Regis University or National University for BS/MS in Computer Science?

Whoa. Haha. Definitely out of it today. I guess I'm looking for something a bit more econimical. That seems a but pricey, and I'm not all that interested in USC/Stanford and the like. Im looking for a decent program with an accelerated curriculum. I'm trying to finish my bachelors and masters by the time I get out of the military in 3 and a half years.

 

3 years for both the BS/MS? In that case, you should definitely stick to either Regis University or Franklin and do the joint program. Depending on the units that transfer, it might be doable. You should apply to both and see which school transfers more of your credits.

 

Yeah. I might consider doing ODU's program and then do Regis's MS in Software Engineering. I know the timeframe seems rather compacted. I do have quite a bit of coursework done at the junior college level, about 21 units with AMU, and a plethora of military training. At the very least, I should have most, if not all of my gen-Ed done.

 

Actually, it would more sense to just stick with Regis. It's still a respectable school, and their degree programs look solid. Does anyone have any experience with Regis who can chime in?

 

I'm actually in the Regis CS/SE program right now. I started back in January 2011 as a second BS student, so I had a lot of credits waived (except for mandatory religion courses!). In a week I'm starting on the graduate-level courses that you can substitute in place of electives. The program is totally solid and I have no complaints at all. I was actually split between Regis/Franklin/ODU when I was looking to go back to school and I just ended up choosing Regis. I'm definitely glad I did, though the price is a bit on the high side. You'll get a good education and you can't go wrong. I expect to finish my MS in SE by next summer so that'll put me in at just over 2.5 years. But like I said, they waived a lot of the required units. If you have 60 GE units, you should be good to go. I supplemented a lot of general ed units at other schools. For example, Regis requires 11 units of natural science courses with two of those including labs, so I just did Physics & Chemistry at Ocean County College. For the religion classes, I am doing CalCampus and a philosophy class at Santa Monica College. If you do something like that, there's no reason why you can't finish in your time frame, but it's a lot of courses to take so make sure your schedule allows it. They allow you to take 18 units a semester, though that may be a lot depending on the choice of courses. My time frame to finish my MS degree is assuming that I take 12 grad units per semester. Whether or not that will be reasonable remains to be seen!

I'm already talking to one of the professors I had for 3 courses about a thesis topic, so I'm getting started early on it and I'm pretty excited. I think the Regis program looks almost exactly like the ODU program, with the main difference being the price (and ABET/CAC accreditation if that's important to you). Of course I'm biased towards Regis (after all, I decided to stay for the MS!) but I think it's a good decision.

 

What are your thesis topic ideas? Are you going in C#. C++. or Java? How have the professors been? I'm active duty military, so the cost per unit hour for me is $250, which is a steal for a program such as this, and I'll get 10% off of the Masters credit price, too. I'm looking to start classes in the summer, after I get settled in on the east coast. Whatever else you can tell me about your experience there, I'd greatly appreciate it.

 

The thesis I'm working on has to do with intelligent tutoring systems in software engineering (he said it's more of a CS topic, but we can incorporate SE into it). My plan is to take the 4 class Java sequence in the SE program because I would say over 90% of software engineering job openings I see want the applicant to be proficient in Java. C++ isn't an option in the SE program, but the undergraduate courses were mostly C/C++ (non-OO except for the use of strings...for OO we used Java). Though there are some grad courses that use C++ like graphics programming (I'm scheduled to take that in summer).

The instructors have honestly all been great. Some of them were so knowledgeable it was mind blowing. There are lots of professors who teach courses who are actually full-time Regis faculty, plus adjunct professors who have a lot of time in the industry. When you're ready to enroll, shoot me a PM and I'll let you know which instructors made the biggest impression on me. We're probably boring everyone on this forum, anyway

For that price you're getting, the Regis program is a steal. That's almost half off the regular UG tuition, so it's a no-brainer.

 

Awesome man. I can't thank you enough for all your help and information. I'm really excited about the program; I think it'll be worthwhile, and will pay off in the end.

I assumed as much. I figured the undergrad program would be C-based, with a dash of Java here and there, and the MSSE would be geared toward Java. Suffice to say, no matter what you study in CS, you're invariably going to learn both (and you'd be dumb if you didn't anyway). Well, that's my personal opinion.

I'm finishing up two classes with AMU today; I'll start the application process in the next week or so. I probably won't start classes until the summer. Have a lot going on in the coming month or two.

How are taking math classes with Regis? I have to admit, it's been several years since I've had any interaction with complex math. I'm a bit rusty, so I might have to take an extra math class or two to play catch-up. How much calculus is required? How math intensive is everything?

What else can you tell me about the program?

 

The program requires discrete mathematics, linear algebra, statistics, calculus I and calculus II. I had taken all of those except for discrete math and linear algebra prior to entering Regis. I will say that discrete math was challenging (I had a great teacher who was pretty hard on us), but linear algebra was very much "applied" and somewhat disappointing. That's probably the only class I've been genuinely disappointed with. My fiancee is taking linear algebra right now at a Cal State and it's like a night & day difference...hers is 90% proofs, whereas the Regis one has no proofs. Granted, unless you want a job as a researcher (post-PhD), any linear algebra involved with CS (artificial intelligence, etc) is going to very "applied". Not only that, but Matlab will be doing all but the most trivial calculations. I mean, who wants to calculate the determinate of a 7x7 matrix by hand? I have better ways to spend my entire day

The program can be pretty tough at times. The most notably difficult courses were the early undergrad C/C++ courses (CS361, CS362, CS372). They were very much like "weeder" courses & people would drop like flies. CS is gaining a little more popularity now with all of the social media and mobile apps, so I think a lot of people are entering these programs who don't know what they're in for. But you'll have a strong base once you get through. The other notably difficult courses were Modern Software Engineering and Principles of Programming Languages, coincidentally both taught by the same instructor (and my graduate thesis adviser).

 

To put it briefly, my last interaction with math on that order was AP Calculus in my senior year of high school (whoa, 6 years ago). So I might have to play a bit of catch-up too. Thank God it's not all proof based; I would rather gouge out my eyes than have to suffer through mountains of proofs.

Going to C/C++ might be a bit hard. I did AP Computer Programming, and another programming course at a JC, and it was all Java. Granted, I'm a bit rusty on my Java, but it might take a bit to get used to.

What does Principles of Programming Languages go into? Are all the textbooks ebooks? Or do I have to buy them?

Btw, what CSU is your wife going to? I'm a California native, so I'm just curious. :]

 

The syntax of C/C++ and Java are nearly identical, so you should be fine. The only thing is, it's harder to find errors/bugs in C code than it is in Java, especially since Java has all these great IDEs that give you instantaneous feedback. C code, on the other, just won't compile & then throw you a bunch of esoteric errors. Still, learning procedural/structured C/C++ prior to Java really helps strengthen your programming (not to mention the fact that it makes you appreciate the joys of OO programming).

All of the textbooks are hard copies that you have to buy, though the Regis bookstore has a rental program you can take advantage of. The Principles of Programming Languages course is very deceiving because the HW assignment involve writing relatively simplistic programs in three different languages that cover three different paradigms (OO/logical/functional). *BUT*, the actual weekly topics are super-intense & math-oriented. Stuff like lambda reductions, denotational semantics, etc. Just a heads up for that class, the midterm and final are ONLY based on the hard, theoretical stuff, so focus on the weekly notes and practice problems so you don't have a heart attack on the tests.

She's going to Cal State Northridge for her MS in EE. I actually applied to CSUN for the MS in CS program for Fall 2012 & if I get in, I want to just take a class or two a semester & eventually get the more "theoretical" MS in CS degree, which will hopefully compliment the MSSE from Regis. Plus I want some of the networking opportunities that you can really only find at local campuses. I doubt I'll go as far as PhD, so two MS degrees is a good compromise.

 

Yeah, you have a point about the syntax of Java and C/C++. Man, IDE's are a godsend for debugging. But, C/C++ opens up alot of doors for job opportunities, and being versed in both makes you that much more marketable.

Are the textbooks expensive? Could you find them on Amazon/eBay, etc? I have a thing for collecting textbooks that I use. Haha. Renting doesn't really appeal to me; I like to fall back on textbooks for ease of reference.

Thanks for the heads up about the Principles class; I'll make sure to focus on that stuff. I don't want to have a mental breakdown over the midterm and final.

I doubt I'll go for PhD myself, maybe later, later on down the road. I think two Masters degrees is a fair compromise (and less time consuming, too).

What are the thesis requirements for the MSSE? Where are you looking in terms of future employment?

I guess I won't be seeing much of Python, huh? Haha.

 

Yeah, you can find all the textbooks used on Amazon. No problems there at all.

You have a choice in the MS program to either do a thesis, graduate capstone or 2-course sequence of "software engineering practicum". I guess it just depends on what your preference is. For more about the thesis, check this link: Regis University

I'd be happy working anywhere in a position of software engineer. That's the cool thing about the field...almost every single company has a need for software engineers.

No, there's no python at all to speak of I've never even played with Python, but I assume it would be pretty easy to pick up on. It seems pretty popular, as well.

 

Sweet. I'm sort of a textbook-whore/fiend/connoisseur. It's one of my nerd-quirks, to say the least.

Thanks for the thesis guidelines; it's insightful. I'll have to give the PDF a good read-through. I think my fiancee would hate me if I didn't do a thesis (considering she has her Masters in Teaching, and is a writing junkie, to boot). We'll see, though. The practicum/capstone options are probably more practical, but it seems like a thesis is a rite of passage nowadays.

That's why I'm doing CS and SE. Everyone needs one. It'd be a dream come true to work at Blizzard, Facebook, Google, or any popular tech company. They only want the best though. Gotta work my way up.

Python is really nice. Simple syntax, no bracketing, very readable. I love it.

 

Those are dream companies for most people! I applied for a summer 2012 internship at EA, but it's so competitive that I don't hold much hope. I agree on the thesis...plus if you ever do decide to do a PhD, the thesis will help a lot when looking for programs.

 

Seriously, man. You're telling me. It's my dream, and 10,000 other people's dreams, too. Haha. Who knows, though, right? I do find myself looking on all their career pages rather frequently, too...

I think the thesis route would ultimately be better for me, anyway, not that I needed the threat of my fiancee incurring physical harm to me for not doing the thesis. Haha. I just have no idea what I could possibly write about. How did you settle on your topic?

What other classes have you taken in the program? Any others I should consider taking?

 

The only thing that alarms me about the gaming industry is that there are literally thousands of people (who are all very talented) willing to work for free. It makes you wonder why they would ever pay anyone a competitive salary when so many people will do the same job for free.

I've had a lot of courses with the professor I'm doing the thesis with, so I asked him for suggestions. I wanted to do something with AI (one of his areas of interest) and he suggested intelligent tutoring systems, which includes AI. As you go through the undergrad program, you'll develop more of an idea of what you are interested in. So then by the time you get to the MS, you will probably have more of an idea of what path to take. That link I sent you earlier has a list of faculty and their research interests, so browse through and look up some of the topics to see what you might be interested in.

The last undergraduate class I have to take is Data Networks, so I've taken them all. Everything is pretty straightforward but I will say that a lot of people consider Modern Software Engineering to be one of the most challenging courses. No programming to speak of, just UML diagrams, planning, testing, etc. I would recommend taking object-oriented programming in Java before that class, as it'll make the concepts a bit easier.

 

I wouldn't be too sad if I never got to work in the gaming industry; I just think it'd be a great experience. Who knows, I could do a start up if I really wanted to, and work for myself. Haha.

AI seems interesting. I have to admit, I'm rather ignorant as to the coding/logic behind it all, but it seems like a fascinating topic.

I heard Databases was hard. Is that true? You bet your sweet ass I'd be taking the OOP class in Java. Haha. I need the refresher, anyway. Is there a place to look at the course descriptions for the classes?

How intuitive is the online learning environment? How is it set up? Is all the interaction with classmates and instructors strictly through email and forums?

 

I'm not sure about databases...the next class I have is Data Networks, but I can't imagine it will be among the hardest.

You're required to take OO in Java, just try to take it before Modern Software Engineering, because it will make your life way easier.

The online environment is the Angel system...it's maybe a bit outdated, but it's relatively simple & organized quite well, so there's no problem with communication.

 

I've never heard of Angel. I'm familiar with Blackboard, and AMU's new Sakai system.

Oh, my bad. Haha. I misread what you wrote. I'll take that into account before I take Modern Software Engineering.

What were your programming skills like before you entered into the program? And how would you see them now? Just curious.

Any other recommendations on classes or anything? Any tips you have for studying? Any other insights?