Any Linguistics degree online? Need not be cheap

[mahaganapati]

I had started a linguistics degree about 15 years ago and besides also being interested in computer science (more relevant to my current profession) I feel like it would be great to complete my degree. I possibly have 26 credits - some are AP (I read that Calculus expires?) and since I only went to some of my classes my overall GPA was below 2 (after leaving high school with a 4.4 GPA and scholarship I really messed things up!).

Anyways, I've looked around a lot and haven't found any online undergraduate degrees in Linguistics, though there are a number of graduate degrees online for Linguistics.

Does anyone know of any? The only requirements would be regionally accredited and online. I may be willing to endure not being able to transfer e.g. ACE, not being able to complete it quickly etc.

An alternative plan I have is to complete a CS degree through TESU or WGU and then apply for a Master's program in Linguistics online, or maybe computational linguistics since I am currently working as a software engineer.

[bjcheung77]

Ding ding! I highly would recommend doing your TESU BACS or WGU BSCS, if you would like a Software Development degree, the WGU BS Software Development one would also do. THEN go for a Masters in Linguistics... you basically need to see what the requirements for entry and make sure you've hit all the spots before you even apply. In regards to the GPA, don't sweat it, work more on the credits that provide a GPA and for those who don't provide GPA's, go as quickly as possible...

[mahaganapati]

Ding ding! I highly would recommend doing your TESU BACS or WGU BSCS, if you would like a Software Development degree, the WGU BS Software Development one would also do.   THEN go for a Masters in Linguistics...  you basically need to see what the requirements for entry and make sure you've hit all the spots before you even apply.  In regards to the GPA, don't sweat it, work more on the credits that provide a GPA and for those who don't provide GPA's, go as quickly as possible...

Hey thanks for your reply! I've read a number of your posts throughout the forums here and you are very helpful. I am little worried about the reputation that TESU or WGU has. I don't see myself working exactly at Google, but I know big employers (or hiring managers) discriminate against certain schools. However, I've made it this far with no degree at all, so maybe that's fine. And if I want better reputation, maybe I could get that through a Masters.

However I do have some things I am curious about:

1. For TESU, is the limit of transferred credits 90 total or just 90 from one source? And if from just one source, what is the overall total?

2. Has anyone gotten nearly done with their degree through TESU, then transfer to a more reputable school? I can imagine there being difficulties with that approach but then you'd get to list the reputable school on your resume.

3. Should I do the initial enrollment evaluation (I forget what it's exactly called) so that I can see if TESU will honor my AP calculus credits? Or just assume they're no good anymore? I read that they expire

4. Finally, I see that you also have a BA in Biology from TESU - did you do some of that in person or is it something they no longer offer online? I don't see that available.

Thanks!

[ss20ts]

TESU is a state university in New Jersey. For many jobs a degree is really a check box. You can get a job at Google with or without a degree. There were always be someone who discriminates against certain colleges. Doesn't mean that they're right. Just means that they're biased.

[dfrecore]

AP credits do not expire. The only issue you will have at TESU is what ACE says those AP credits are worth; and you have a limit of how many "old" credits you can have in your AoS (limit is 9cr I think).

If you list your AP stuff, I can tell you what TESU will give you for them. Format like this:

AP Exam, year taken, score
AP Exam, year taken, score
AP Exam, year taken, score
------------------------------------------

As for a Linguistics degree, with only 26cr, I'm guessing that you didn't actually take any Linguistics courses, or at least, no UL Linguistics courses. So you won't really lose anything by just getting a Liberal Studies degree if you want prior to going for a MA in Linguistics somewhere.
------------------------------------------

As for reputation, none of the Big 3, nor WGU I don't think, has a "reputation" to worry about. With 4000+ colleges/universities in the US, there are maybe 25 "prestigious" universities, there are like 10 "bad reputation" universities, and then there are the rest; most, you will never even have heard of. Most people can probably list 15-20 universities at all. I would spend exactly zero minutes worrying about this, unless you were planning on going into Wall Street Financing or wanting to work at a company where it mattered in the least, and that will not be at 99.9% of companies.

I wouldn't even worry about your master's being more prestigious than your bachelor's. Nobody cares.

[mahaganapati]

AP credits do not expire.  The only issue you will have at TESU is what ACE says those AP credits are worth; and you have a limit of how many "old" credits you can have in your AoS (limit is 9cr I think).

If you list your AP stuff, I can tell you what TESU will give you for them. Format like this:

AP Exam, year taken, score
AP Exam, year taken, score
AP Exam, year taken, score
------------------------------------------

As for a Linguistics degree, with only 26cr, I'm guessing that you didn't actually take any Linguistics courses, or at least, no UL Linguistics courses.  So you won't really lose anything by just getting a Liberal Studies degree if you want prior to going for a MA in Linguistics somewhere.
------------------------------------------

As for reputation, none of the Big 3, nor WGU I don't think, has a "reputation" to worry about.  With 4000+ colleges/universities in the US, there are maybe 25 "prestigious" universities, there are like 10 "bad reputation" universities, and then there are the rest; most, you will never even have heard of.  Most people can probably list 15-20 universities at all.  I would spend exactly zero minutes worrying about this, unless you were planning on going into Wall Street Financing or wanting to work at a company where it mattered in the least, and that will not be at 99.9% of companies.

I wouldn't even worry about your master's being more prestigious than your bachelor's.  Nobody cares.

Thank you dfrecore that's very kind of you to help!

Economics: Macroeconomics, 2007, 3.00
Mathematics: Calculus BC, 2007, 4.00
Mathematics: Calculus BC sub, 2007, 5.00
US Government & Politics, 2007, 2.00
English Language & Composition, 2006, 4.00

And the classes I took at ASU (all 2007)

GER 394 Topic: Germanic Mythology, E
ASU 101 The ASU Experience, E
ENG 494 Topic: Old English I, D
ENG 102 First-Year Composition, C+
FLA 400 Linguistics, B+
GER 411 Advanced Grammar/Conversation, A-

I don't know where the record for it is but I had tested into GER411 at ASU after taking 2 years of German in high school.

[rachel83az]

1. For TESU, is the limit of transferred credits 90 total or just 90 from one source? And if from just one source, what is the overall total?

2. Has anyone gotten nearly done with their degree through TESU, then transfer to a more reputable school? I can imagine there being difficulties with that approach but then you'd get to list the reputable school on your resume.

3. Should I do the initial enrollment evaluation (I forget what it's exactly called) so that I can see if TESU will honor my AP calculus credits? Or just assume they're no good anymore? I read that they expire

4. Finally, I see that you also have a BA in Biology from TESU - did you do some of that in person or is it something they no longer offer online? I don't see that available.

Thanks!

1. The limit is 114 transferred credits. Only 90 can come from alternate sources. A total of 30 credits need to be RA credits; the capstone & cornerstone at TESU count toward this. The remaining 24 can be from any RA school.
   
2. This would be a very bad idea, to put it mildly. Transferring to another school wouldn't mean transferring the degree requirements as well. You'd have to start over again with whatever requirements the new school had and there's no guarantee that they'd accept anywhere near the same number of credits that TESU does.
   
3. While AP credits don't expire, it's a good idea to apply and enroll as soon as possible due to how long it can take for TESU to do the initial evaluation(s).
   
4. TESU's online degrees are ones where they offer all/most of the courses themselves and in an online format. They do still offer the Biology degree on their site but, if you wanted to pursue it, you'd need to get the UL credits from some other school. That could be prohibitively expensive. The ASNSM Biology isn't too bad but the BA Biology is really only for those who NEED a degree in biology for some reason.
   

[mahaganapati]

1. The limit is 114 transferred credits. Only 90 can come from alternate sources. A total of 30 credits need to be RA credits; the capstone & cornerstone at TESU count toward this. The remaining 24 can be from any RA school.
   
2. This would be a very bad idea, to put it mildly. Transferring to another school wouldn't mean transferring the degree requirements as well. You'd have to start over again with whatever requirements the new school had and there's no guarantee that they'd accept anywhere near the same number of credits that TESU does.
   
3. While AP credits don't expire, it's a good idea to apply and enroll as soon as possible due to how long it can take for TESU to do the initial evaluation(s).
   
4. TESU's online degrees are ones where they offer all/most of the courses themselves and in an online format. They do still offer the Biology degree on their site but, if you wanted to pursue it, you'd need to get the UL credits from some other school. That could be prohibitively expensive. The ASNSM Biology isn't too bad but the BA Biology is really only for those who NEED a degree in biology for some reason.
   

1. Aha OK, so does "alternate sources" mean ACE/Sophia.org/SDC/etc.? And then that would mean trying to get 90 credits from Sophia.org/SDC/etc. and then 24 from e.g. ASU-EA/etc.?
2. That makes sense, I figured that would probably be so.
3. Thank you, that answers my question - I was wondering when I should apply. I guess I'll get started on applying! I thought I would need to wait to apply until I was nearer to finishing my transfer credits.
4. Ah OK, I am only mildly interested in Biology and found it curious. Thank you for explaining.

I have an additional question

5. The TESU outline for BA in CS shows in section I.E. General Education Electives 17-20 credits and section III Electives 21 credits. Is there a difference between these?

[rachel83az]

1. Aha OK, so does "alternate sources" mean ACE/Sophia.org/SDC/etc.? And then that would mean trying to get 90 credits from Sophia.org/SDC/etc. and then 24 from e.g. ASU-EA/etc.?
2. That makes sense, I figured that would probably be so.
3. Thank you, that answers my question - I was wondering when I should apply. I guess I'll get started on applying! I thought I would need to wait to apply until I was nearer to finishing my transfer credits.
4. Ah OK, I am only mildly interested in Biology and found it curious. Thank you for explaining.

I have an additional question

5. The TESU outline for BA in CS shows in section I.E. General Education Electives 17-20 credits and section III Electives 21 credits. Is there a difference between these?

1. That's exactly what it means, yes. AP & CLEP are also "alternate sources". Anything that isn't an actual college/university is an alternate source.
3. Definitely apply and enroll as soon as possible. If you wait, you could be subject to course and/or catalog changes.
5. Speaking of catalog changes, they have not updated the public site to the new catalog. Under the old catalog, there was a big difference. Under the new catalog, there is not really a difference. There are now, at most, 3 gen ed elective credits (and this is only if you fail to meet the minimum credits after filling all the requirements). Otherwise, electives can now be literally anything and do not need to be general education credits.

[mahaganapati]

1. That's exactly what it means, yes. AP & CLEP are also "alternate sources". Anything that isn't an actual college/university is an alternate source.
3. Definitely apply and enroll as soon as possible. If you wait, you could be subject to course and/or catalog changes.
5. Speaking of catalog changes, they have not updated the public site to the new catalog. Under the old catalog, there was a big difference. Under the new catalog, there is not really a difference. There are now, at most, 3 gen ed electives (and this is only if you fail to meet the minimum credits after filling all the requirements). Otherwise, electives can now be literally anything and do not need to be general education credits.

Thanks for explaining! I just applied to TESU and just had my ASU transcripts sent over!

Could you explain to me the residency waiver? I was thinking I would need to wait to enroll because I didn't want to need to perpetually pay that while completing the transfer credits. I think that my understanding is incorrect however I'd like to explicitly know how that works.

I see that you're working on the same degree?