Graduate Degrees in the Sciences
Should You Get Your Master of Science Degree Online?
by Stan Matherson
Post Graduate Degree Programs Information
Master’s degrees are graduate study degrees that are focused more closely on one discipline than a bachelor’s degree. This is because all master’s degrees require the student to develop highly specialized knowledge in one specific field of study or discipline.
From university to university, the requirements vary but acquiring a master’s degree from an American university has traditionally taken 2 years of full time online study. If the student is part time, because they are working, it will take longer.
Master Degree Program Types
Master’s programs are divided into two main groups Master of Science and
Master of Arts.
A Master of Science (M.S.) is a graduate degree in hard sciences. Usually a minimum of 30 semester hours of post-baccalaureate credit is required. Some master’s programs are all course work while others focus entirely on research. A mixture of the two is the norm.
At a brick and mortar university, Master Degrees may be general M.S. degrees with specialization in specific areas. A review of online Master degree programs indicates the degrees offered usually include the area of specialty in the degree title, such as MSCIS for Master of Science for Computer Information Systems.
Acceptability of Online Master Degree Programs
When online schools and universities first started offering online degrees, acceptance was less than universal. Both the workplace and education industry as a whole was less than supportive of online education at that time.
Many graduates in those early days had difficulty obtaining the best jobs available. Often they had to accept positions in remote or rural areas because standard university Master of Science degree graduates would not work in those areas.
In the early days of online education a check of the schools offering postgraduate degrees was, to be honest, less than impressive. It was rare to find a well-known or highly ranked university on the list of universities offering online postgraduate degrees of any type.
Several years ago, this opinion started to change when universities respected worldwide began to offer free online study programs. Gradually more rated universities started to offer Bachelor’s degrees. Finally, the postgraduate degrees came online.
Even the U.S. government set up a 3-tier program for ranking degrees for high school, bachelors and postgraduate degrees. This tier ranking gave priority for entrance to U.S. Military Academies and government jobs to traditional universities. Now, in January of 2012, the U.S. Congress is discussing a law that will remove any discrimination by government agencies based on a degree being online or on campus.
If Congress passes this new legislation, a large job market will open up for the first time for online graduate students with government jobs. This has already sparked a large increase in government employees working overseas to start working on their Masters Degrees online.
For six full years, excellent online departments of high schools in sixteen states have been graduating students from diploma granting online high schools. They are now graduating from major universities all across America at the top of their class. The reason online education will continue to grow in acceptance is two fold. Online education opens opportunities for increasing numbers of intelligent students for advanced degrees. Graduates of online Masters of Science are already making a name for themselves in increasing number worldwide.
Advantages of Online Master of Science Degree Programs
Accessibility – Online classes can be attended from anywhere an Internet connection is available.
Flexibility – Students may work at times that work best for them. Rarely are there class schedules.
Increased Exposure – Other students will attend with you from all over the world, including U.S. military and government personnel stationed in U.S. Embassies around the world.
Cost of Attendance – Only education does not require relocation saving money to pay for tuition.
Documentation – Systems are fully developed so that all materials, discussions, online class time and assignments are submitted and retrievable at any time for review.
Access to Instructors – Students attending online universities find they have more one on one contact time with Professors than many students at traditional Universities.
Disadvantages of Online Master of Science Degree Programs
Courses – Not all educational disciplines are available for study online.
Communication – While most all of your contact with the school will be online via email or group class programs using special software, some students miss personal one to one contact. More and more personal contact time is the increasing norm for online education.
Employment – You may have some problems at first convincing some employers of the validity of your degree. If you are prepared with contact names from the school and samples of course syllabus for the employer to review this is generally not a problem as it was in the past.
Online Colleges Offering Masters Degrees in the Sciences
Universities Offering Online Master of Science Degrees
Here are just a few of the many quality universities today offering online Master of Science degrees.
The Institute of Technology at Rochester offers an MS degree in the Science of Imaging. This is to prepare graduates for work in the industry of imaging or special fields of science engineering. RIT’s program uses a special systems approach to imaging technology.
USC on the west coast of the United States offers a Masters of Science in Geographical Tech and Information Science. Graduates from this course will be experienced at dealing with GIST for special software applications. The degree is applicable for a wide range of careers.
The University Regis offers an MS in Leadership Organization Management. The curriculum is based on dynamic types of leadership and the management of change.
Well known and respected worldwide, George Washington University offers a degree with MS in Management of Projects.
There are many more universities offering online Master of Science degrees, including well-known and highly rated universities such as the University of Colorado, University of Ohio, University of Southern California and many more.