Not all S. African Schools are cheap

I just took a look at Witwatersrand's fee schedule, http://www.wits.ac.za/depts/cao/feesbooklet.shtml.

It looks like a part-time Ph.D. student would spend in execess of $20K there. They have specific fees for Americans and they are all listed in U.S. dollars. The health school degrees are very expensive at $10K per year tuition.

Bing

 

As the number of non-South African students increases, other SA institutions may increase their tuition as well. One reason some of the programs appear so "cheap" is the exchange rate between the dollar/rand.

For example, Unisa's Ph.D. program is $1,800 per year for US students. Given the current exchange rate (ratio of 7 to 1), if the dollar and rand were equal, the same program would cost around $12,000 per year. So for US students, at the present time, the SA option is certainly viable.

My own Ph.D. program with Potch, if the dollar and rand were equal, would cost around $24,000. However, given the current economic situation, it is much less.

The SA option (e.g., Unisa, Potch, Pretoria, Wit, etc.) is becoming more recognized as a solid option for some US students. The degrees meet GAAP criteria (e.g., both Unisa and Potch are around 130 years old, offer both residential and DL degrees and meet GAAP criteria).

Russell

 

Cost is always a factor when considering such a program. But, before you bemoan the $10,000 per year PhD tuition, check out schools like Capella and Walden, which run around $3,500 per quarter, before books or fees are applied. $10k certainly isn't cheap, but it's not the on the highest end of the scale either.

 

Not too long ago (6 weeks) I made some email inquiries at Wits about the prospect of earning a Masters externally. They gave me an emphatic "NO!" in response. Based on this I would say that their tuition rate is irrelevant (unless, of course, you are willing to consider moving to SA). Jack