Best Computer Science degree?

[Merlin]

It sounds like we're mostly on the same page, but I wanted to quickly expand on the last couple of points you made...

Its funny you mention MOOCs though. Cause many MOOCs are based on college courses. Go figure...wont it be better to take your time and learn from the course you are spending money to take in college from the get go rather than half ass it to pass, then pay money to do it again in a MOOC which is a collegs course? Waste not want not?

I'd say most, if not all of the MOOC courses are college courses. At least all the ones I've taken have been. However, the courses that I am referring to are generally higher-level or deep subject-matter courses that you will not see in a competency-based CS program like those that people on this forum are looking for. Sure, if you pay top dollar to attend a top-rated CS program you'll find some of those courses available as electives, others are graduate-level courses where going deeper into theory is part of the journey.

But my point here is that if someone is interested in learning that stuff, and they don't want to spend 4-5 years and 6 figures to complete their degree, then they can always focus on getting the degree using a competency-approach and then go back and learn this stuff for free from a MOOC. If they then want to earn credit for that, they can do it with a graduate degree for less time and [probably] less money.

The truth is software is now so complex that "esoteric knowledge" isnt so esoteric anymore. I mean few people knew what "linear regression" or "artificial neural network" was, but with AI becoming so common use, these are now very common terms and people have had to become proficent in statistics overnight. Its very hard to do anything innovative in that space without some 'esoteric' CS knowledge other than use a library of two.

Most good programmers can pick up new technologies and learn new tools and techniques pretty rapidly. They have to in order to be able to grow alongside the requirements of their jobs. I know self-taught people who never took a math course above algebra who have used online resources to teach themselves everything they needed to be able to transition into roles working with AI and ML. At the same time, there are people who are abstracting the concepts necessary to implement these technologies to libraries and toolkits which allows the next generation to build applications that leverage the technologies without needing to understanding the details of how they work under the hood.

Yes, understanding the concepts and building blocks behind the technology makes better engineers, but it isn't required for everyone on the team. It depends a lot on the job. As an employer, if I need specialized knowledge I can always hire SME's to handle the heavy lifting and leave the rest of the code to the rank and file members of the software dev team. In many cases, that subject matter expertise is one key difference between a software architect and a programmer on a project team.

[asianphd]

I am wondering if COSC General Studies in CS can be finished using Study.com, Shmoop, Straighterliner, Saylor only.

I am international student, so it is not possible to test out by CLEP for example.

https://www.charteroak.edu/catalog/curre...tudies.php

[Merlin]

I am wondering if COSC General Studies in CS can be finished using Study.com, Shmoop, Straighterliner, Saylor only.

I am international student, so it is not possible to test out by CLEP for example.

I don't know if anyone here has completed that degree, but I don't see any reason why it shouldn't be possible. Though if you are looking at this degree to land a programming job, I'd recommend that you look at the BACS from TESU, since that will look better on a resume. Not because of the school, but because it is a full CS degree rather than a General Studies degree with a concentration in Computer Science Studies.

In any case, regardless of which program you pursue, most CLEP/DSST exams are there to complete GenEd requirements so they can easily be substituted with an ACE (or NCCRS) course taken from another provider like Study.com, Shmoop, Straighterline, or Saylor.

Also, Study.com has a ton of upper- and lower-level Computer Science courses which makes it super easy to earn a CS degree now.

If you do consider the TESU option, be aware that it is a bit more expensive, and TESU doesn't accept Shmoop credits. However, I don't recommend Schmoop (or Saylor) to most people anyway since their course material is terrible. But, everyone has their own tolerance level for such things.

[conexp]

'Best' in terms of having a strong foundation in CS, I would say Auburn and University of Florida's BS in CS programs.

https://csonline.eng.auburn.edu/

https://ufonline.ufl.edu/degrees/undergr...r-science/

Both are also in the top 100 of university rankings in the US i think

and if you're a Florida resident, UF's CS program is very cheap. like $130/credit hour.

Penn State and ASU have a BS in Software Engineering if you're interested in the area of SE.

https://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/degrees-...ee/courses

https://asuonline.asu.edu/online-degree-...gineering/

I've looked at all of those programs, and unfortunately they're way out of my budget (I'm in Canada). 

The Coursera/University of London is at the top of my budget.

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https://www.coursera.org/degrees/bachelo...nce-london

It's actually very competitively priced.

If cost isn't a factor, Old Dominion University has an excellent program as well.

What's your budget?

The University of London is on my shortlist, and it's at the top of my budget.  

If its SOLEY for personal development, then I cannot recommend university of the people enough. I took a few courses from their CS program, you will gain solid knowledge. You will take your time and earn your degree and you will get an Education without breaking the bank. I actually think this program is the better fit for you if you don't want to do the University of London program:

https://www.uopeople.edu/programs/cs/

Will take a closer look at this one at COSC. Thanks

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If you're already an experienced software engineer you probably won't learn much that you don't already know from a bachelor's CS or SD program. If you only want the degree for your own personal development, I recommend that you focus on getting a degree that allows you to build on what you already know to complete it quickly. Look at schools like WGU or TESU to complete something quickly. If you want to learn something new, you can look at MOOC's (like Coursera, EdX, Class Central, etc.) or other training providers (Google, Udacity, Udemy, LinkedIn Learning, etc.) to pick up new skills you are missing or interested in learning.

I've got more than 20 years of experience in software development as a programmer, architect, and manager. IMO a bachelor's degree is just a checkbox degree and you shouldn't waste too much time on it. Get it done quickly and then your options are open. If you want to continue in academics, you can then consider CS-focused master's degrees or doctoral programs that will allow you to specialize in topics that are new and interesting to you.

I've worked on the Ops side of tech for most of my career with some transitioning into software development. I'm basically self taught. I want the math and fundamentals.

I've looked closely at WGU and I just can't get past this feeling that they're a degree mill.  Their marketing/web site just doesn't inspire confidence. I haven't ruled them out though... thanks for your input.

[nyvrem]

btw, if u already have a degree, u might wanna check University of York's Masters in Comp Science program online. it's a UK Uni, with the Russell group. They rank pretty well too.

https://online.york.ac.uk/study-online/m...ce-online/

and it's sorta cheap. like 10k USD for the whole program.

[conexp]

btw, if u already have a degree, u might wanna check University of York's Masters in Comp Science program online. it's a UK Uni, with the Russell group. They rank pretty well too.

https://online.york.ac.uk/study-online/m...ce-online/

and it's sorta cheap. like 10k USD for the whole program.

No degree unfortunately

[armstrongsubero]

@conexp just do the University of London program. I think it checks all boxes.

[udi]

I actually have a CS degree from TESU. It's great if you have a lot of knowledge and want to test out fast. But for solid learning and building fundamentals, unless you are probably taking the courses from TESU then it's lacking.

You can make up for this though, probably add a little Linear Algebra, Calc I an Calc II into the mix, take 2 or 3 courses from TESU, however I think if you want a solid CS degree without breaking the bank  then I would recommend the University of London program from Cousera:

https://www.coursera.org/degrees/bachelo...nce-london

It's actually very competitively priced.

If cost isn't a factor, Old Dominion University has an excellent program as well.

What's your budget?

If its SOLEY for personal development, then I cannot recommend university of the people enough. I took a few courses from their CS program, you will gain solid knowledge. You will take your time and earn your degree and you will get an Education without breaking the bank. I actually think this program is the better fit for you if you don't want to do the University of London program:

https://www.uopeople.edu/programs/cs/

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@LevelUP TESU isn't the only big three to offer a CS degree. COSC offers a Computer Science degree as well. I spoke to admissions and you can list it as a BS in CS on your resume, even though the degree is a "Bachelor of Science in General Studies with a concentration in Computer Science Studies", I don't think COSC lists general studies anywhere and before they removed the syllabus listing from their website I had a look at it, it's actually quite good.

No, COSC does not have a computer science degree and you cannot list the computer science concentration on your resume as such. I emailed them about this a while ago and they flatly said, "No."

[armstrongsubero]

@udi well I spoke to an admissions advisor and they said yes I can list it as such, mind you this was in 2017 or 2018 when I was still deciding on where to do my CS degree, so I don't know if the rules have changed.

"does not have" is a strong statement to make. Oh so the BS in GS in Computer Science, what is it? A degree in marketing? Or is it business?
Its computer science @udi. If you said they don;t have a deaf studies degree or turf grass management that would be fine, but they DO have a computer science degree. Those sure as hell aren't marketing courses.

The curriculum is quite solid. It will help you get into grad school and if I list it as "Bachelor of Science, Computer Science Concentration" on my resume, I certainly will not be lying. I don't think an employer would mind even if gvyou list it as "BS Computer Science", you aren't lying, it has all the requirements of a CS program.

To each his own, I won't argue over semantics of the thing. If you did the BS in GS in CS Studies and an employer asks "did you study CS in school?" and you reply "yes" you wouldn't be lying.

So yes COSC DOES have a CS degree.

[udi]

I went back and checked my e-mail and they replied to me in May of 2019.

I'm happy to get into the weeds on this for a second and with great respect because I know that you have helped me more than once. I almost went to COSC for the Bachelor's in General Studies - Computer Science Concentration. I did not for the following two reasons:

1) The computer science concentration is not printed on the diploma. Neither is the major (general studies).
2) The major is general studies -- not computer science.

That's actually publicly available here: https://www.charteroak.edu/catalog/curre...bachelors/

COSC offers Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degrees in General Studies. If you get a bachelor's degree in general studies with any concentration, your diploma will either say:

"Bachelor of Arts"
or
"Bachelor of Science"

The major (general studies) and the concentration(s) are printed on the official transcripts.

I agree that the curriculum is robust and that it wouldn't be lying to say you studied computer science in college. However, these are general studies degrees before they're computer science degrees.

I don't think this is a matter of semantics, rather being very precise with information that is important and could cost people. These degree titles matter. "Bachelor's of Computer Science" is not printed on any degree for COSC. If your employer verifies your education and the name of the degree is mismatched, you may not always have a chance to explain why you wrote what you did. There's also no guarantee that the employer would accept your explanation, even if it's not fair to you. If you plan on going abroad, you can forget getting an exception if you don't meet the requirements.

The only time I've ever used my degree for work was by providing the original diploma upon which the government made a copy. I've never provided transcripts.

To summarize, the degree you're talking about is a general studies degree with a computer science concentration.

Degree: Bachelor of Arts / Bachelor of Science
Major: general studies
concentration: computer science

So, when you tell people that COSC has a computer science degree, people like me are going to go and look. They are going to check with COSC and COSC is going to say, "No, but we have this."

This is why I say they do not.