the price point is a major seller, along with them being regionally accredited. I'll definitely ponder what you said as I continue my cheap master's search.

I've been out of the game for just five years, but things have changed so much. I like to check out programs I have no intentions of applying to -- just out of nosiness. So many of the nationally-accredited programs now charge more money than they did in the past. I remember when you could get a nationally-accredited master's for $3k-$6k (not even counting competency-based or flex-path programs). Now, many of the schooks are charging $12k and higher.

 

So I spent much of the week catching up on the changing face of online education and discovered why NA pricing seemed so off these days. Apparently, regional and national accreditation are now on the same level.

I was robbed! I spent countless hours comparing, contrasting, and categorizing dozens of programs to make sure they had regional accreditation and the proper credentials. Meanwhile, if I'd just been patient, I could have had a nationally accredited bachelor's AND master's more quickly, easily, and cheaply.

I'm sitting here in a haze.

Was it all for nothing? Was it all a lie?

 

I once was a mechanic and accumulated a box full of tools that I rarely use anymore. Is that a waste? Not really, I simply have a box of tools that may come in handy some day.

 

Regional and national accreditation being "on the same level" is not that simple. I think most places/people that never really cared about, or knew, about the difference still don't care and many of the places/people that were aware enough to care don't consider them to be on the same level. Regional accreditation, and the schools that get credit for having the same accreditation as the prestigious schools we all know and "love," still carries weight.

 

Snap-on versus Craftsman

 

Thanks for the input, everyone. I guess I was just shocked by the changes in Higher Ed. I have nothing against NA schools (I used a few Penn Foster courses to build up my ACE Transcript for undergrad) but I never thought I'd see the day when I'd wonder if I should have just completed a degree in its entirety at PF.

It's nice to know, however, that if a NA degree catches my eye, it might have some utility. Now I see why many NA programs price tags seem to have skyrocketed.

I still maintain that nationally accredited degrees should be less expensive, unless the program is in a specialized area, is hard-to-find, or is in a competitive subject (where getting into a RA program is nearly impossible for some reason).

I can get an MBA from most online schools -- why would I pay $15k for a nationally accredited degree when I can get the same at my state university for less money (and I live in one of the more expensive states). Especially since, depending on what college I choose from within the system, my local program may be AACSB-accredited and have other perks.