Which of these Liberal Studies master programs would you choose an why?

Well, I am a little bias on this one. I would go with TCU. TCU is well known than SBU. Besides, they are very good in football.

 

Living about 10 minutes from Stony Brook I'd personally disagree If you plan to be based in the Northeast then Stony Brook is better known than TCU.

Stony Brook is a SUNY school that trains doctors and dentists, and is also well-known for research. For a Liberal Arts education I don't know if any of this helps.

 

TCU for name recognition in the South (where I live).

 

I have to agree with this. I had never heard of Stony Brook before I moved to NYC. Over time it seemed like most of my friends and acquaintances went to Stony Brook or Binghamton.

 

I see that now. I only reviewed the site briefly as I had previously examined the program. I will change my comment to this then:

If you are currently completing the program in residence, stay with TCU because it will have a more recognizable reputation in Texas.

 

Neither TCU nor Stony Brook is particularly well known nationwide (TCU a bit more due to its football team and memorable nickname). However, they both have solid regional reputations and alumni networks.

If you live and work (or plan to live and work) in Texas or surrounding states, then TCU may be a better choice. If you prefer the Northeast, then Stony Brook.

 

TCU - I am a football fan. TCU is well known for its football. It is changing conferences to the Big East (joins UConn, Rutgers, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, etc.) which gives it additional national exposure.

Stony Brook may a great school but there is just no way that it has the same recognition.

 

I suspect in academia Stony Brook has much higher recognition. It is home to Brookhaven National Lab, after all. Further, Stony Brook has a Carnegie Classification of RU/VH (Research university, very high research activity), the highest classification. TCU has a Carnegie Classification of DRU (doctoral/research university) which is the basic classification for schools that award non-professional doctoral degrees.

 

That may be true, but remember that the relevance of the RU/VH classification is much higher in STEM fields. For a liberal arts degree, the research classification may not make much of a difference. In fact, recognition at all may not matter that much, unless it is from a university like Harvard.

 

Stony Brook definitely gets the nod as a research university. It is one of 63 schools in AAU, which is an invitation-only "club" of the top research schools in the US and Canada. But while this could make a difference for a PhD, it probably doesn't matter for a master's degree in liberal arts.

 

Decisions decisions!

Let's make it even easier.

TCU Yay or Nay?

SBU Yay or Nay?

 

Sounds like the consensus from the forum crowd is: If you like TCU, stick with that. If not, give SBU a shot.

Personally (having no experience with either TCU or SBU, living in Canada, etc) I would regard both schools equally for whatever that's worth. Ie, if I were in the position to hire two people, one has their degree from TCU, one has theirs from SBU, the degrees are a wash, time to check out other criteria to decide ...

 

It really does not matter. Either degree is fine. Also you can check out the University of Oklahoma for their liberal studies program. I think I would be most concerned with completion time, cost and accreditation.

 

Bump

TCU won the Rose Bowl. Does that change anyone's opinion?

 

I was under the impression that the SBU program was for currently licensed teachers only. I looked at that program and their MPS program (leading to NY school business official licensing), but the MLS was for teachers and the MPS was heavily geared to human resources so I balked at both. Just my 2 cents.

 

Oh, for the record, StonyBrook is fairly well known and regarded in the Northeast, except for the campus itself which is ugly as sin. It is big for science and medicine since it partners with Brookhaven and Cold Spring Laboratories.

 

Nope .....

 

It shouldn't, but mark my words, in next year's USNWR the school will move up 5-10 spots so it obviously makes some people think the school is more prestigious than before it won a big football game. Look at what making the final four did for George Mason and it's reputation in 2005. Hell, the Univ. Of. Alabama jumped 20 spots in this year's rankings after winning the national championship and I still contend that it is a $hit school (maybe I'm biased).

 

It was actually 17 spots...lol. I've enrolled in SBU's program. I made a list of pros and cons for each school, and the biggest pro I had for TCU was it's football program! Academically, I think SBU is going to offer the best education between the two. That and I'd rather have an M.A. with a capstone component in case I ever decide to get a doctorate. Not too mention the SBU program has concentration areas and a lot more courses available to choose from. The horned frogs will always have a place in my heart, but loving a football program is a really bad decider when it comes to choosing a graduate degree!
Thanks for all the help guys!