Is online grad school worth it or not? (bachelors, PhD, degrees)

[Westerntraveler]

I'm graduating with a bachelors in history in 2-3 years.I am considering going to grad school.Is online grad school worth it or not?Is online grad school legit?

[Felix C]

What Major? History? There are state universities which offer online graduate programs. There are some legitmate brick/mortar private universities which offer online graduate programs. You have to inquiry regarding their certification.
PhD has a residency requirement.

[Westerntraveler]

Yes,history.Thank you

[nyyfanatic85]

Hi Westerntraveler,

I am currently finishing up my masters in Educational Administration through Grand Canyon University. The flexibility that online school has offered is fantastic; I would not have been able to get the degree if I had to travel to a brick and mortar school. However, I regret that I lose face-to-face discussions and interactions with my peers. I am an undergrad history major as well, and that's one type of major that I could not envision doing online, mainly because the dialogue would be difficult to duplicate in an online environment.

What online schools are you looking at? I am also thinking about getting my second masters in history.

[ambient]

Originally Posted by Westerntraveler

Yes,history.Thank you

Originally Posted by nyyfanatic85

Hi Westerntraveler,

I am currently finishing up my masters in Educational Administration through Grand Canyon University. The flexibility that online school has offered is fantastic; I would not have been able to get the degree if I had to travel to a brick and mortar school. However, I regret that I lose face-to-face discussions and interactions with my peers. I am an undergrad history major as well, and that's one type of major that I could not envision doing online, mainly because the dialogue would be difficult to duplicate in an online environment.

What online schools are you looking at? I am also thinking about getting my second masters in history.

To both of you guys: have you actually thought about what you're realistically going to do with these kinds of degrees? Else you'll soon end up in the "college is a scam" thread.

[killer2021]

Grand Canyon University (GCU) is a for-profit Christian university located in Phoenix, Arizona. It is owned by Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ: LOPE). GCU was founded in 1949 as a non-profit liberal arts college. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. purchased Grand Canyon University in February 2004. Grand Canyon Education, through its subsidiary Grand Canyon University is regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission[1] and provides online and campus-based postsecondary education services focused on graduate and undergraduate degree programs in education, liberal arts, business, and healthcare through its six colleges: the College of Education, the Ken Blanchard College of Business, the Colleges of Nursing and Health Sciences, the College of Liberal Arts, and the College of Fine Arts and Production.

Basically GCU is a scam. I am 100% sure. The whole online & for-profit education sector is rather new. Some of these older non-profit universities were suffering from lack of funding and were on the verge of bankruptcy. When they turn for-profit they pretty much do whatever it takes to get the students to max out on student loans. They could careless what the student does afterwards.

[Felix C]

If you are doing a History M.A. with thesis option and wish to move on to PhD then brick/mortar is best as you can obtain a T.A. position and have the necessary professor referrals at completion to move into a PhD program. Also provides good experience in instructing/lecturing 1st/2nd year students.

[joe from dayton]

I would explore a MA program at an accredited brick and mortar univ. What do you want to do with your degree and why can't you take conventional classes? I am assuming you are of traditional college age, so you don't have a full time job, mortgage, family, etc., correct?

[ambient]

To chime in once more on the real topic at hand:

There is no way that an online grad school will be taken as seriously as a reputable brick and mortar school. It is highly likely that you will graduate from this online school and have a degree that you can wipe your behind with, especially if it is in a fairly impractical field like history. If you want to take that history degree and make it in the competitive field of academia, you need to be getting the degree from a reputable school. There are history PhDs from Columbia out there...they will be the ones who will likely win out for those kinds of jobs.

I would not go to an online school...then again, I wouldn't get a degree in history either without a very well thought out game plan as to how I'm going to support myself with it.

[TurtleCreek80]

I would not get an online undergrad, much less a masters! Many programs aren't accredited and employers look down on them as "inferior" to a brick & mortar college.

What matters most in a graduate program is strength of degree (ie, program rank/reputation). I would not bother with a graduate degree unless you can get into a top 50 ranked program- I highly doubt any online ranks that high.

What do you want to do with it? If you want to be a professor, you better only look at brick & mortar. Do you think the Univeristy of Texas or Texas Tech are going to hire someone with a masters from Fakey-Oh's iboughtmydegreeonline University? If so- think again.

I really can't think of a situation where an online degree adds value - except for a business person who MUST "check"'the MBA box for promotion (and his company doesn't care where it's from).