(01-30-2025, 02:06 PM)Bm1992 Wrote: Where would the best place to get a math degree online be? Sounds fun, I'm a math guy.

(01-30-2025, 03:31 PM)fmsoa Wrote:

(01-30-2025, 02:06 PM)Bm1992 Wrote: Where would the best place to get a math degree online be? Sounds fun, I'm a math guy.

I hate to say it, but if you want to study Math "for fun", most of the online degree providers are not for this purpose. By and large they are here to get you a piece of paper after you spent some time and money on it. 

The majority of instructors are academic nomads with no self-made original lectures. Almost all students are happy going through the motion and get an A in the process as well. I learn a lot more on Math watching 3blue1brown and asking chatgpt/claude/deepseek to explain further concept by concept

(01-30-2025, 06:34 PM)lemma Wrote: I can't tell you what the best place to study for a math degree is because there are too many individual factors specific to you which would go into making that judgment call. However, I'm going to try and give you the most comprehensive list of online math programs I can come up with off the top of my head. I'll add some brief comments next to each program if I have anything to say about it.

Louisiana State University of Alexandria - I think LSUA is a good choice if you want a combination of price (about $325 per credit regardless of residency, I believe), speed (online program is on an 8-week half-semester schedule), and "respectability". By the latter I mean it's a nondescript state university: it's not exactly like putting Harvard on your resume, but it's also not the type of university that will raise eyebrows like some for-profits would. The faculty are good, although it is a small department. All but one, I believe, are PhDs. You will get the basics necessary to be a legitimate math major, i.e. the full calculus sequence, some introductory programming, linear algebra, intro to higher math, one semester of abstract algebra, one semester of real analysis, ordinary differential equations, and some electives. Due to the size of the department and the apparently growing number of students, the faculty are probably a bit over-burdened, which is probably why the frequency of elective offerings leaves something to be desired. There are interesting electives like complex variables, graph theory, and topology, but they seem to be offered somewhat infrequently. But there are other electives that seem to be offered much more frequently, like mathematical statistics, discrete mathematics, and financial mathematics, so electives are offered frequently enough so that you can graduate quickly; they just might not be the electives you would like to choose, in a perfect world. What else? You can do a concentration in actuarial mathematics, if that interests you. Every course has at least one proctored exam, and most courses have two or three; some have even more. So for those with test-phobia, keep that in mind. They do not take ACE credits like Sophia, Study.com, etc.

Indiana University East - Another solid choice. Some things about this program are more attractive than LSUA, mostly the electives that are available. For example, they offer a second semester in abstract algebra, which is rare to find online. Now for the downsides, at least in my opinion. I actually was planning on doing a math degree at IUE, but ultimately withdrew before the semester because I was turned off that out of the 4 courses I was signed up for that semester -- 3 of them upper-division -- only one of them was taught by an actual professor -- and that was the 200-level course, amusingly enough! The qualifications of the other two instructors were: a master's in physics, and the other was currently studying for a master's in math. Both were recent grads of IUE's online math program. While it's nice that they're giving their alumni work, and I don't have a problem with non-PhDs teaching, I don't think people with their credentials and lack of experience teaching upper-division courses. Another big reason this was a turn-off for me is that I would like to get letters of recommendation for graduate school from my instructors, and if most (?) of the instructors I would have worked with at IUE had only bachelor's degrees or at most a master's in another field, I doubt that would be as useful as a letter from a full professor. All things equal, of course. Like I said, this may not be much of an issue for you. If it doesn't bother you, then IUE is a good choice. They also are affordable (about the same price as LSUA), can be completed fairly quickly (some courses are full-semester, some are 8 weeks), and it's a state school.

University of North Dakota - This should be another solid choice, though I don't know as much about their program as the previous two. I seem to remember when I was looking into it, though, that the way they staggered their course offerings meant it would take longer to complete. It would have taken me an extra year, due to the timing of their course offerings, to finish a BS with them when compared to LSUA or IUE. I believe they are a bit more expensive than the aforementioned two options, as well, though not very. 

Southern New Hampshire University - This is another program which is affordable and fast, in the sense that they have 8-week sessions so you can get through the necessary pre-reqs pretty quickly. SNHU is kind of a juggernaut these days, too, so they seem to offer core courses very frequently, like every session. This is a very nice feature if you are looking to accelerate things. They do accept ACE credits like Sophia, Study.com, etc., so if leveraging those are an important part of your plan, this is a good choice.

Thomas Edison State University - I don't think I have to say much about TESU. They're pretty legendary around these forums, so there's plenty of info here on them already. I like that you can basically design your own math major, at least beyond the basic calculus core. What I don't like is the whole residency waiver thing. For me, this would have been more expensive than other options and the flexibility wasn't worth the few thousand extra dollars it would cost.

Fayetteville State University - This university is on a normal semester timeline and they have quite a few major requirements, so you probably can't finish as quickly as some of the others. However, they are very affordable; if I remember correctly, out of state students can get a waiver for the out-of-state fees as long as they are matriculated into a degree program. In that case, tuition becomes very cheap. I also remember being impressed by the degree requirements; it practically seemed like a double major in mathematics and computer science! Again, this is just going off of memory; perhaps my memory is prone to exaggeration. Anyway, my impression is that this is a very interesting option, especially if thoroughness and price are more important to you than time.

Central Methodist University - Super cheap, rivaled only by Fayetteville State in that department, I think. Just under $300 per credit inclusive of fees. I expect the program is pretty decent. They also offer an online master's in mathematics (which is the second cheapest one out there for out-of-state students, second only to Northwest Missouri State's, and their program looks far superior to Northwest Missouri's. But I digress...)

Mayville State University - (No relation to Maryville University!) Tuition costs about as much as LSUA, IUE and SNHU, i.e. $330 per credit, but the course requirements and offerings seem really bare bones. Don't see any reason to go with this program over some of the others, honestly.

Ottawa University - Despite the name, this university is actually not in Canada! It's also not as cheap as a few of the other options, so I didn't look into it too seriously.

Bellevue University - Don't know much about this one. All I can say is I wasn't impressed by the degree requirements. They didn't require multivariable calculus or a semester of real analysis. Pretty unforgivable for a math major. 

American Public University - Honestly I did not look into this program in any detail because I personally would not consider a for-profit option like APU.

University of Illinois Springfield - Technically a degree in BS in Mathematical Sciences, so I guess it's more like Applied Math & Statistics. I don't remember what the degree requirements were like, off the top of my head, but I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't require things like abstract algebra and real analysis.

Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College  - I was surprised to see a tiny, Catholic liberal arts college offering an online math degree. I didn't even know this program existed when I was looking for a program to enroll in myself; I would have seriously considered it, even if only for the novelty factor, lol. The major requirements are very respectable, too; they require two semesters of abstract algebra, and one of real analysis. As someone who liked abstract algebra, I appreciate this. Cost is a bit steep at about $500 per credit, though; however if that's inclusive of all fees, that's not too bad.  

Eastern New Mexico University

Liberty University

Maryville University

Wilmington University

Valley City State University

(01-30-2025, 07:05 PM)Bm1992 Wrote: Wow! That's a lot of information! I am really interested in SNHU, the biggest turn off for me is the time it will take to complete. I have been accelerating all of my courses. The other option I am really entertaining is TESU, the only turn off there is the residency waiver cost. I could do most of their req via coopersmith and straighterline. Overall it's hard to find an online math degree that is also accelerated. Though I'm not sure why? Its all rather straight forward if you ask me.

(01-30-2025, 08:02 PM)lemma Wrote:

(01-30-2025, 07:05 PM)Bm1992 Wrote: Wow! That's a lot of information! I am really interested in SNHU, the biggest turn off for me is the time it will take to complete. I have been accelerating all of my courses. The other option I am really entertaining is TESU, the only turn off there is the residency waiver cost. I could do most of their req via coopersmith and straighterline. Overall it's hard to find an online math degree that is also accelerated. Though I'm not sure why? Its all rather straight forward if you ask me.

How quickly are you looking to finish and what math classes have you already taken? Depending on the latter, you could accelerate a few of these pretty quickly IMO

(01-30-2025, 08:31 PM)Bm1992 Wrote: I have all the math classes from Sophia done. Plus, I've found calc 2 on Straighterline and 6 or 7 on Coopersmith

(01-30-2025, 09:44 PM)lemma Wrote:

(01-30-2025, 08:31 PM)Bm1992 Wrote: I have all the math classes from Sophia done. Plus, I've found calc 2 on Straighterline and 6 or 7 on Coopersmith

Gotcha. Then yeah, since math is a subject where pre-reqs, at least in the beginning, matter quite a bit, I don't see how it would be possible to accelerate faster than maybe 1.5 years-ish anywhere other than maybe TESU and SNHU. I say that because TESU/SNHU are very alt credit friendly, so they will give you credit, I assume, for those Sophia/SL courses (not sure about SNHU and Coopersmith). You probably won't get credit for those from any of the other universities I listed -- except maybe Liberty and APU? -- so you would have to actually take the courses at some college. In other words, you'd have to start from the ground up.