Computer Science, then Masters

[to-the-Masters!]

Hello, I’m hoping you can help guide me to earn my degree. I’ve read a number of threads so I’ve picked up bits and bobs. This site, and its members, are fantastic! I’ve tried sticking to the recommended format, if you want any more information I’ll be happy to provide.


Your Location: United Kingdom
Your Age: 22
What kind of degree do you want?: Computer Science
Current Regional Accredited Credits: None
Current ACE, CLEP Credits: 72
Course, Credits

Writing for success 3

English Composion II 3

Public speaking 3

College algebra 3

Ethics and Business Professional 3

American Government 3

Intro to Physical Oceanography 3

Precalculus 3

Special topics in religion 3

Std Jw. Lw: Interpersonal Cm. 3

Special tiopics in religion 3

Immigration and the economy 3

Topics in Chassidic thought 3

Survey of Jewish history II 3

Special topics in religion 3

Festival Cycle of Jewish Year 3

Std. In Jw. Law Shabbat II 3

Survey of Jewish History 3

microeconomics 3

Special topics in psychology 3

American history II 3

Special topics in religion 3

Macroeconomics 3

Special Topics is Psychology 3

TECEPS

I signed up to a few with Thomas Edison when they were free, but I haven’t taken anything yet.

Any certifications or military experience? None

Budget: I have a max of about $10,000. In truth, getting a decent degree that can get me into a good masters is more important to me (see below), and I’ll go over this if I have to.
Commitments: I do some religious studies in the morning and some of the afternoon / evening. I also attend the gym a few times a week, for a couple of hours. I have other commitments a few times a week for about 2 hours each.
Dedicated time to study: I would like to put in 20-25hrs a normal week, but I can probably put in as much time as I need to, especially over a short-ish period.
Timeline: Finishing the courses required for the degree as fast as possible would be ideal. I would like to finish within 1-1.5 years (12-18 months.)
Tuition assistance/reimbursement: None
The aim of the game here, for me, is to use the credits that I have to get a degree, and then get myself into a masters program in a related field (such as data science or AI.) I’m not looking to get into an incredibly prodigious masters, such as an ivy league college or Cambridge University, rather something more along the lines of University of Texas online, or Manchester university. Basically a tier or 2 down from the really competitive uni’s. And with a price of $15,000 or preferably less, (going over that only if its really worthwhile.)

(A few that I’ve been looking at are:

U of Texas: https://cdso.utexas.edu/apply

Georgia Tech: https://pe.gatech.edu/degrees/computer-science (not strictly AI but quite a lean towards it)

Edinburgh University: https://www.ed.ac.uk/studying/postgradua...iew&id=906

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

Manchester Uni: https://www.manchester.ac.uk/study/maste...anagement/

Leeds University: https://courses.leeds.ac.uk/d052/data-sc...istics-msc

University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign: https://cs.illinois.edu/academics/graduate/professional-mcs/online-master-computer-science-data-science

etc.)

As such, what path do you recommend for me? I believe that in order to enter into some of the schools I’m looking at I’ll need graded credits on my transcript for the relevant courses, such as the computer science courses and maths. I’m not sure study.com and sophia will do the trick. I’m currently looking into doing a computer science BA at Thomas Edison, and taking a couple of flat terms where I take all my relevant courses and get them graded. I’ll learn the course content online myself first, so it hopefully won’t be too overwhelming. And do the literacy today via Edx, and fill in any remainder with sophia or SDC.

I test well, but I prefer to have coursework, and even projects. It would be a massive plus for me if I can actually learn useful skills from my degree, not just tick the boxes, so to speak.

I also understand that masters are based off more than just a degree. I did well in my high school exams, and I hope to create some projects and take some MOOC’s on Coursera and Udemy to spice up my resume. Other ideas are welcome.

I would greatly appreciate feedback and suggestions, to get the easiest, fastest, most effective route to gaining about 30 graded credits in relevant areas. Thank you all so much!

p.s. I know these requirements vary based on the school. I’ll email all the uni’s above to double check their policies – if they accept a gpa that is based off very few courses and the rest are transferred in.

[rachel83az]

Have you looked at SNHU? You can transfer in up to 90 credits to SNHU and the remainder will cost right around $10k. It's not the fastest option, but you will get the last 30 credits as graded credits.

Which TECEPs did you sign up for?

[bjcheung77]

@to-the-Masters! Welcome to the board, that's a very good first post with your introduction and the addendum/template details.  It's great that you're going for the BACS, you may want to add the BSBA CIS if it doesn't take too much energy, money, time from your current studies.  I think the ROI/Value would be there, especially since you're at a young age, instead of completing Udemy, I would stick with the Coursera, Edx options (complete those that grant ACE credit).

It would look like this: 1) Complete the EDX SOS-110 course for transfer to TESU for AAS & BACS
2) Work on CSM Learn, Sophia.org next, then Study.com, to complete courses for both the BACS/BSBA CIS
3) Work on TESU classes, take just one flat rate term, not two (take the 3 capstones and two e-packs)
Note: You can add the AAS Applied Computer Studies (associates capstone needed) and AS Math - FREE!

[ItsNeverTheLionsYear]

I'm on a similar journey myself, albeit from within the US. I'm mixing and matching community college courses plus university extension school courses to get a BACS from TESU, and then eventually an MSCS, and I also took a disproportionate number of Jewish studies courses prior to starting down this path. I'll do a breakdown for the American programs (Georgia Tech, UT Austin, UIUC), but each of the UK programs should have a breakdown of prerequisites somewhere on their website that is pretty similar to the American schools.

Georgia tech requirements: https://omscs.gatech.edu/preparing-yourself-omscs
UIUC requirements: https://cs.illinois.edu/academics/gradua...er-science, under "application information"
UT Austin requirements: https://cdso.utexas.edu/faq, under "What constitutes a successful applicant?"

I'm making the bet that I only need graded courses for certain subject area courses to get into MSCS programs. I make US-based course recommendations. You might be able to find something better with the Finnish universities, but I'm not sure if they offer grades. I don't know how Finnish universities work. There's a wiki page: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Fi...iversities





Intro to programming 

Required by: Georgia Tech, UT Austin, UIUC. Counts towards the BACS area of study as a core course.

Took this one online from Washtenaw Community College, which is my local CC. They accept international students, but they don't have all the prereqs you'll need. 

WCC CPS 171 - $612 for 4 credits (international rate) https://catalog.wccnet.edu/current/courses/cps-171.php

Object Oriented Programming 

Required by: UIUC, Georgia Tech. Counts as a BACS lower level elective.

Taken through WCC. This course is a prereq for data structures at WCC, but not an explicit prereq for most MSCS programs. Couldn't hurt. 

WCC CPS 271 - $612 for 4 credits. https://catalog.wccnet.edu/current/courses/cps-271.php

Data structures

Required by: Georgia Tech, UT Austin, UIUC. Counts towards the BACS area of study as a core course.

Taken through Washtenaw. This course and the two above it are part of a 12-week "bootcamp" that you can take in one term. Packed calendar though, wouldn't recommend taking any courses alongside them. 

WCC CPS 272 - $612 for 4 credits. https://catalog.wccnet.edu/current/courses/cps-272.php

Discrete math 

Required by: UT Austin. Counts towards the BACS area of study as a core course.

I'm taking this through Oakton. The cheapest option I can find that should work without issue internationally is UC San Diego Extension. University of North Dakota also offers an online discrete math course, but that costs over $1.2k.

UC San Diego - $695 for 3 credits. https://extendedstudies.ucsd.edu/courses...-cse-41243

Computer Architecture & Organization 

Required by: UT Austin. Counts towards the BACS area of study as a core course.

I'm taking this through Oakton. 

Computer architecture is very hard to find a graded online course for that international students can take!!! Unless you're dead set on UT Austin, I'd take the SDC course. If you absolutely must take this for a grade, it seems like the only online option is to make nice with a UND admin to get an exception to take a 400-level electrical engineering class online as a non-major, or pay $1300 to Liberty University. I have strong objections to Liberty University that are not appropriate for this forum, but I'm guessing we might be from somewhat similar backgrounds, and if so you'll likely also have objections.

Liberty University CSIS 342 - $1365 pre-fees for 3 credits. https://www.liberty.edu/online/courses/csis342/

Algorithms 

Required by: Georgia Tech, UT Austin, UIUC. Counts towards the BACS area of study as an elective if just algorithms, or as acore AoS course if bundled with data stuctures.

I'm taking this through Oakton. Again the cheapest option seems to be UC San Diego, with a Data Structures & Algorithms course. If you want, you can take the gamble and see if the masters admission commitees see this count for Data Structures as well. 

UC San Diego Data Structures & Algorithms - $725 for 3 credits. https://extendedstudies.ucsd.edu/courses...algorithms

C

Required by nobody. Recommended by Georgia Tech. Counts towards the BACS area of study as an elective, probably lower level.

When I reached out to Georgia Tech for their requirements, they said they like to see a course in C. Don't think it's actually required, but I wanted to take it anyway. The only online provider I can find is UC Berkeley Extension, which offers a very low-commitment 2-credit course.

UC Berkeley EL ENG X24 - $995 for 2 credits. https://extension.berkeley.edu/search/pu...seId=40911

"Computer Systems" 

Required by: UT Austin. No clue how it would transfer to the BACS.

I don't know what UT Austin meant by this, even looking at their example class description. As best I can tell it's a theory-heavy operating systems course. I am not taking a course that matches their description 1-to-1 because I don't think any such course exists online, graded, for credit. The closest I can get is a "Systems Programming" course from the University of North Dakota, which I might decide I want to take at some point. Who knows.

UND CSCI 330 - Around $1200 for 3 credits. No direct link, but here's the online course catalog: https://und.edu/academics/online/index.h...er-Science

Linear Algebra 

Required by: UT Austin but the MSAI specifically, UIUC, Georgia Tech recommended. Should count as a BACS extra AoS elective.

Back to the straightforward stuff! WCC has got us covered. I took this class in my first BA, so I can't vouch for the course, but it's there.

WCC MTH 197 - $612 for 4 credits. https://catalog.wccnet.edu/current/courses/mth-197.php

Data Mining 

Required by: UT Austin only, and just the MSAI. Probably transfers to the BACS as a lower level elective.

UC San Diego is the only game in town on the internet for courses that give credit. Makes the choice easy. I haven't taken the course yet, and I'm not sure I'm going to (waffling about whether or not I want to apply to the MSAI).

UC San Diego Fundamentals of Data Mining - $725 for 3 credits. https://extendedstudies.ucsd.edu/courses...ata-mining


Calculus up to Calc 3 

Required by: UT Austin and just for their MS Data Science only, but STRONGLY recommended everywhere else. Calc I is required for the BACS.

You gotta take some calculus. Rite of passage, plus it's required for the BACS. WCC offers the full progression, but I would take Calc I through the ASU universal learner. You very much can take Calculus on Sophia, then SDC as well to meet the BACS requirements if you're not gunning for UT Austin. Like with linear algebra, I took this in my first BA, so I can't vouch for any specific course.

Calc I: ASU universal learner - $425 for 3 credits. https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Ar...al_Learner
Calc II: WCC MTH 192 - $612 for 4 credits. https://catalog.wccnet.edu/current/courses/mth-192.php
Calc III: WCC MTH 293 - $612 for 4 credits. https://catalog.wccnet.edu/current/courses/mth-293.php

Statistics and/or probability

Recommended by: Georgia tech. Counts towards the BACS as an AoS additional elective.

Meh. If you don't want a data science degree you don't need to take a stats course, but you probably should. SDC it if you want. UC San Diego will cover you for a graded course.

UC San Diego Statistics for Data Analytics - $675 for 3 credits. https://extendedstudies.ucsd.edu/courses...-analytics


Everything else

I've knocked out the other courses I need through Sophia & SDC. and I would recommend you'd do the same. Very quick, minimal trouble. Other posts & the wiki cover it, but you can meet the upper-level course requirement through SDC if you take linear algebra somewhere.

PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU DO NOT HAVE TO TAKE EVERY COURSE I LIST. Modify what you plan on taking to the programs you really think you want to apply to. Remember that the BACS will also cost you $4893 for the capstone and residency waiver, plus even more for the cornerstone if this is your first degree. Do up a spreadsheet and make a full accounting, including the cost of SDC exams. You'll probably be able to knock out your Sophia stuff within one $70 billing cycle, which on the scale of $10k is negligible.

[rachel83az]

For the Finnish universities: it depends. Metropolia is (largely) pass/fail. XAMK has some pass/fail classes, but some have grades.

[to-the-Masters!]

Have you looked at SNHU? You can transfer in up to 90 credits to SNHU and the remainder will cost right around $10k. It's not the fastest option, but you will get the last 30 credits as graded credits.

Which TECEPs did you sign up for?

Thank you for the speedy response. I had a quick look into SNHU. It just feels a shame to ignore so many of the credits I already have which won't transfer in as their program is a B.S. so needs far more relevant courses. I'll do more research into it though.

The TECEPS I signed up for were, network engineering, a world history TECEP and computer concepts and applications.

---

@to-the-Masters! Welcome to the board, that's a very good first post with your introduction and the addendum/template details.  It's great that you're going for the BACS, you may want to add the BSBA CIS if it doesn't take too much energy, money, time from your current studies.  I think the ROI/Value would be there, especially since you're at a young age, instead of completing Udemy, I would stick with the Coursera, Edx options (complete those that grant ACE credit).

It would look like this: 1) Complete the EDX SOS-110 course for transfer to TESU for AAS & BACS
2) Work on CSM Learn, Sophia.org next, then Study.com, to complete courses for both the BACS/BSBA CIS
3) Work on TESU classes, take just one flat rate term, not two (take the 3 capstones and two e-packs)
Note: You can add the AAS Applied Computer Studies (associates capstone needed) and AS Math - FREE!

Thanks for the response. As far as I understand, you are saying I don't need graded courses to get into a masters, and am better off taking 2 undergrads instead? I may have totally misunderstood you though.

---

I'm on a similar journey myself, albeit from within the US. I'm mixing and matching community college courses plus university extension school courses to get a BACS from TESU, and then eventually an MSCS, and I also took a disproportionate number of Jewish studies courses prior to starting down this path. I'll do a breakdown for the American programs (Georgia Tech, UT Austin, UIUC), but each of the UK programs should have a breakdown of prerequisites somewhere on their website that is pretty similar to the American schools.

Georgia tech requirements: https://omscs.gatech.edu/preparing-yourself-omscs
UIUC requirements: https://cs.illinois.edu/academics/gradua...er-science, under "application information"
UT Austin requirements: https://cdso.utexas.edu/faq, under "What constitutes a successful applicant?"

I'm making the bet that I only need graded courses for certain subject area courses to get into MSCS programs. I make US-based course recommendations. You might be able to find something better with the Finnish universities, but I'm not sure if they offer grades. I don't know how Finnish universities work. There's a wiki page: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Fi...iversities





Intro to programming 

Required by: Georgia Tech, UT Austin, UIUC. Counts towards the BACS area of study as a core course.

Took this one online from Washtenaw Community College, which is my local CC. They accept international students, but they don't have all the prereqs you'll need. 

WCC CPS 171 - $612 for 4 credits (international rate) https://catalog.wccnet.edu/current/courses/cps-171.php

Object Oriented Programming 

Required by: UIUC, Georgia Tech. Counts as a BACS lower level elective.

Taken through WCC. This course is a prereq for data structures at WCC, but not an explicit prereq for most MSCS programs. Couldn't hurt. 

WCC CPS 271 - $612 for 4 credits. https://catalog.wccnet.edu/current/courses/cps-271.php

Data structures

Required by: Georgia Tech, UT Austin, UIUC. Counts towards the BACS area of study as a core course.

Taken through Washtenaw. This course and the two above it are part of a 12-week "bootcamp" that you can take in one term. Packed calendar though, wouldn't recommend taking any courses alongside them. 

WCC CPS 272 - $612 for 4 credits. https://catalog.wccnet.edu/current/courses/cps-272.php

Discrete math 

Required by: UT Austin. Counts towards the BACS area of study as a core course.

I'm taking this through Oakton. The cheapest option I can find that should work without issue internationally is UC San Diego Extension. University of North Dakota also offers an online discrete math course, but that costs over $1.2k.

UC San Diego - $695 for 3 credits. https://extendedstudies.ucsd.edu/courses...-cse-41243

Computer Architecture & Organization 

Required by: UT Austin. Counts towards the BACS area of study as a core course.

I'm taking this through Oakton. 

Computer architecture is very hard to find a graded online course for that international students can take!!! Unless you're dead set on UT Austin, I'd take the SDC course. If you absolutely must take this for a grade, it seems like the only online option is to make nice with a UND admin to get an exception to take a 400-level electrical engineering class online as a non-major, or pay $1300 to Liberty University. I have strong objections to Liberty University that are not appropriate for this forum, but I'm guessing we might be from somewhat similar backgrounds, and if so you'll likely also have objections.

Liberty University CSIS 342 - $1365 pre-fees for 3 credits. https://www.liberty.edu/online/courses/csis342/

Algorithms 

Required by: Georgia Tech, UT Austin, UIUC. Counts towards the BACS area of study as an elective if just algorithms, or as acore AoS course if bundled with data stuctures.

I'm taking this through Oakton. Again the cheapest option seems to be UC San Diego, with a Data Structures & Algorithms course. If you want, you can take the gamble and see if the masters admission commitees see this count for Data Structures as well. 

UC San Diego Data Structures & Algorithms - $725 for 3 credits. https://extendedstudies.ucsd.edu/courses...algorithms

C

Required by nobody. Recommended by Georgia Tech. Counts towards the BACS area of study as an elective, probably lower level.

When I reached out to Georgia Tech for their requirements, they said they like to see a course in C. Don't think it's actually required, but I wanted to take it anyway. The only online provider I can find is UC Berkeley Extension, which offers a very low-commitment 2-credit course.

UC Berkeley EL ENG X24 - $995 for 2 credits. https://extension.berkeley.edu/search/pu...seId=40911

"Computer Systems" 

Required by: UT Austin. No clue how it would transfer to the BACS.

I don't know what UT Austin meant by this, even looking at their example class description. As best I can tell it's a theory-heavy operating systems course. I am not taking a course that matches their description 1-to-1 because I don't think any such course exists online, graded, for credit. The closest I can get is a "Systems Programming" course from the University of North Dakota, which I might decide I want to take at some point. Who knows.

UND CSCI 330 - Around $1200 for 3 credits. No direct link, but here's the online course catalog: https://und.edu/academics/online/index.h...er-Science

Linear Algebra 

Required by: UT Austin but the MSAI specifically, UIUC, Georgia Tech recommended. Should count as a BACS extra AoS elective.

Back to the straightforward stuff! WCC has got us covered. I took this class in my first BA, so I can't vouch for the course, but it's there.

WCC MTH 197 - $612 for 4 credits. https://catalog.wccnet.edu/current/courses/mth-197.php

Data Mining 

Required by: UT Austin only, and just the MSAI. Probably transfers to the BACS as a lower level elective.

UC San Diego is the only game in town on the internet for courses that give credit. Makes the choice easy. I haven't taken the course yet, and I'm not sure I'm going to (waffling about whether or not I want to apply to the MSAI).

UC San Diego Fundamentals of Data Mining - $725 for 3 credits. https://extendedstudies.ucsd.edu/courses...ata-mining


Calculus up to Calc 3 

Required by: UT Austin and just for their MS Data Science only, but STRONGLY recommended everywhere else. Calc I is required for the BACS.

You gotta take some calculus. Rite of passage, plus it's required for the BACS. WCC offers the full progression, but I would take Calc I through the ASU universal learner. You very much can take Calculus on Sophia, then SDC as well to meet the BACS requirements if you're not gunning for UT Austin. Like with linear algebra, I took this in my first BA, so I can't vouch for any specific course.

Calc I: ASU universal learner - $425 for 3 credits. https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Ar...al_Learner
Calc II: WCC MTH 192 - $612 for 4 credits. https://catalog.wccnet.edu/current/courses/mth-192.php
Calc III: WCC MTH 293 - $612 for 4 credits. https://catalog.wccnet.edu/current/courses/mth-293.php

Statistics and/or probability

Recommended by: Georgia tech. Counts towards the BACS as an AoS additional elective.

Meh. If you don't want a data science degree you don't need to take a stats course, but you probably should. SDC it if you want. UC San Diego will cover you for a graded course.

UC San Diego Statistics for Data Analytics - $675 for 3 credits. https://extendedstudies.ucsd.edu/courses...-analytics


Everything else

I've knocked out the other courses I need through Sophia & SDC. and I would recommend you'd do the same. Very quick, minimal trouble. Other posts & the wiki cover it, but you can meet the upper-level course requirement through SDC if you take linear algebra somewhere.

PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU DO NOT HAVE TO TAKE EVERY COURSE I LIST. Modify what you plan on taking to the programs you really think you want to apply to. Remember that the BACS will also cost you $4893 for the capstone and residency waiver, plus even more for the cornerstone if this is your first degree. Do up a spreadsheet and make a full accounting, including the cost of SDC exams. You'll probably be able to knock out your Sophia stuff within one $70 billing cycle, which on the scale of $10k is negligible.

Wow this was a lot. Thank you for the time and effort I'm sure this took, and you're right, I imagine we are from similar backgrounds. I'll take your advice and narrow down to my top choices, and take courses they require. Then I'll make a spreadsheet of costs.

[rachel83az]

I would highly recommend talking to the graduate programs you're most interested in. Especially if you're not interested in SNHU. As bjcheung77 sort of indicated, many grad programs don't require graded credits. Pass/fail grades (such as from Sophia or Study.com) are often fine. If they weren't, WGU graduates could never go on to get a graduate degree: WGU credits are entirely pass/fail with no grades. Also, if the school really wants them, both SDC and Sophia can provide graded transcripts which the grad school can use to calculate a whole-program GPA.

I'm a bit confused about why bjcheung77 is recommending the AAS Computer Science, though. The ASNSM Comp Sci doesn't require an extra capstone and is "included" (provided you ask for it) when you complete a BACS at TESU. Completing the BACS and BSBA CIS isn't a bad idea, but I think doing 3 capstones in a single term would be a bit much. Better to do 2 capstones and 3 easy classes/ePacks instead, IMO.

[to-the-Masters!]

I would highly recommend talking to the graduate programs you're most interested in. Especially if you're not interested in SNHU. As bjcheung77 sort of indicated, many grad programs don't require graded credits. Pass/fail grades (such as from Sophia or Study.com) are often fine. If they weren't, WGU graduates could never go on to get a graduate degree: WGU credits are entirely pass/fail with no grades. Also, if the school really wants them, both SDC and Sophia can provide graded transcripts which the grad school can use to calculate a whole-program GPA.

I'm a bit confused about why bjcheung77 is recommending the AAS Computer Science, though. The ASNSM Comp Sci doesn't require an extra capstone and is "included" (provided you ask for it) when you complete a BACS at TESU. Completing the BACS and BSBA CIS isn't a bad idea, but I think doing 3 capstones in a single term would be a bit much. Better to do 2 capstones and 3 easy classes/ePacks instead, IMO.

I've just emailed a few of them (the UK ones, Edinburgh, Manchester, York and ICL, just for the heck of it) to find out if they require graded courses or not. I'll hopefully email the US ones too. I'll let you guys know what they say.

If I can get away without many graded credits then I'll look into doing the BACS and BSBA CIS together. 

Thanks again

[Duneranger]

I would highly recommend talking to the graduate programs you're most interested in. Especially if you're not interested in SNHU. As bjcheung77 sort of indicated, many grad programs don't require graded credits. Pass/fail grades (such as from Sophia or Study.com) are often fine. If they weren't, WGU graduates could never go on to get a graduate degree: WGU credits are entirely pass/fail with no grades. Also, if the school really wants them, both SDC and Sophia can provide graded transcripts which the grad school can use to calculate a whole-program GPA.

I'm a bit confused about why bjcheung77 is recommending the AAS Computer Science, though. The ASNSM Comp Sci doesn't require an extra capstone and is "included" (provided you ask for it) when you complete a BACS at TESU. Completing the BACS and BSBA CIS isn't a bad idea, but I think doing 3 capstones in a single term would be a bit much. Better to do 2 capstones and 3 easy classes/ePacks instead, IMO.

I've just emailed a few of them (the UK ones, Edinburgh, Manchester, York and ICL, just for the heck of it) to find out if they require graded courses or not. I'll hopefully email the US ones too. I'll let you guys know what they say.

If I can get away without many graded credits then I'll look into doing the BACS and BSBA CIS together. 

Thanks again

I went to grad school at Edinburgh, I would be VERY surprised if they didn't require graded transcripts. Lucky that you are in the UK, international tuition isn't cheap. It is a great school, best online program I have done.

FYI, Edinburgh's MSc Data Science acceptance rate is 10% (60% for the online version) and AI is 22%, so definitely have your app squared away.

[to-the-Masters!]

I would highly recommend talking to the graduate programs you're most interested in. Especially if you're not interested in SNHU. As bjcheung77 sort of indicated, many grad programs don't require graded credits. Pass/fail grades (such as from Sophia or Study.com) are often fine. If they weren't, WGU graduates could never go on to get a graduate degree: WGU credits are entirely pass/fail with no grades. Also, if the school really wants them, both SDC and Sophia can provide graded transcripts which the grad school can use to calculate a whole-program GPA.

I'm a bit confused about why bjcheung77 is recommending the AAS Computer Science, though. The ASNSM Comp Sci doesn't require an extra capstone and is "included" (provided you ask for it) when you complete a BACS at TESU. Completing the BACS and BSBA CIS isn't a bad idea, but I think doing 3 capstones in a single term would be a bit much. Better to do 2 capstones and 3 easy classes/ePacks instead, IMO.

I've just emailed a few of them (the UK ones, Edinburgh, Manchester, York and ICL, just for the heck of it) to find out if they require graded courses or not. I'll hopefully email the US ones too. I'll let you guys know what they say.

If I can get away without many graded credits then I'll look into doing the BACS and BSBA CIS together. 

Thanks again

I went to grad school at Edinburgh, I would be VERY surprised if they didn't require graded transcripts. Lucky that you are in the UK, international tuition isn't cheap. It is a great school, best online program I have done.

FYI, Edinburgh's MSc Data Science acceptance rate is 10% (60% for the online version) and AI is 22%, so definitely have your app squared away.

Thank you. I would only be applying to the online courses, so its good to know my chances are higher... Its also good to hear the online program is great. I haven't heard back from them yet about graded transcripts, but I'm definitely leaning towards taking all relevant courses graded.

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One of the earlier posts suggested UC San Diego. Does anyone know if they transfer correctly? I've seen some funny things about them in a quick glance through the forum.