Masters in Environmental Science

[fishsticks123]

Hi all,

I would like to get an online masters in environmental science (?) or similar degree.  

My options:  

• I can get a Masters in Soil Science for about $8,500:  http://www.umassonline.net/degrees/onlin...l-sciences  It's listed as blended, but really only involves going to UMass Amherst roughly once a month for a weekend for field work and classes, which is fine.  
  
• I was thinking of the Harvard Extension's Sustainability Degree Program:  https://www.extension.harvard.edu/academ...ity-degree  If I can manage to do the EdX micromasters, it would only be $23,200. I like the options and focus of this program the best, since a lot of the professors are engineers who worked with EPA to clean up sites.  
  
• I was also thinking of this one as an option:  https://www.futurelearn.com/degrees/deak...ian-action (costs $7,225)  It's not entirely what I want, but includes many aspects of it.  
  

I don't know how to decide, or if I've figured out all of my options!   I am open to a non-US degree, as long as I can learn what I'm interested in, and it's online.  The degree should be below $25k because I don't have a lot of discretionary income.

[rachel83az]

The first one sounds nice, because of the tuition reimbursement, except for one thing: how will the school deal with it if it has to shut down again because of the pandemic? That's definitely something that needs to be taken into account right now.

I don't know if you've seen it, but this was posted not long after your post: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...al-College

[NoStudentNoCry]

 how will the school deal with it if it has to shut down again because of the pandemic?

2 major universities in my home state do blended learning for graduate students now, so it won't surprise me if other schools also offer that option.

[fishsticks123]

UMass Amherst has recently banned online students from visiting the campus: https://www.umass.edu/coronavirus/ but it looks like they can come to do research at the labs, if given permission in advance.

[ss20ts]

Have you checked out this thread?

https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...al-College

[fishsticks123]

Yes, that looks like a great program, too!!!!

[rpmranger]

Also looking for something online in that field. What I am considering so far:

Harvard Extension program, which isn't exactly what I want but reasonably close, and there is no GRE or issues with alternative credits in undergrad. I haven't done too much research into it yet though. My main question with this type of program is how do you complete research for a scientific field Thesis if you are out of state, and have no research facilities to use? How do you do any research at all other than online? Also, slightly concerning is getting a Master of Liberal Arts in extension studies. That sounds ridiculous on a resume and puts into question the credibility of the degree. I feel you would always have to add an additional explanation to justify what the degree really is in anytime it comes up. Also concerning is the abysmal graduation rate for any degree that requires a Thesis.

Johns Hopkins has several really interesting environmental and climate related Masters programs completely online with a vast assortment of very interesting elective courses available. I believe one intensive field study course has to be taken by going to the Bahamas, Hawaii or other location for a week as well. Who wouldn't want to do that though? It sounds amazing. The cons with the programs are they are very expensive at 29-42K for the online programs. I am also unsure of the difficulty of gaining admission here, as it is a very prestigious University. It may be extremely competitive, and I'm not sure how they view alternative credits in undergrad. It's hard to find the actual tuition on their site for the online programs. The normal graduation tuition it shows is not correct, I found the specific online Masters program tuition costs somewhere, but can't locate it when I just looked again. They are different tuition rates for different programs (per course) for some reason.

[bjcheung77]

Wow, 29-42K is a bit expensive.  The programs listed above and the link I provided maybe slightly cheaper but at 19/20K.  However, if you have the means or tuition assistance/reimbursement, the John Hopkins or Harvard name brand may be more worth it in the long run...  For me, no tuition assistance yet, so, no dice!

[ThatBankDude]

Wow, 29-42K is a bit expensive.  The programs listed above and the link I provided maybe slightly cheaper but at 19/20K.  However, if you have the means or tuition assistance/reimbursement, the John Hopkins or Harvard name brand may be more worth it in the long run...  For me, no tuition assistance yet, so, no dice!

It all depends on what want from the program. Do you just want the education and knowledge? Go the cheaper route. Do you want a prestigious name on your resume and access to the alumni network offered? Go with the more prestigious program. I was admitted to Duke University, Johns Hopkins University, Southern Methodist University, etc. I chose Duke University for several reasons and trust me, the price tag is more than any of the programs listed in here.

[rpmranger]

Wow, 29-42K is a bit expensive.  The programs listed above and the link I provided maybe slightly cheaper but at 19/20K.  However, if you have the means or tuition assistance/reimbursement, the John Hopkins or Harvard name brand may be more worth it in the long run...  For me, no tuition assistance yet, so, no dice!

It all depends on what want from the program. Do you just want the education and knowledge? Go the cheaper route. Do you want a prestigious name on your resume and access to the alumni network offered? Go with the more prestigious program. I was admitted to Duke University, Johns Hopkins University, Southern Methodist University, etc. I chose Duke University for several reasons and trust me, the price tag is more than any of the programs listed in here.

I agree with that. My wife attended an Ivy grad school. It was extremely expensive but has paid for itself 10x over in comp and networking in just ten years. 

Totally depends on what specifically you are wanting to do. Some fields it matters WAY more than others. Also, I don't think the quality of education is anywhere near the same for a no-name vs top tier, at least for for in person classes. Experiences and different schools will certainly vary, but in my personal history of attending both extremes over the last 20 years, there was a HUGE difference.

Saying that, when we are talking specifically (online) graduate programs, I don't know how much of a difference there actually is, as I have not attended a top tier graduate school (online). I would be very interested to know the differences.

I still remember lectures and class discussions from 20 years ago when I attended a major University. I don't get that same experience at all from the recent box checking courses I have done.