Most affordable distance learning philosophy degrees?

Hello. Specifically with regard to philosophy (as opposed to theology), what are the most affordable, accredited distance learning philosophy programs out there, either at the undergraduate or graduate levels?

I found a few older threads on here that mention New England Armidale's philosophy program in Australia, Holy Apostles, SES, Open University, Lampeter, and a couple others. Have there been any newcomers, or any other interesting programs not mentioned earlier? What are the least expensive choices as of 2019?

Thanks.

 

Here's an old thread on the subject. There are not a lot of options and nothing much has changed over the years

https://www.degreeinfo.com/index.php?threads/ma-in-philosophy.31863/

If I were looking for an undergrad degree in Philosophy my first stop would be Fort Hays State and then American Public would be #2. That's mostly due to costs. I think there's a program at Illinois-Springfield too. If you're willing to go with a non-US school there are lots of other possibilities.

 

What are the other possibilities that open up when one is willing to go with a non-US school, if you don't mind my asking?

 

suprised nobody mentioned UOL's philosophy program

it's probably the cheapest of the lot for undergraduate level.

https://london.ac.uk/courses/philosophy

 

Master of Arts (Philosophy) at Don Bosco University in India.

http://www.dbuniversity.ac.in/dbuglobal/row/Online-MA-P.php

 

Well, you've got the University of London, as nyvrem mentioned. You've also got the Open University (UK). Then you've got probably at least half a dozen other British schools like Birmingham, Leicester, etc. as well as Trinity Saint David and at least one other Scottish school (maybe Edinburgh) Then you float across the planet to Australia where you've got a few at places like Charles Sturt, UNew England, Deakin, etc. and then you trek to South Africa where UNISA sits. In all these cases you get to give yourself a little crash course on currency exchange rates to figure out which is more affordable.

 

And the prize goes to UNISA, as the South African Rand has been thoroughly beaten-down for many years. But I'd bet the degree from Don Bosco U. in India would go for the same price or less. Thoroughly respectable school too, run by members of an Order of the Catholic Church. They offer a lot of business degrees. I wasn't previously aware of the philosophy degree. Thanks.

 

I looked into this in the past. The best and cheapest "name brand" one is from the University of New Orleans, because all Philosophy students get in state tuition. So if you can get the Pell Grant it will come out probably almost free, depending on how much of the Pell you're eligible for. But the quality of what you're learning is a bit 'iffy' since there's no real interaction with other classmates.

 

Thanks. Do you know what their curriculum or emphases look like? As a Catholic university, is it Thomism of some sort, or broader than that?

Thanks. Sofia looks to be more Continental in its orientation than Analytic; is that an accurate impression?

 

Try to send them an e-mail with your questions about their curriculum. Hopefully, you'll get a response. There are all kinds of philosophical trajectories in post-Vatican II Catholicism, so I am not sure whether Thomism will be the exclusive focus. I am also curious as to whether there is any Indian philosophy component in the program.

 

Yep. I actually like the University of New Orleans. It has a nice name to it.

But the courses use the Itunes content that was published on ItunesU and it seems to me like it's mostly essay based.

I would say it's hard to really learn Philosophy like that.

 

Interesting; the lectures for their current classes are on ITunesU? That's cool that regular people can listen to them all in advance while considering the program (and to prepare for each course before signing up).

 

Yeah, but then again. You could do the whole program without having to pay for it too. Do a quick distance BA on anything and then go into a masters program in person and study Philosophy for real.

 

I agree. Philosophy is one of those disciplines where you're supposed to actually have the arguments with the whole point/counterpoint thing going full swing. But when you ask for the cheapest program around you're going to get a canned product. It's really not substantially different than using CLEPs, etc. to test out of courses. You consume the material and then regurgitate it in the form of a standardized test or essay type assessment.

 

One good way to learn philosophy would be to use a blog as a mode of gathering knowledge and creating discussions. A BA in Philosophy won't get you a job anyway, so it won't be any different than a BA in Liberal Arts or whatever from any accredited university.

Then, what I would do is go all out and enroll into a Harvard Extension program and take all the Philosophy courses or go overseas and spend one year in Western Europe or even Bulgaria @Sofia and study Philosophy. I think the Sofia program would be quite cool actually because of the proximity to remnants of Roman and Greek culture.

 

Anyone who sees themselves in that Philosophy pipeline or thinking about that pipeline ought to be aware of the Pathways to Philosophy program. It's a well-established British DL program for those into Philosophy.

https://philosophypathways.com/