8 ms·

http://www.omscs.gatech.edu/faq/ http://www.omscs.gatech.edu/faq/ > How much does the degree program cost? We’re not yet ready to announce a specific program c

by recuter 13y ago

http://www.omscs.gatech.edu/faq/ http://www.omscs.gatech.edu/faq/ > How much does the degree program cost? We’re not yet ready to announce a specific program cost, but the plan is to offer the Georgia Tech OMS CS for a total cost of under $7,000—a fraction of the cost of Georgia Tech’s on-campus program and even less than that of comparable private universities. > The total workload is the same as the residential program; the weekly or hourly workload depends on how quickly students wish to complete the program. This is revolutionary. Not only is it much cheaper, the incentives are now back in alignment. I know plenty of people that could graduate much faster and get on with their lives - The schools on the other hand, want them to stay longer (and thus pay more). This removes the nickel and dime element and all kinds of backwards tedium.

ics 13y ago
Only downside I see in the FAQ has to do with this: they say the expected time for completion is still 3 years, though they suggest people may take up to 6 years if necessary. Udacity has been tho most flexible so far in letting people accomplish what they want at their own pace but, having just taken GT's computational photography on coursera, I wonder if they're going to stick to an organized, semester-like schedule.
clicks 13y ago
Agreed, revolutionary. In a way, it costing $7000 (rather than being free or nearly free) goes further in lending it credibility. I do wonder though that still for those who would have trouble affording even that, would FAFSA provide aid/loans? And moreover, is an undergrad degree a pre-requisite? I wonder if college dropouts can enroll in this program.
- rsanders 13y ago
  Unfortunately, at least for the moment an undergrad degree is a prerequisite. More generally, you have to be admitted to Georgia Tech as would any other graduate student. I think there will be quite a few companies willing to pay $7000 in tuition assistance so their employees can get a MS.
  - waterlesscloud 13y ago
    Tech's MSCS is pretty competitive in terms of admissions. I assume this will be somewhat broader in its acceptance?
    - rsanders 13y ago
      Well, there's no real scarcity of teaching faculty and other resources in a MOOC format, so that pressure will be removed. But I don't know how the standards will be set. I'm not sure Georgia Tech knows that yet, either.
      - rsanders 13y ago
        According to http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/05/14/georgia-tech-and-udacity-roll-out-massive-new-low-cost-degree-program http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/05/14/georgia-tech-a...: > Georgia Tech said it does not plan to lower admission standards to find 6,000 or so students for this track -- a number than is 20 times larger than its current computer science master’s degree program. Instead, Georgia Tech hopes to attract more qualified applicants from across the world, including inside the military and at companies – places that harbor nontraditional students who could not previously come to a traditional campus or find the money for a full degree, on campus or online.
    - ig1 13y ago
      A large part of the credentialing value of a degree is that the person was skilled enough to be accepted onto the course, if they make entrance less competitive it will likely significantly reduce the market value of the degree in credentialing terms.
      - mesozoic 13y ago
        True but some degree of selectivity must be related to capacity rather than qualification. They probably have an abundance of applicants with enough skills to get through the program but their capacity forces them to be even more selective than that. Those are the people that would likely be well served by this program.
- waterlesscloud 13y ago
  Well, they also plan to offer certificates, I assume based on the same program, which they say will cost substantially less. And the materials themselves will be free, like a regular Udacity class.
- ryguytilidie 13y ago
  As a non-CS grad, could I really get an MS in CS from doing an online class? Seems pretty insane, but something I might consider for 7k.
  - readme 13y ago
    Yes. Maybe you'd have to take some remedial courses first though. SNHU offers B.S. in CS online. http://www.snhu.edu/ http://www.snhu.edu/ There is nothing in CS that requires your physical presence in a lecture hall to learn.
    - chris11 13y ago
      All I find is a BS in IT, with a concentration in software development. And the IT department is under the School of Business. It doesn't look like they actually offer any computer science courses.
      - karpodiem 13y ago
        Yep, I looked and discovered the same thing; it isn't a 'pure' CS program. I've discovered lots of these IT programs masquerading as CS programs - it's disappointing, to say the least. I'm really interested in pursuing an undergraduate level degree in CS (I have a liberal arts degree from a Top 15 US school, working full time, but if I could have done everything over, I would have done CS). In my search thus far, I've found zero schools that offer a traditional undergrad CS program online. And please, before we get into the 'you can learn most of undergrad level CS topics online' - I would like the structure and support from an online, instructor led course that offers student assistance/office-hours. This is something I'd pay for, but because I'm working full time, I can't take classes during the workday.
        chris11 13y ago
        Regis University offers an online BS in CS. I don't think it is a top 15 school, but it is ABET accredited. The only problem is tuition is $410 a credit hour, so they estimate a total cost of anywhere from 10k to 50k. http://regis.edu/CPS/Academics/Degrees-and-Programs/Undergraduate-Programs/BS-Computer-Science.aspx http://regis.edu/CPS/Academics/Degrees-and-Programs/Undergra...
neilxdsouza 13y ago
katholieke universiteit leuven offers a masters course in AI for about EUR 5000, on campus. I checked with them in Jan of 2012. I then asked the professor if this was for students of Belgium and what is the price for international students ( I am from India). He confirmed that the price was the same. The university is ranked about 68-75 in the world, of course that is subjective. I feel the USD 40,000-50,000 price is overpriced for the on campus course. People should verify independently of me about the University of Leuven and post something here.
- bayesianhorse 13y ago
  In Europe education is usually cheaper. The general idea is that the society can afford to foot the bill for education better than it can afford to have people not attain the highest level they could reach.
  - Muzza 13y ago
    Yes, we do enjoy our 50-60-70% tax rates here in Europe. Thankfully Sweden recently stopped pissing away the Swedish taxpayers' money by paying for the university education of foreigners.
    - Tomis02 13y ago
      Yes, we do enjoy our tax rates because we know the benefits (such as the average quality of life) are higher than in other parts of the world (such as USA). Check out the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
- DigitalTurk 13y ago
  > He confirmed that the price was the same. Hm. Unless this is a master's course that requires that you already have a different master degree, it should only cost about 500 euros for Belgian students.
eitally 13y ago
Personal anecdote: I just finished an engineering MS from NC State via their Engineering Online ( http://engineeringonline.ncsu.edu http://engineeringonline.ncsu.edu) program. The per-3hr-course cost for EOL courses is roughly $900. For the on campus version of the same thing, it's about $2200. For a 27 credit hour program, that came out to about $8k, which I thought was entirely reasonable given I [as a student local to the school] always had the option of taking advantage of campus facilities/options (libraries/labs, office hours, study groups, etc), too. An added perk was -- as the GT FAQ notes -- the ability to work at my leisure. With a full time job and two toddlers, it took me almost four years to complete the program, but I did and it was a fantastic experience. <edit> To address a question below about GT's program, NC State's is practically equivalent to their campus-based stuff. You apply, and are admitted, following exactly the same process as everyone else. After admission, you follow the same rules and processes as everyone else. The one exception I've found -- besides making it easier to study part time and draw out the total duration -- is that professors are usually much more lenient with deadlines for their online students. They know a large percentage of online students are doing it that way because they're working full time (or are deployed military, or any of a plethora of other situations), and they offer a lot of leeway. This helped me & my peers quite a lot.
- Techasura 13y ago
  Could you please help me with more info on the course you did? If it is a undergrad course, can a non-US resident apply for that?
- nnnnnnnninnnnnn 13y ago
  I assume the differentiating factor here is the quality of the courses, Georgia Tech is ranked in top 10 for CS grad school. Also your tuition was low due to the fact that you were an in state student, out of state tuition is much more expensive.
- arjie 13y ago
  To emphasise the point about the distance education program being equivalent, some 'on-campus' students who can't get into a class because it's full often take the distance ed class (which is often simultaneously recorded). As far as I know, they have the exact same work.
cstejerean 13y ago
The only thing left is to allow people to earn a BS in CS through Udacity as well (or dropping the requirement for a BS for this program, but that seems less likely).
- ZirconCode 13y ago
  Why? Why wouldn't they just drop the requirements? They are not taking any risks, the online course is incredibly cheap to scale. If the student passes the course, doesn't he deserve a masters? If he doesn't, well, he still paid 7k.
  - rtkwe 13y ago
    They're taking the risk of diluting the quality of their degree by letting in a lot of underqualified and unprepared students. Also if they get a load of unqualified students they'll either have to support these students or just let them fail. Either way drags down the program.
hiteshtr 13y ago
Is this course available for non-US resident ??
- rsanders 13y ago
  That appears to be the intent. See my other comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5709930 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5709930
  - hiteshtr 13y ago
    Thanks I am very enthusiast about the course, one thing I want to mention that if fee of this course can be paid in instalment then it will be best thing as I am from India and $7000 is equal to 350000 INR(big price for average Indian)
Ovid 13y ago
One interesting thing I noticed here: my wife obtained her Masters in French law for just over €2,000. Many universities here in Europe are free or very low cost (often £150 per semester). It's the poorly-subsidized, "for profit" nature of the US educational system which has led to the US going from first to twelfth place in the percentage of young people with university degrees (http://completionagenda.collegeboard.org/sites/default/files/reports_pdf/Progress_Report_2010.pdf http://completionagenda.collegeboard.org/sites/default/files...) (warning: pdf). While I applaud what I'm seeing here and I think it's great news, the "low price" of $7000 is only for the Masters program ... you already have to have a Bachelors degree and it's still a far higher price than you'll pay in many parts of the world.
wybo 13y ago
The incentives in college have always been in alignment, because there is so much interesting stuff going on (at universities worth their name) on campus, both in the academic and social spheres (visiting scholars, entrepreneurs, conferences, reading groups, debating, dinners, balls, parties, even fraternities, and foremostly time for real conversations with close friends), that finishing work efficiently always has had its own payoffs. For all the talk about on-line degrees, I don't see them being a good replacement, unless as the cheap/distance option (makes more sense where tuition is high such as in the US), or for mature students with a job/family on the side. Nothing can replace the full university experience (perhaps until somebody boots up a proper Matrix). College is not just about book-knowledge, but also about being immersed in a new environment, meeting new people and developing new skills. Naturally all this can be done in ones sleepy home-village, or on the 10/5-6 city job as well, but very few people find the time, or do the root-cutting necessary to be able to do so.

by recuter 13y ago

ics 13y ago

Only downside I see in the FAQ has to do with this: they say the expected time for completion is still 3 years, though they suggest people may take up to 6 years if necessary. Udacity has been tho most flexible so far in letting people accomplish what they want at their own pace but, having just taken GT's computational photography on coursera, I wonder if they're going to stick to an organized, semester-like schedule.

clicks 13y ago

Agreed, revolutionary. In a way, it costing $7000 (rather than being free or nearly free) goes further in lending it credibility. I do wonder though that still for those who would have trouble affording even that, would FAFSA provide aid/loans? And moreover, is an undergrad degree a pre-requisite? I wonder if college dropouts can enroll in this program.

rsanders 13y ago
Unfortunately, at least for the moment an undergrad degree is a prerequisite. More generally, you have to be admitted to Georgia Tech as would any other graduate student. I think there will be quite a few companies willing to pay $7000 in tuition assistance so their employees can get a MS.
- waterlesscloud 13y ago
  Tech's MSCS is pretty competitive in terms of admissions. I assume this will be somewhat broader in its acceptance?
  - rsanders 13y ago
    Well, there's no real scarcity of teaching faculty and other resources in a MOOC format, so that pressure will be removed. But I don't know how the standards will be set. I'm not sure Georgia Tech knows that yet, either.
    - rsanders 13y ago
      According to http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/05/14/georgia-tech-and-udacity-roll-out-massive-new-low-cost-degree-program http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/05/14/georgia-tech-a...: > Georgia Tech said it does not plan to lower admission standards to find 6,000 or so students for this track -- a number than is 20 times larger than its current computer science master’s degree program. Instead, Georgia Tech hopes to attract more qualified applicants from across the world, including inside the military and at companies – places that harbor nontraditional students who could not previously come to a traditional campus or find the money for a full degree, on campus or online.
  - ig1 13y ago
    A large part of the credentialing value of a degree is that the person was skilled enough to be accepted onto the course, if they make entrance less competitive it will likely significantly reduce the market value of the degree in credentialing terms.
    - mesozoic 13y ago
      True but some degree of selectivity must be related to capacity rather than qualification. They probably have an abundance of applicants with enough skills to get through the program but their capacity forces them to be even more selective than that. Those are the people that would likely be well served by this program.
waterlesscloud 13y ago
Well, they also plan to offer certificates, I assume based on the same program, which they say will cost substantially less. And the materials themselves will be free, like a regular Udacity class.
ryguytilidie 13y ago
As a non-CS grad, could I really get an MS in CS from doing an online class? Seems pretty insane, but something I might consider for 7k.
- readme 13y ago
  Yes. Maybe you'd have to take some remedial courses first though. SNHU offers B.S. in CS online. http://www.snhu.edu/ http://www.snhu.edu/ There is nothing in CS that requires your physical presence in a lecture hall to learn.
  - chris11 13y ago
    All I find is a BS in IT, with a concentration in software development. And the IT department is under the School of Business. It doesn't look like they actually offer any computer science courses.
    - karpodiem 13y ago
      Yep, I looked and discovered the same thing; it isn't a 'pure' CS program. I've discovered lots of these IT programs masquerading as CS programs - it's disappointing, to say the least. I'm really interested in pursuing an undergraduate level degree in CS (I have a liberal arts degree from a Top 15 US school, working full time, but if I could have done everything over, I would have done CS). In my search thus far, I've found zero schools that offer a traditional undergrad CS program online. And please, before we get into the 'you can learn most of undergrad level CS topics online' - I would like the structure and support from an online, instructor led course that offers student assistance/office-hours. This is something I'd pay for, but because I'm working full time, I can't take classes during the workday.
      - chris11 13y ago
        Regis University offers an online BS in CS. I don't think it is a top 15 school, but it is ABET accredited. The only problem is tuition is $410 a credit hour, so they estimate a total cost of anywhere from 10k to 50k. http://regis.edu/CPS/Academics/Degrees-and-Programs/Undergraduate-Programs/BS-Computer-Science.aspx http://regis.edu/CPS/Academics/Degrees-and-Programs/Undergra...

neilxdsouza 13y ago

katholieke universiteit leuven offers a masters course in AI for about EUR 5000, on campus. I checked with them in Jan of 2012. I then asked the professor if this was for students of Belgium and what is the price for international students ( I am from India). He confirmed that the price was the same. The university is ranked about 68-75 in the world, of course that is subjective. I feel the USD 40,000-50,000 price is overpriced for the on campus course. People should verify independently of me about the University of Leuven and post something here.

bayesianhorse 13y ago
In Europe education is usually cheaper. The general idea is that the society can afford to foot the bill for education better than it can afford to have people not attain the highest level they could reach.
- Muzza 13y ago
  Yes, we do enjoy our 50-60-70% tax rates here in Europe. Thankfully Sweden recently stopped pissing away the Swedish taxpayers' money by paying for the university education of foreigners.
  - Tomis02 13y ago
    Yes, we do enjoy our tax rates because we know the benefits (such as the average quality of life) are higher than in other parts of the world (such as USA). Check out the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
DigitalTurk 13y ago
> He confirmed that the price was the same. Hm. Unless this is a master's course that requires that you already have a different master degree, it should only cost about 500 euros for Belgian students.

eitally 13y ago

Personal anecdote: I just finished an engineering MS from NC State via their Engineering Online ( http://engineeringonline.ncsu.edu http://engineeringonline.ncsu.edu) program. The per-3hr-course cost for EOL courses is roughly $900. For the on campus version of the same thing, it's about $2200. For a 27 credit hour program, that came out to about $8k, which I thought was entirely reasonable given I [as a student local to the school] always had the option of taking advantage of campus facilities/options (libraries/labs, office hours, study groups, etc), too. An added perk was -- as the GT FAQ notes -- the ability to work at my leisure. With a full time job and two toddlers, it took me almost four years to complete the program, but I did and it was a fantastic experience. <edit> To address a question below about GT's program, NC State's is practically equivalent to their campus-based stuff. You apply, and are admitted, following exactly the same process as everyone else. After admission, you follow the same rules and processes as everyone else. The one exception I've found -- besides making it easier to study part time and draw out the total duration -- is that professors are usually much more lenient with deadlines for their online students. They know a large percentage of online students are doing it that way because they're working full time (or are deployed military, or any of a plethora of other situations), and they offer a lot of leeway. This helped me & my peers quite a lot.

Techasura 13y ago
Could you please help me with more info on the course you did? If it is a undergrad course, can a non-US resident apply for that?
nnnnnnnninnnnnn 13y ago
I assume the differentiating factor here is the quality of the courses, Georgia Tech is ranked in top 10 for CS grad school. Also your tuition was low due to the fact that you were an in state student, out of state tuition is much more expensive.
arjie 13y ago
To emphasise the point about the distance education program being equivalent, some 'on-campus' students who can't get into a class because it's full often take the distance ed class (which is often simultaneously recorded). As far as I know, they have the exact same work.

cstejerean 13y ago

The only thing left is to allow people to earn a BS in CS through Udacity as well (or dropping the requirement for a BS for this program, but that seems less likely).

ZirconCode 13y ago
Why? Why wouldn't they just drop the requirements? They are not taking any risks, the online course is incredibly cheap to scale. If the student passes the course, doesn't he deserve a masters? If he doesn't, well, he still paid 7k.
- rtkwe 13y ago
  They're taking the risk of diluting the quality of their degree by letting in a lot of underqualified and unprepared students. Also if they get a load of unqualified students they'll either have to support these students or just let them fail. Either way drags down the program.

hiteshtr 13y ago

Is this course available for non-US resident ??

rsanders 13y ago
That appears to be the intent. See my other comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5709930 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5709930
- hiteshtr 13y ago
  Thanks I am very enthusiast about the course, one thing I want to mention that if fee of this course can be paid in instalment then it will be best thing as I am from India and $7000 is equal to 350000 INR(big price for average Indian)

Ovid 13y ago

One interesting thing I noticed here: my wife obtained her Masters in French law for just over €2,000. Many universities here in Europe are free or very low cost (often £150 per semester). It's the poorly-subsidized, "for profit" nature of the US educational system which has led to the US going from first to twelfth place in the percentage of young people with university degrees (http://completionagenda.collegeboard.org/sites/default/files/reports_pdf/Progress_Report_2010.pdf http://completionagenda.collegeboard.org/sites/default/files...) (warning: pdf). While I applaud what I'm seeing here and I think it's great news, the "low price" of $7000 is only for the Masters program ... you already have to have a Bachelors degree and it's still a far higher price than you'll pay in many parts of the world.

wybo 13y ago

The incentives in college have always been in alignment, because there is so much interesting stuff going on (at universities worth their name) on campus, both in the academic and social spheres (visiting scholars, entrepreneurs, conferences, reading groups, debating, dinners, balls, parties, even fraternities, and foremostly time for real conversations with close friends), that finishing work efficiently always has had its own payoffs. For all the talk about on-line degrees, I don't see them being a good replacement, unless as the cheap/distance option (makes more sense where tuition is high such as in the US), or for mature students with a job/family on the side. Nothing can replace the full university experience (perhaps until somebody boots up a proper Matrix). College is not just about book-knowledge, but also about being immersed in a new environment, meeting new people and developing new skills. Naturally all this can be done in ones sleepy home-village, or on the 10/5-6 city job as well, but very few people find the time, or do the root-cutting necessary to be able to do so.