Canadian 90 credit BA -> any 120 credit BA

[rarebird]

Hi all.

Your Location: Ontario, Canada
Your Age: 33
What kind of degree do you want?: The degree I can get fastest given the credits I already have!
Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits: None.
Any certifications or military experience? No.
Budget: Up to $7k USD, but really as cheap as possible!
Commitments: I work full time, other than that nothing.
Dedicated time to study: Around 20-24 hours a week.
Timeline: No specific timeline, budget is more important here, but of course the faster the better.
Tuition assistance/reimbursement: None.

A bit about me: I live in Canada (citizen) and I'm 33. I want to get a master's degree from a US school purely for immigration purposes. Unfortunately my Canadian bachelor's degree is only 90 credits, making me ineligible for almost any master's I've inquired about -- and I've inquired a lot. Online learning at my alma mater isn't an option.

I'm aware of the Coursera/UCB data science master's, but data science is just not for me. I'm not a numbers person and I already have a career in UX writing/technical writing. Looking more for degrees adjacent to these fields (let me know if you know any I'm already eligible for given my current education...)

If I need to get a 120-credit degree to pursue master's studies, what is the cheapest way to do it and in which program? My bachelor's degree is in cognitive science, an interdisciplinary program, so it's really hard for me to figure out how these credits would apply. I would deeply appreciate it if anyone has any insight.

Please be kind -- I know my grades are embarrassing. And I know I have 117 credits... I am not sure how I ended up leaving with just a 3 year degree. When I decided to cut loose from this program I was very depressed and not in my right mind.

Current Regional Accredited Credits:

Carleton University: 117 credits

Subject Code Course Grade Credits
COMP 1005 Introduction to Computer Science I A+ 3
LING 1001 Introduction to Linguistics B+ 3
PHIL 2001 Introduction to Logic A- 3
PHIL 2501 Introduction to Philosophy of Mind A 3
PSYC 1001 Introduction to Psychology I A+ 3
CGSC 2001 Introduction to Cognitive Science A 3
LING 2001 Phonetics B+ 3
MATH 1805 Discrete Structures I B+ 3
PSYC 1002 Introduction to Psychology II A+ 3
PSYC 2001 Introduction to Research Methods in Psychology A- 3
PSYC 2200 Biological Foundations of Behaviour B- 3
LING 2005 Linguistic Analysis I C+ 3
PHIL 2504 Language and Communication B 3
CGSC 3908 Honours Seminar in Cognitive Science A- 3
COMP 2401 Introduction to Systems Programming C 3
COMP 2402 Abstract Data Types and Algorithms D- 3
PHIL 2550 Moral Psychology C+ 3
PSYC 2700 Introduction to Cognitive Psychology B 3
PHIL 2005 Greek Philosophy and the Western Tradition D- 6
CGSC 4801 Independent Study C+ 3
COMP 1006 Introduction to Computer Science II D- 3
HIST 3902 History of the Future D- 3
PSYC 3405 Psychology of Motivation and Emotion B- 3
CLCV 2305 Ancient Science and Technology C- 6
CGSC 3301 Language and Cognitive Science C- 3
CGSC 4001 Artificial Intelligence for Cognitive Scientists B- 3
LING 3601 Language Processing and the Brain I A 3
PHIL 3002 17th Century Philosophy D+ 3
PSYC 3702 Perception B+ 3
CGSC 2002 Theories and Methods in Cognitive Science B 3
LING 3505 Semantics I B 3
PHIL 2010 Issues in Theoretical Philosophy B+ 3
PHIL 3504 Pragmatics B+ 3
PHIL 4220 Consciousness and agency C 3
PSYC 2500 Foundations of Developmental Psychology A- 3
PHIL 1301 Mind, World, and Knowledge A- 3
CGSC 3201 Empirical Issues in Cognitive Science D 3

Thanks very much in advance to anyone who can help.

[bjcheung77]

@rarebird, Welcome to the board, that's a good intro post with some good details, but you've not completed the addendum or template fully to give us an even bigger overview of your scenario.  Which province are you in?  Which institution did you get the degree from?  Please update us with the info here: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...Area-works

Even with D grades, I would still recommend applying to institutions that don't accept it, you shouldn't waste time on re-doing the course either.  It really depends on you, how you want to complete the courses, how you study, what really matters is finishing the degree of your choice.  For transfer credit reference, see below.

Excelsior accepts anything above a C-, again, they take 113 credits, you can have the remaining come through ACE/NCCRS, Foreign credits or those that come through from Nationally Accredited institutions.  https://www.excelsior.edu/start-with-mor...uidelines/

TESU accepts anything above a D, again they take 114 credits, you can have the remaining come through the same as Excelsior, except they don't take NA and the English Comp plus AOS classes has to be a C or higher.  https://tesu.smartcatalogiq.com/current/...n-grading/

UMPI accepts anything above a C-, they require 30 residency credits, they accept RA, ACE credits to a max of 90 transfer credits, here's an archive link http://catalog.umpi.edu/content.php?catoid=5&navoid=206

Your best bet is to go for TESU BACS/BS CIS double degree for undergrad or UMPI BABA PM & IS, then use UMPI MAOL or WGU MSML for graduate (if you wanted to ladder upwards to a Masters).  If you wanted the MBA later on, WGU MBA or the HAU MBA for $3K after scholarship would be best.  Keep us updated on which institutions you apply to...

[rarebird]

@rarebird, Welcome to the board, that's a good intro post with some good details, but you've not completed the addendum or template fully to give us an even bigger overview of your scenario.  Which province are you in?  Which institution did you get the degree from?  Please update us with the info here: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...Area-works

Thanks. I've updated my original post according to the template.

I'm still confused about a lot of things, especially the abbreviations in your post. Is there a guide somewhere to deciphering these?

Is there any way to understand in advance how my credits will apply to the requirements of a specific program at one of these schools? And to directly compare the tuition costs?

Appreciate the help.

PS: I have a large number of failed courses too. I left these out of my credit list, but I understand this could affect my calculated GPA for admissions. How worried should I be?

[ItsNeverTheLionsYear]

Generally speaking, if you google any acronym here and add "site:degreeforum.net" without quotes to the search, you'll get an explanation for what it is. That said, here are all the acronyms in BJ's post explained.

ACE is the American Council on Education, and NCCRS is the National College Credit Recommendation Service. Both make college level "credit recommendations" for completing education that they evaluate to be equivalent to college level coursework (e.g. Sophia learning courses, Study dot com courses, some military training, some Coursera courses, some union apprenticeships...). We sometimes call this kind of credit "alternative credit", or "alt credit" for short, because it doesn't come from a college or university. College here is always used in the American sense, referring to any four year undergraduate institution.

TESU is Thomas Edison State University, a public university in Trenton, New Jersey. Along with Excelsior University (formerly Regent's College, a private nonprofit in New York state) and Charter Oak State College (COSC, a public college in Connecticut), it is one of the historical "Big Three" of public or nonprofit schools that are open to distance learning large amounts of transfer credit. They all came out of education accessibility movements in the 70s that tried to address the then quickly growing population of people who had gone to college of some sort but not received a degree.

UMPI is the University of Maine, Presque Isle (a relatively small town near the New Brunswick border). They have a Competency Based Education (CBE) program called YourPace. CBE is a model of education that allows students to progress from course to course as soon as they master the material. You can see their list of degrees here: https://www.umpi.edu/yourpace/academic_programs/

The other big CBE school on this forum is Western Governor's University (WGU), a private nonprofit school that also has around twenty times the number of students the other schools here have. They got their start in the late 90s when a bunch of governors of western US states wanted to expand university access to remote rural areas. They have since become absolutely huge, in part thanks to a very aggressive marketing strategy.

RA is Regional Accreditation. Regional Accreditation is the gold standard of university accreditation in the US. It's the most rigorous, the most time consuming, the most expensive, and thus the most desirable for an institution to have. Every school I have mentioned so far is regionally accredited.

The TESU BACS is TESU's Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science. The TESU BS CIS is TESU's Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems. CS is theory (and traditionally leads to software development roles) and CIS is more practical (and traditionally leads to less theoretical IT work), so people often try to do this as a double degree.

The UMPI BABA PM & IS is UMPI's YourPace Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with a major in Project Management and Information Systems. It's an IT degree.

The UMPI MAOL is the Masters of Arts in Organizational Leadership, a business focused masters, and the only CBE masters UMPI offers.

The WGU MSML is their Masters of Science in Management and Leadership. Like with their undergraduate programs, WGU masters are CBE.

The WGU MBA is their Masters of Business Administration.

HAU is Hellenic American University, a private nonprofit school in New Hampshire founded by, shockingly, Greek Americans who wanted a university that could bridge across the two countries (they also have programs in Athens). Their MBA is ridiculously dirt cheap.

[bjcheung77]

@ItsNeverTheLionsYear, you're just amazing! That's an awesome write up!

@rarebird, Take your time reviewing posts, spreadsheets, threads, WIKI for more details. In order to compare, I usually get people to create a spreadsheet for the degree/institution of choice. When you have the degrees side by side, you'll know the information and costs, transfers, etc.  Here are degree options from TESU and UMPI, you can review the plans available for each degree. Everything you're looking for is on the WIKI! Common Terms: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Common_Terms

TESU: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Th...University
TESU Degrees: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Category:TESU
UMPI: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Un...esque_Isle
UMPI Degrees: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Category:UMPI