Looking for online B&M schools accepting 90+credits

[joel66]

I posted this on another forum and would love to get feedback here.

Just curious what good B&M schools that have a good transfer policy that accepts around 90+ college credits.

Just to give a background, my son is currently 21 years of age and currently going to a state college in California for the past three years and has close to a 100 credits. He basically took all of his general education courses, but during his three years, he initially took courses for interior design then later graphic design. Both of these courses are unrelated and if he decides to pursue graphic design, it would take him another 2 years to complete the degree. I think it's like 5 1/2 years because he changed majors.

At this stage, he is starting to get frustrated because he took courses early on and they didn't count and if you have been paying attention to the colleges in California, it's pretty bad. Lots of programs are getting cut and it's getting harder to get into them because they are not only cutting enrollment, but also cutting jobs and the amount of people applying is getting larger.

I asked him what his passion is and lets focus on that route. He said he would love to get into Architecture, but he didn't go that route because there are no Architecture programs in the area and if he goes into an M.Arch program, it would have to be the +3. Meaning, if you have an undergraduate degree that's not Architecture related, you would have to go into a 3 year master's program. If you have a B.Arch, it's 1 year program and Architecture (non-B.Arch) it's 2 year. I started laughing and saying, heck, even if he went into graphic design, he would still spend about the same amount of time, because of the earlier courses he took.

What I recommended that he does is to consider a Liberal Arts or General Studies program, and focus on courses that interest him and take courses that would also benefit him for an March degree. I remember when I first want to Excelsior, I initially enrolled into their Liberal Arts program and could have completed my degree a year ago, but I later changed it to a General Business.

At my son's age, I personally don't recommend that he goes to Excelsior if he wants to apply at many of the top programs for M.Arch +3 program. I would think he should try to transfer to a good B&M school that has like liberal arts or general studies. I would like to get some feedback from ppl on this forum on ideas of some good schools.

So far, I sent emails with unofficial transcripts to following colleges.

Chadron State College
Charter Oak State College
Fort Hays State College
Liberty University
Peru State College

[perrik]

FYI, Charter Oak is a zero-residency regionally-accredited non-B&M like TESC and Excelsior. But anyway...

I did a little research on AIA's education site, and there's no really quick way to do this! Without the B.Arch, he'll need prep courses to cover prerequisites for the M.Arch I (if he hasn't already taken the relevant courses, of course). He could also pursue a quick completion of the BSLS and then apply as a 2nd-degree-seeking student to a B.Arch program. Texas Tech and Syracuse both offer the B.Arch online - Texas Tech's online program is a degree completion, so he'd have to transfer in a ton of credits anyway (66, if I recall correctly) to start the program. Getting the unrelated BS and then entering a 3-year M.Arch I would probably be the fastest way to get started.

Your son should contact his target M.Arch programs now to determine what they require from applicants with unrelated undergrad degrees. Would he be expected to take certain courses before applying, and if so, would any of his existing graphics design credits meet the requirements? Would he need additional classes in calculus/analytical geometry, physics, history and architecture?

Just from reading a few of the program websites, it looks like admissions committees are primarily concerned with design portfolios, recommendations, and personal statements. As long as your son can demonstrate to the evaluating faculty that he has the ability and ambition to be a successful architecture student, the number of buildings inhabited by his undergrad alma mater (as long as it's regionally accredited) won't matter so much. Strong recommendations from design professors/instructors would count for a lot, and perhaps one of them could advise him on putting together a strong portfolio.

[joel66]

FYI, Charter Oak is a zero-residency regionally-accredited non-B&M like TESC and Excelsior. But anyway...

I did a little research on AIA's education site, and there's no really quick way to do this! Without the B.Arch, he'll need prep courses to cover prerequisites for the M.Arch I (if he hasn't already taken the relevant courses, of course). He could also pursue a quick completion of the BSLS and then apply as a 2nd-degree-seeking student to a B.Arch program. Texas Tech and Syracuse both offer the B.Arch online - Texas Tech's online program is a degree completion, so he'd have to transfer in a ton of credits anyway (66, if I recall correctly) to start the program. Getting the unrelated BS and then entering a 3-year M.Arch I would probably be the fastest way to get started.

Your son should contact his target M.Arch programs now to determine what they require from applicants with unrelated undergrad degrees. Would he be expected to take certain courses before applying, and if so, would any of his existing graphics design credits meet the requirements? Would he need additional classes in calculus/analytical geometry, physics, history and architecture?

Just from reading a few of the program websites, it looks like admissions committees are primarily concerned with design portfolios, recommendations, and personal statements. As long as your son can demonstrate to the evaluating faculty that he has the ability and ambition to be a successful architecture student, the number of buildings inhabited by his undergrad alma mater (as long as it's regionally accredited) won't matter so much. Strong recommendations from design professors/instructors would count for a lot, and perhaps one of them could advise him on putting together a strong portfolio.

It appears the M.Arch III program would be the best since he can get a liberal arts or general studies undergraduate degree. Once of the director's of the M.Arch program stated the following in regards to the III program.

"At an undergraduate level, I would recommend you lean towards what interests you. The software courses will certainly help - here we primarily use Rhino, Maya and 3D Max, as well as AutoCAD, Illustrator, Photoshop, etc.

My advice is not to limit yourself, and get your liberal arts, your history, sciences, your languages...courses that will expose you to different points of view and a wide range of subjects. This will only spur on your creativity, which is so important to the field of architecture."

In regards to the courses you mentioned, he has completed the following:
MATH 24 - Modern Business Math
Math 400 - Calculus I
Math 401 - Calculus II
STAT 1 - Intro to Statistics

ARTH 300 - Intro to Art
ART 300 - Elementary Drawing and Comp
ART 1A - Stone Age to End Middle Age
ART 1B - Renaissance to Present

GPHD 5 - Intro to Graphic Design
GPHD 10 - Intro to Digital Design
GPHD 20 - History of Graphic Design
GPHD 25 - Visual Basics
GPHD 30 - Visualization

INTD 15 - Intro to Interior Design
INTD 20 - Design
INTD 25 - Design Fundamentals

PHOT 11 - Digital Imaging
PHOT 40 - Basic Techniques Photo

[skyfall123]

Indiana University General studies degree....30 resident credits needed

Indiana University Online and Distance Education, Undergraduate, Associate Bachelor's Degrees, General Studies

[joel66]

Indiana University General studies degree....30 resident credits needed

Indiana University Online and Distance Education, Undergraduate, Associate Bachelor's Degrees, General Studies

That looks like a really good program, but it appears they don't have financial aid for the independent study courses.

[norema]

Ashford University will accept upto 99 credits.

Ashford University – Top Accredited Online Degrees, Online Colleges, Online University, Campus Education College Degrees & Certificates-A.A, B.A, and M.A programs.

[brain122]

Try Columbia College. They offer many online degree's and have a very generous transfer policy. They have several campuses, so if you live in one of those states you will qualify for instate tuition.

Columbia College: Adult education, distance learning and traditional education at more than 30 campuses across the country

Great College! Great rankings!

[joel66]

Thanks for feedback, I think Ashford is a little too expensive and their required courses would be around 17.

I think Columbia College looks great. They accept up to 96 credits and only require 24 units where many others require 30. Plus, 220 per unit is not too bad. I sent them an email to see if they can give us an unofficial evaluation.

I also decided to send Excelsior an email yesterday after speaking with Peru and Fort Hays, because both of those schools the admissions people were not that kind. After communicating with them, I decided to call Excelsior and was told they will work on it today and give me a general idea how many classes he will have left. Plus, if he decides to get this done, he can also get his AA in Art History this semester and his BS in LS within a year and have more time to prep for the GRE exam.

I'm still keeping options open and appreciate the awesome feedback.

[Contango]

You can also look at the University of Missouri ..they also want 30 residency hours though...It's where I'm going for a Bachelors in General Studies...and can be done completely online.

[gregjohnson]

"FYI, Charter Oak is a zero-residency regionally-accredited non-B&M like TESC and Excelsior"

...not sure about the other two, but TESC DEFINETLY is a brick and mortar school...

from Wikipedia:
Thomas Edison State College is a public institution of higher education located in Trenton, New Jersey. One of New Jersey's 12 public universities and colleges,[2] Thomas Edison State College offers degrees at the undergraduate and graduate level.[3] Thomas Edison State College was approved by the New Jersey Board of Education in December 1971, and established on July 1, 1972. The college was named in honor of Thomas Alva Edison, the New Jersey inventor who gained encyclopedic knowledge of many subject areas through self-directed learning.

I hope this helps. Greg