Multiple degrees at one time

Well, thank you Gus! You identified the right college, but the wrong program. See MSc Structural Biology.

 

Oh, but I didn’t identify the college, Gert. Being cursed with a memory that forgets very little of what I read, see or hear (although I am beginning the feel the effects of my accumulated youth ), I simply remembered that a few weeks ago you had mentioned that you were pursuing a degree through University of London (Birkbeck).

I must, of course, express my apologies; it never occurred to me to consider a Biology offering through the School of Crystallography, rather than through the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences.

However, I must still disagree with your characterization of the programme as a “pseudodegree.” Unquestionably, the coursework and dissertation requirements are not, as you termed it, “undergraduate-level coursework.” And as to the “lack of real-world hands-on laboratory work,” that appears to be a concession to distance learners, as the option exists for substituting one of the dissertations for a laboratory project (although they specify it is for students able to attend Birkbeck).

I wonder if it would be possible to make arrangements do the laboratory research project at an alternate site, similar to the flexibility offered in the aforementioned MSc in Applied Biology? It wouldn’t hurt to ask.

 

Dear God, I mean Gus....

Dear Gus,

Your undying interest in microscopically analysing the comments, statements, references, deductions, and ..., and ... of almost everyone who posts here is most reassuring.

In this case, however, I do dare to say that Gert is very able to make a personal decision as what is studied, and where, and to also determine the level/equivelancy of the degree and its contents. Gert, on the other hand, has been very gracious to share educaional choices and experiences with us - even though you regard itr a great shame that you were not consulted firstly.

I will however concede that your degree of decorum has improved in the last couple of days, and that is good and i applaud you for that.

Have a go at me if you are getting desparate, as I worte most of the rules in the current handbook that you are using

 

Yipe

I never knew a topic like "distance learning" could invoke such heated feelings...YIPE!!!

 

I agree, I'm just glad that I got a little advice before the tension rose.

I never thought my simple question would lead to such a ruckus.

clint

 

I don’t think the USQ MProfComp or the Birkbeck MSc are worthless – if they were, I wouldn’t bother with them. But they are more akin to undergraduate programs than postgraduate programs. I would be perfectly happy if they were in fact classified as undergraduate programs. Indeed, the Unisa program (from which I was rejected due to lack of high school credentials) was an undergraduate diploma program with much the same scope as the USQ MProfComp. The MProfComp does require some postgraduate work (4 courses out of the minimum total of 12). But my tentative goal with the MProfComp is to follow it up with a legitimate MS in Computer Science – although probably not through NTU because of the cost. The MProfComp should allow me to meet the prerequisites for most graduate CS courses at U.S. schools.

Gus is generous in his comments about the Birkbeck MSc, but my opinion is that the coursework is similar in depth to that offered in undergraduate programs in the U.S. and in U.K. universities such as U. Bristol (with whom I am quite familiar, having hosted many Bristol molecular biology students during their sandwich year). The Birkbeck program requires two dissertations, but the first was little more than a literature review. The exams are to be taken more seriously than those at typical U.S. schools – two people did fail the 1st year exams (and thus could not proceed). But this is characteristic of U.K. undergraduate programs as much as postgraduate programs.

As education becomes globalized and life-long learning becomes more widespread, I believe that admissions and recruiting managers will need to pay more attention to the details of each candidate’s credentials, and to recognize that “regional accreditation” and equivalents are neither necessary nor sufficient to ensure that a degree meets the expectations invoked by its name. How many people would recognize, without some investigation, that the USQ MProfComp is a different beast from the MComp?


Peter: thank you for the kind words.

 

Re: Gert - look out!

What does a simple question have to do with respect/concern? I too would be interested in knowing what name Gert's dissertation is under.

 

Re: Re: Gert - look out!

I had a professor in graduate school who had a Ph.D. from Boston University listed in the faculty directory. Being the suspicious person that I am, I looked him up in UMI for a dissertation (as I did for all professors I had that listed a doctorate) and didn't find anything. My paranoia was about to hit overdrive until I called BU and verified that he was in fact awarded a Ph.D. in Psychology (and he is a licensed Psychologist in MA). So, apparently, mistakes or ommissions do happen once in awhile.


Bruce

 

Re: Yipe

YIPE? Can I borrow that word for my next philosophy essay (in Business Ethics?

Darren.

 

SURE!

Use "Yipe" in your essay, I did...I was never so proud of a D- before. *Sniffle*