TESU: MS Data Science and Analytics

[poneill]

I just noticed this TESU MS degree for the first time today.

MS Data Science and Analytics

https://www.tesu.edu/heavin/master-of-sc...ta-science


This must be pretty new?  I looked in the most recent TESU Graduate Studies catalog and there is no mention of it.

I'm just finishing dual BA Mathematics and BS Data Science and Analytics degrees at TESU and this MS is quite an interesting option. 

I'm done with BS DS&A coursework and the BA Math should be complete in about 5 months.

There is a lot of MS coursework overlap with the BS DS&A.  It looks like through the TESU Bachelor's to Master's program you can use up to 12 credits in common with the BS degree.  Aside from the MS DS&A Capstone, it appears that without that 12 credit limit, my coursework from the BS would satisfy all the core courses of the MS. 

TESU has different graduate course numbers (different than those it issues on my BS transcript) for some of the courses but Statistics.com does not seem to have any distinction.  ACE does not have any different distinction either.

One curious aspect: When I took the Predictive Analytics series at Statistics.com, it was using an Excel based machine learning platform (XLMiner).  Now they also offer Python and R variants of the series.  The MS degree states that these three courses are to be taken with the choice of Python or R.  So, it appears I have to take them again with the R or Python version.  ACE however does not have different course codes for the XLMiner, Python, or R variants.  I wonder how they keep track of that on the TESU side.

I've sent an email to TESU advising to get more details about this and request approval for the Bachelor's to Master's program. 

Has anyone else looked at this graduate degree or have further information?

[mysonx3]

Would you mind sharing what classes you are taking for the BA in Math? I'm strongly considering a dual Area of Study in History and Math and I've got the History courses all mapped out but not all of the Math ones.

[bjcheung77]

How do you know the course numbering for the Bachelor's requirements is the same for the Masters? The course names might be the same thing, but the numbering might be different. I wonder if that would play a role in this. If not, wow! That's a cheap master degree in this field! Actually, there's a WGU MS Data Analytics too... decisions, decisions.

[poneill]

Would you mind sharing what classes you are taking for the BA in Math? I'm strongly considering a dual Area of Study in History and Math and I've got the History courses all mapped out but not all of the Math ones.

Sure.  Here is what I am doing for the Math area of study.  There are not a lot of inexpensive options for the math beyond Calc II unfortunately.

Course (where) TESU transcript course ID

Probability/Statistics (Aleks)   STA-201
Calculus I  (Straighterline)  MAT-231
Calculus II (Straigherline)  MAT-232
Calculus III (TESU)  MAT-331
Calculus IV (TESU) MAT-332
Linear Algebra (TESU)  MAT-321
College Geometry (TESU)  MAT-361
Discrete Mathematics (TESU)  MAT-270
Mathematical Logic (TESU)  MAT-401
Mathematical Modeling (TESU) MAT-351

---

How do you know the course numbering for the Bachelor's requirements is the same for the Masters?  The course names might be the same thing, but the numbering might be different.  I wonder if that would play a role in this.  If not, wow!  That's a cheap master degree in this field!  Actually, there's a WGU MS Data Analytics too... decisions, decisions.

Well, here is an example.

The course requirements on the link I gave lists this course as a core requirement for the MS.

Name: SQL - Introduction to Database Queries 
TESU Transcript ID: DSI 530

I took that same course as an elective for the BS.  It came in on my transcript as DSI-330. 

Statistics.com offers only 1 course on this subject.  So they must be the same course at statistics.com. 

Also the way it works is that you take the course at Stastics.com then add the course to your ACE transcript after completion.  There is also only one ACE course for statistics.com by this name: STAT-0017.  ACE also lists it as an lower division baccalaureate course, not a graduate course.

For some of the courses in that list, the TESU document gives two transcript IDs, such as in this case:

Interactive Data Visualization - DSI 322 or DSI 622

I took this course as well and it came in as DSI 322.

There is no other course on the topic at Statistics.com so it seems it must also be DSI 622.

I have asked about it though and should know better next week.

And yes, that is not a bad price for an MS in this field!  It is quick too as each course is only a month long. However, some courses are only offered once a year.

[homeschoolmom1]

I wonder if someone with a Bachelors degree could just take some of these courses with Statistics.com without being enrolled at TESU and then transfer them into the MS at some point in the future.

[poneill]

I'm not sure but I am trying to find out. I would like to begin taking some of the MS courses before I finish the BA Math degree. However, I need to make sure that courses taken prior to being enrolled in the MS program will be accepted.

For me, there is also the possible issue of taking the courses before finishing a four year degree. They may only allow coursework completed after attaining a Bachelor's degree. Plus given the way it works through ACE and the issues mentioned above, it seems like it nightmare to sort out on a transcript evaluation if working on the BS and MS coursework simultaneously

I will post back when I have more details from TESU advising.

[homeschoolmom1]

Thanks poneill. Looking forward to you reporting back! Either way, it is an exciting degree.

[sanantone]

Do I have this right? With the bachelor's to master's program, you can overlap 12 credits, but TESU has a 9-credit transfer limit for ACE courses in their master's programs. With the curriculum sharing between TESU and Statistics.com, does that mean that students will have to pay full price for TESU courses even though Statistics.com curriculum is being used?

[davewill]

I wonder if someone with a Bachelors degree could just take some of these courses with Statistics.com without being enrolled at TESU and then transfer them into the MS at some point in the future.

I would worry that the program could change or be cancelled out from underneath you if you were to let the ACE credits sit for long.

[dfrecore]

The 2 degrees look similar at TESU and WGU. I would guess that the main difference between this and the WGU degree is time - WGU MAY be completed in 6 months, depending on how quickly you can get through a lot of it. The TESU/Statistics.com degree will be dependent upon the course calendar at Statistics.com, and will probably take a lot longer than 6 months. If you can't get into the August 2019 capstone because you don't know R or Python well enough to program using them, then you have to do the Feb 2020 capstone. So the soonest you could graduate would be either 9/20/19 or 3/27/2020. I'm guessing you could graduate from WGU by either 5/2019 or 11/2019.

With TESU/Statistics.com, you have to choose R or Python, and then take that route the whole time - and then your electives will have to be based on the path you choose (some courses are based on R, some on Python). That can change the calendar as well, although the capstone is the same timeframe for both.

The one upside of going through TESU: paying for a single course at a time might be a better option for some people ($549ish per course at Statistics.com vs. $3,835 in 1 fell swoop at WGU).

It's also a matter of cost:
TESU 12 courses ~ $6,600 (not sure if you have to pay the residency waiver, it doesn't list it on the Graduate tuition page)
WGU 10 courses ~ $3,835 for 1 term, $7,670 for 2 terms

For someone like the OP who has already done the BS program through Statistics.com/TESU, it may be really comfortable to continue on and get the MS. And if you already have 4 courses completed, that's an added bonus, and a big price reduction (now only about $4,400).

I think I'd take a closer look at WGU's program to see if you could get by with XLMiner instead of R/Python. If you can, then with your degree in Data Analytics and Math, it might be a lot faster/easier/cheaper to get through WGU than TESU.