In need of help and suggestions to finish my degree!

[rachel83az]

Err... I meant 5 Upper Level courses, not credits.  And I just looked at your courses, those from U of Calgary?

They are!

In that case, UMPI is an even BETTER option, because they have a separate path for Canadian credits. You (probably) don't need to have them evaluated by WES or anyone else as you would have to do at another school.

If I intend to eventually follow up my undergrad with a master's degree, would that in any way impact the suggestions to pursue a BLS or History degree?

It depends on the Master's degree and the school. If you're as laid back about the grad as undergrad, you will at least be able to get a degree of some kind. But, if you, for some reason, have a burning desire to pursue an MBA later on, you might be hampered by the lack of business credits. In general, though, you shouldn't have any problems.

Also, pardon my ignorance, but if in the future, after receiving my degree, I decided to, say, pursue a separate degree in computer science, could I "double dip" and build on top of the classes I would have already taken, or would I have to retake the overlapping courses?

Broadly speaking, schools that allow you to pursue a second degree will simply require an additional 30 credits on top of what you earned for your first Bachelor's degree. Any gen ed requirements, and sometimes electives, are waived. If you think you want a CS degree in the future, and don't have time for it at this time, don't take any CS-related classes now. That WOULD make it so that you'd have to retake classes.

[nichulema]

Err... I meant 5 Upper Level courses, not credits.  And I just looked at your courses, those from U of Calgary?

They are!

In that case, UMPI is an even BETTER option, because they have a separate path for Canadian credits. You (probably) don't need to have them evaluated by WES or anyone else as you would have to do at another school.

If I intend to eventually follow up my undergrad with a master's degree, would that in any way impact the suggestions to pursue a BLS or History degree?

It depends on the Master's degree and the school. If you're as laid back about the grad as undergrad, you will at least be able to get a degree of some kind. But, if you, for some reason, have a burning desire to pursue an MBA later on, you might be hampered by the lack of business credits. In general, though, you shouldn't have any problems.

Also, pardon my ignorance, but if in the future, after receiving my degree, I decided to, say, pursue a separate degree in computer science, could I "double dip" and build on top of the classes I would have already taken, or would I have to retake the overlapping courses?

Broadly speaking, schools that allow you to pursue a second degree will simply require an additional 30 credits on top of what you earned for your first Bachelor's degree. Any gen ed requirements, and sometimes electives, are waived. If you think you want a CS degree in the future, and don't have time for it at this time, don't take any CS-related classes now. That WOULD make it so that you'd have to retake classes.

Funny you mention an MBA--I'd definitely have my eye on one at some point in the future, so it sounds like I might want to toss in a few extra business courses for the undergrad.

This has been exactly the sort of help I was hoping for--I can't thank you (and bjcheung) enough!  

So, to get this started immediately, it sounds like my next steps are:

1)Go to the UMPI website, decide on a program (for simplicity's sake, and because it sounds like a great option, let's say the BLS you mentioned)

2)...?  (Sorry if it's a newbie question, but should I next enroll directly at UMPI for the program, and in that way clarify exactly what remaining credits I need to get?  Or is there another process I should take?  Again, apologies for my general ignorance...it's been a decade+ break and I'm eager to try to make up for lost time!)

[rachel83az]

Once you decide exactly which degree you want, come back here and we can help you pick out which courses to take. You're at least going to want to have your GEC requirements met before enrolling. For that, you can take a look at: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/UM...quivalents

Your existing credits should be able to cover at least some of the GEC requirements. I recommend starting up a spreadsheet to start slotting things in so that you know what you do and don't have to take from Sophia.

[nichulema]

Once you decide exactly which degree you want, come back here and we can help you pick out which courses to take. You're at least going to want to have your GEC requirements met before enrolling. For that, you can take a look at: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/UM...quivalents

Your existing credits should be able to cover at least some of the GEC requirements. I recommend starting up a spreadsheet to start slotting things in so that you know what you do and don't have to take from Sophia.

After going through the website, and given my eventual interest in pursuing an MBA, I think that going for a BABA sounds like my best bet.  I'm interested in both project management and marketing - if it wouldn't dramatically lengthen my total timeline, I'd like to pursue both simultaneously if possible.

[rachel83az]

It shouldn't dramatically lengthen your timeline, as far as I'm aware. I would pursue them sequentially, however. If you finish one in 4 months and then decide that you need the degree NOW and don't want to wait another 2 months to finish the 2nd, you'll still be able to graduate with a degree.

On the other hand, I think I've also heard that several of the marketing classes are quite a bit more work than expected. I recommend going after Project Marketing first, and then try out some of the Marketing classes to see if they are okay to you or if you'd rather just graduate.

[nichulema]

It shouldn't dramatically lengthen your timeline, as far as I'm aware. I would pursue them sequentially, however. If you finish one in 4 months and then decide that you need the degree NOW and don't want to wait another 2 months to finish the 2nd, you'll still be able to graduate with a degree.

On the other hand, I think I've also heard that several of the marketing classes are quite a bit more work than expected. I recommend going after Project Marketing first, and then try out some of the Marketing classes to see if they are okay to you or if you'd rather just graduate.

Fantastic!

So, since it looks like classes won't be starting up until July 5, I've got some time to start with Sophie / InstantCert.  

From the earlier comments, it sounds like a good first step might be InstantCert's intro Spanish class?  Outside of that, I'd be happy to enroll in Sophia as early as today, and pick up any courses you might recommend to get the ball rolling. 

[rachel83az]

Don't take any English Comp at Sophia, it'll be much easier at UMPI.

For the other GEC requirements:
1C: Probably covered by COMS 402.05
2A: Might be covered by at least one of your existing classes, but you will want to take Ethics, Greek Philosophers, or Studying Religions at Sophia anyway.
2B: Possibly covered by your existing German course, might want to take Sociology at Sophia anyway.
2E: Should be covered by COLT 202
3A & 3B: You only need Algebra OR Statistics here, but I recommend taking both because some MBA programs might want you to have stats on a college transcript.
3C & 3E: Biology 101L at Study.com. If you would prefer to take Chemistry 111L for your lab science instead, you would need to take Human Biology from Sophia.
3D: Should be covered by your geology course.
4C: Might be covered by the same class as 2A, but again you will want to take Ethics, Greek Philosophers, or Studying Religions.
5A: Should be covered by your German course, might want to take Sophia's Sociology anyway.
5B: Should be covered by one of your existing history courses. Can take US History from Sophia, though.
5C: Spanish @ InstantCert
5D & 5E: Probably covered by POLI 310B. Should take Ethics, Greek Philosophers, or Studying Religions, however.

While one class can cover multiple requirements, you will need at least 40 credits (13 classes) in your GEC. This is why I suggest taking Sophia courses for some classes that are probably already covered. It's usually faster/easier to transfer in 1 or 2 extra Sophia courses than to not transfer in quite enough.

I would also recommend doing all of Sophia's business courses EXCEPT for Project Management. DO NOT DO SOPHIA'S PM COURSE. If you're going for Project Management at UMPI, taking Sophia's PM course will override a crucial class that you need to complete 2 UL classes at UMPI. Also, don't do micro/macro econ, because you've already done those. You can also skip Principles of Management if it takes too long. See https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/So...lency_List to get an idea of how long each Sophia course is.

Depending on how much time you have left once you've completed Sophia, ICC, and Study.com courses, you might also want to consider Google's Data Analytics course on Sophia: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Coursera It transfers in as the essential Programming for Managers course. UMPI's Programming for Managers shouldn't be too difficult, but the Google Certificate can be a good way to fill a requirement so that you have fewer classes to take there.

UMPI allows you to transfer in as many credits as you want, but only 90 credits will apply to the degree. If you're eyeing a grad program with specific requirements that might not be fully met by UMPI, it's possible to take a course elsewhere, transfer it in, and have it listed on your UMPI transcripts even if you've already hit 90 credits applied to your degree. ashkir did this with a math course he wanted transcripted for future grad programs. Someone else is doing this with Calculus for similar reasons.

[aleksa]

Also, pardon my ignorance, but if in the future, after receiving my degree, I decided to, say, pursue a separate degree in computer science, could I "double dip" and build on top of the classes I would have already taken, or would I have to retake the overlapping courses?

I'm not entirely sure but it seems that specifically with UMPI if you get BLS degree you can't get CS later on (they should introduce CS in 2023 I believe) because BLS is terminal degree. Can anyone confirm if that's true or not, thanks

[rachel83az]

Also, pardon my ignorance, but if in the future, after receiving my degree, I decided to, say, pursue a separate degree in computer science, could I "double dip" and build on top of the classes I would have already taken, or would I have to retake the overlapping courses?

I'm not entirely sure but it seems that specifically with UMPI if you get BLS degree you can't get CS later on (they should introduce CS in 2023 I believe) because BLS is terminal degree. Can anyone confirm if that's true or not, thanks

That was only true for degrees from UMPI. It used to be that, if you got a BLS, you could not return to UMPI for any other degree from UMPI. You were free to get a different degree at a different school, though. Now, they have removed that limitation. If you get a BLS now, you can come back for a BABA later if you really want to do so.

[ss20ts]

I'm not entirely sure but it seems that specifically with UMPI if you get BLS degree you can't get CS later on (they should introduce CS in 2023 I believe) because BLS is terminal degree. Can anyone confirm if that's true or not, thanks

Not true anymore. You can go back to UMPI for a second bachelor's degree after your BLS is conferred. See my signature.