The best thing to do regarding choosing a graduate school (online or otherwise) is to do your homework on the institution, previous graduates, its mission, &c. Each of us has our own values, needs, and desires regarding education. In my opinion it is very important to consider the accreditation status of an institution. If you see that the school offers dozens of programs that are not accredited by their discipline accrediting body (let alone institutional accreditation by a regional organization) I would evaluate seriously whether the quality of education at that institution is good. It is a difficult decision to make. Asking this question on here is a very good start. But there are some very obvious questions you must ask, and surely these are going through your head as you posted this question.
One point, regardless of grades, what school you attend, &c., if you get publications graduate schools will open their door to you. Why? Because the purpose of getting a graduate education is to learn the tools to expand available knowledge for society. It is not to "get a job," "position yourself for a promotion," or as a stepping stone into a higher degree. Job opportunities, promotions, and educational advancement are a wonderful side-effect of graduate education, not the reason for it. If you are here to learn you will be much more successful than someone who is here to be taught. If you are hear to learn you will also be much more successful than someone who is here as a way to get a job. I am not telling you to ignore the job market. By all means take courses that will make you competitive in the job market, but do not ignore the fact that you are in a learning community NOT a teaching/training community. If you as a student can keep that mindset, your success will be much better. Malcolm McCallum On Mon, Nov 22, 2010 at 7:13 AM, Barbara Fraser <[email protected]> wrote: > I completed the on-line Master's in Environmental Studies at Green Mountain > College in VT this year. My situation is not the same as that of someone > pursuing a science career - I am a freelance journalist, and was mainly > interested in broadening my knowledge to improve my coverage of > environmental issues. Also, I'm over 50 and do not expect the degree to be > a springboard to a higher-powered career or a PhD, so I can't speak to that. > > I also live outside the US, and for a variety of reasons (having to do with > time commitments, travel commitments and available funds) an on-line > program in the US seemed a better option for me than an on-site program in > the US or here in Peru. A few thoughts: > > There are advantages, including time flexibility, place flexibility (I > turned in some assignments from public internet places while traveling), > having profs from both Green Mountain and other schools, and the ability to > tailor the program to focus on ecosystems in the country where I live. > > I started when the program was in its second year. I'd advise against that, > just because wrinkles are still shaking out at that point. I'd suggest > looking for a slightly more established program; looking carefully at the > course offerings and syllabi; evaluating the on-line library (and other) > resources; asking current students about their experience, especially how > much the profs interact with students (my experience is that it varies from > just like in the classroom to not very much) and how good the thesis > advising is; and asking a lot of questions about the school's ability to > help you connect with research opportunities and funding. I would think the > latter would be fairly important for someone in Ms. Bullock's situation. > > Some schools have on-line "open houses" for their distance-learning > programs, so check those out, or ask if you can have access to their > platform for a day to poke around in the courses, see what the lectures and > discussions are like, etc. I was very happy with the program I did and feel > it met my goals. As with most education, I think a lot depends on what you > put into it. > > Best, > Barbara > > -- > > Member, Society of Environmental Journalists and National Association of > Science Writers > > [email protected] > Telf: +511-242-0115 / +511-9-9668-4400 (celular) > VoIP (USA): 301-960-4201 > Apdo. 18-0418, Lima 18, Perú > -- Malcolm L. McCallum Managing Editor, Herpetological Conservation and Biology "Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive" - Allan Nation 1880's: "There's lots of good fish in the sea" W.S. Gilbert 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, and pollution. 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction MAY help restore populations. 2022: Soylent Green is People! Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.
