Bsc Computer Science Degree Plan (Masters Focused)

[somethingdudesomething]

Degree Plan
Notes:

• This contains a 120 credit plan for a AI & ML Focused BscCS. I've listed all Sophia alternative I know transfer, and not sure (red) would (check with advisor) and ACE alternatives otherwise (try to pick study.com and then Saylor ones as UoPeople staff have experience transferring them after Sophia).
  
• I listed Sophia primarily cause 1) I like their 99 bucks do as many as you want model & 2
  
• From 2-23 are courses I highly recommend you take with the Uni and push your instructors to write you letters of recommendations for your masters degree.
  
• Included my own subjective course rating (for example Web Programming 1 & 2 suck).
  
• At the bottom transferrable certificates for multiple course credits transfers listed, check with advisor.
  
• Moocs are added for supplementing your masters application, they are recommended but optional.
  

Masters:
Imho, For around 10k USD there are 4 "good" programs (in my subjective research) that you can get into with a good GPA, good CV, and good LoRs (Letters of Recommendations):
US:

1. UTAustin MSAI (Flat 10K for the whole degree, math heavy, the best AI one imo) QS (Uni not CS) 66:
   - Texas at Austin is a highly reputable school and this program has very good outcomes later, especially in research and employment.
   - Requirements: [Good CV, Good Statement of Purpose (SoP), and you will need the MOOCS]
   - Selective.
   
2. GaTech OMSCS (~8-9k ish for the whole degree, best CS imo) QS 114: 
   - Heavy.
   - Requriements: Same + 3 Letters of recommendations. 
   - A little selective.
   
3. West Governers MsCS: (~4 (don't think that's possible for 1 6 months session) or ~8k for 2 * 6 months session) QS Unranked:
   - This program makes no sense to me with the two aforementioned existing, but is a good program.
   - You need to live in the US or be a US soldier abroad or very selective areas of Canada.
   
4. UoPeople (MSIT): (~5k) QS = Unranked: 
   - Would not recommend, it's not cheap, or that good.
   - It seems UoPeople increased its MSIT course fee to 400$ after RA, wow  .
   

UK:

1. Bath MScAI (Around 11K Pounds for the whole degree, Applied AI Heavy) QS 150: 
   - Pros: Research heavy school, highly reputable:
   
   - They seem to favour a very small group for each intake so instructors can give them attention, instructor focused program. You only deal with your instructors during the degree you never interact with other students (this for me is good, could be not very good for other people).
   - Curriculum is hard, and the degree will take a MINIMUM of 2 years 3 months to finish, with a dessertation your professor will be 1 on 1 involved with you on (Again research heavy).
   - But, very good prospects with this masters, especially for PhD.
   - They actually didn't know what "UoPeople" was at first, it took them a bit of convincing, I think it's a long shot for most UoPeople undergrads but I got in, so you can too (just make sure you are good at math and LoRs and good CV, and a very good SoP they care about that the most).
   
2. York MScAI (Around 11K Pounds for the whole degree, Generic) QS 184:
   - York reputation itself is great and is part of the Russel Group (including Cambridge and Oxford) for research, but their online programs not so much.
   - Accepts pretty much anyone with a bachelor degree, so it's more of a "Generic Conversion Masters".
   - You begin with Data Structures and then things escalate very quickly, and due to low acceptance threshold, a lot of people suffer and complain about the program (this is my conclusion).
   - Low instructor involvement in the course and reliance on gradescope and stuff mostly, means you are pretty much on your own (This is fine for me except for uninvolved grading, but I know for most students, not so much, as I am spending a lot of time answering students questions on the forum with the instructors pretty much absent).
   - The material is good and it seems to be undergoing a design change, you are really leaning on York reputation for this degree though.
   - Being tempered in UoPeople insane weekly workload, this degree will be a breeze for you, especially the minimal no grading students interactions.
   

I made this list before UoPeople RA, I know with RA anabin database will add UoPeople as HS++ thingie and will also be very good German options, appreciate input if good degrees especially with good QS found in other countries for around the 10k budget in the future.

[apple26]

Hey. Thanks for the excel. I have most of the sophias already taken but I guess I missed web development ones. I think I will have to do another sophia run. My main aim is to transfer as much as I can to lower the price and I guess I should also focus on Proctored exams.The courses you listed in excel differs from the one in the catalog https://catalog.uopeople.edu/ug_term1_it...rs-degrees

Should I grind all of those courses between 25-41 row numbers? I am kind of confused

[somethingdudesomething]

Hey. Thanks for the excel. I have most of the sophias already taken but I guess I missed web development ones. I think I will have to do another sophia run. My main aim is to transfer as much as I can to lower the price and I guess  I should also focus on Proctored exams.The courses you listed in excel differs from the one in the catalog https://catalog.uopeople.edu/ug_term1_it...rs-degrees

Should I grind all of those courses between 25-41 row numbers? I am kind of confused

If your goal is cost not transcripts, you should grind up to 90 credits (30 courses):
A) All the 17 "yellow" GenEd ones listed (Row 25 down).
B) 13 of what I consider "core" (2-24) courses, I provided alternatives for all of them, you can use the critiria that best suits you, maybe difficulty? since all will take same time.

Furthermore, the excel aligns with the GenEd link you provided, could you let me know which one is different? (aside from name update I guess).

[Tomas]

I guess  I should also focus on Proctored exams.

Not sure how you meant it, but there is nothing special about proctored courses. (But perhaps you meant focusing on exams, thinking they might be harder than non-proctored?)
Students who plan to continue study with some of the more selective masters should focus on courses required for those. Typically discrete math, calculus, stats, data structures,....

[apple26]

Hey. Thanks for the excel. I have most of the sophias already taken but I guess I missed web development ones. I think I will have to do another sophia run. My main aim is to transfer as much as I can to lower the price and I guess  I should also focus on Proctored exams.The courses you listed in excel differs from the one in the catalog https://catalog.uopeople.edu/ug_term1_it...rs-degrees

Should I grind all of those courses between 25-41 row numbers? I am kind of confused

If your goal is cost not transcripts, you should grind up to 90 credits (30 courses):
A) All the 17 "yellow" GenEd ones listed (Row 25 down).
B) 13 of what I consider "core" (2-24) courses, I provided alternatives for all of them, you can use the critiria that best suits you, maybe difficulty? since all will take same time.

Furthermore, the excel aligns with the GenEd link you provided, could you let me know which one is different? (aside from name update I guess).

Thanks for your answer. I will then re-sub to Sophia and grind out all the GenEds. Then  I will do sophia for Discrete maths and any other that is needed. It is a very helpful chart. Thanks a lot!

What I mean was this;
For example on the Excel, there is "Business Communications" but I cannot find that on the catalog. Maybe "Professional Communication" is the correspondent name. Just trying to make it clear. I guess this is the name difference you mention, other than that this i really good sheet. I appreciate it. It helped me a ton.

---

I guess  I should also focus on Proctored exams.

Not sure how you meant it, but there is nothing special about proctored courses. (But perhaps you meant focusing on exams, thinking they might be harder than non-proctored?)
Students who plan to continue study with some of the more selective masters should focus on courses required for those. Typically discrete math, calculus, stats, data structures,....

Yes. I mean the exams, I just feel like being proctored puts more pressure.

[somethingdudesomething]

What I mean was this;
For example on the Excel, there is "Business Communications" but I cannot find that on the catalog. Maybe "Professional Communication" is the correspondent name. Just trying to make it clear. I guess this is the name difference you mention, other than that this i really good sheet. I appreciate it. It helped me a ton.

Yes. I mean the exams, I just feel like being proctored puts more pressure.

1) I added now (itself) to Business Communication same as Project Management to clarify they transfer as themselves.
2) This is because:

You need 11 Electives in the last section (GenEd and CS) to satisfy this requirement. But for GenEd it can be a course mapped to a UoPeople course or not it doesn't matter (since they do have their own required genEd sections such as Psych for example as you know).
So with a little math we can optimize this section to include the most useful CS elec (in my case AI and AA cause those are juicy for masters application) and use Sophia to add new courses such as business comm (I think this course is very useful actually, it serves as a nice certificate on linked in) so we dont' have to take any "useless or 9 weeks long" genEd UoPeople course.

[apple26]

What I mean was this;
For example on the Excel, there is "Business Communications" but I cannot find that on the catalog. Maybe "Professional Communication" is the correspondent name. Just trying to make it clear. I guess this is the name difference you mention, other than that this i really good sheet. I appreciate it. It helped me a ton.

Yes. I mean the exams, I just feel like being proctored puts more pressure.

1) I added now (itself) to Business Communication same as Project Management to clarify they transfer as themselves.
2) This is because:

You need 11 Electives in the last section (GenEd and CS) to satisfy this requirement. But for GenEd it can be a course mapped to a UoPeople course or not it doesn't matter (since they do have their own required genEd sections such as Psych for example as you know).
So with a little math we can optimize this section to include the most useful CS elec (in my case AI and AA cause those are juicy for masters application) and use Sophia to add new courses such as business comm (I think this course is very useful actually, it serves as a nice certificate on linked in) so we dont' have to take any "useless or 9 weeks long" genEd UoPeople course.

Allright, thanks a lot. I have applied for next term April and they are telling me credit transfer window is closed and I can transfer credit once term has begun. That sounds very weird tbh.

As for my degree plan, I will knock out everything on sophia and on the excel. I already have core courses almost done, and then do the rest from Study.com. Do you have any further recommendations?