Just make sure your online school is accredited. This s=is the key.

My husband's Master from Phoenix hasn't hurt his job prospects at all but he has a very good work history and BS from a top school. It depends what you want to do with the degree.

Anonymous wrote:I'm Currently Working On My Masters at Penn State World Campus.
It Is the Same Institution but All the Courses
Are Online. You Even Have the Option of "Walking" at Their Graduation
Ceremony...I Think They Offer Approximately 80 Different Programs...Good Luck!

I earned my master's from Penn State, and went on to study for my doctorate at a traditional school. Penn State's program was excellent. I loved that program. A friend who works in a very competitive field earned her online master's from University of Maryland's University College - another good program. As long as you stick with a reputable school, you should be fine.

I would highly recommend checking out online education. Along with many others that feel it could be sketchy or not worth it, I would have to disagree for a couple factors. In my opinion, in today's era I feel a college degree whether its a BA PHD or whatever it may be, will only help you find a career that you are happy with along with giving you more options in what direction you want to go. One site I would recommend is http://www.onlinemathdegrees.org . It has a ton of information in regards to what you can do with your degree, growth opportunities, different programs they offer and other Q/A's that you are looking to have answered.

I do understand that alot of online institutions get a bad rep but if you do your research I think you can find a great program that fits exactly what you're looking for. http://www.onlinedegrees.com/ is a good website as well to research a little bit about different programs offered and what schools would work best for you. I just think if you're that up in the air about taking an online course, you should research different schools and see what fits the best and try it out.

best of luck!

University of Illinois and University of California-Berkeley both have on-line programs, as do many other good state universities.

I'm Currently Working On My Masters at Penn State World Campus.
It Is the Same Institution but All the Courses
Are Online. You Even Have the Option of "Walking" at Their Graduation
Ceremony...I Think They Offer Approximately 80 Different Programs...Good Luck!

I have one alternative to offer, that is both respectable and at in-state/affordable tuition levels:

UVA and VA Tech have masters-degree level classes held at the UVA/VA Tech Center next to West Falls Church Metro (Orange Line). I'd strongly recommend it if you are looking into masters studies. It has been around for quite a number of years and is a very solid option.

Some of the other local universities have also set up locations, so that professionals can take evening classes without disrupting their commutes too much. GWU has a number of these centers- in Ballston, Clarendon, and a number of other locations. (Pricey, though.)

(Just as an aside-- convenient places for classes, to make it feasible for working/commuting people are a great thing IMO. But the great proliferation of these centers is an idea taken from U of Phoenix, Kaplan, etc--- to have classes convenient to the highest amount of tuition-paying people. It is worrisome to me that GWU, etc, are expanding so much, advertising in the "Express" for their degree and certificate programs--- it would seem that it will water down the value of a degree from there.

There is such an obvious education bubble. It makes me sort of ill to see all the lobbying for higher loan limits "to help the students get access to education," when it is obvious that universities will continue to raise tuition rates for as long as loan limits continue to be raised. Sad to see that happening-- now students are carrying so much debt, when college prices don't need to be high like they are.)

Yes - but be careful of the for-profits. Many of the others mentioned here, like UMBC, are traditional not-for-profit. University of Phoenix is for-profit and that sector is taking a beating and may not hold up nearly as well on a resume.

Bigger commuter schools. I know DePaul in Chicago has a huge amount of course offerings online. Universities with "adult education" classes will probably have online programs. Check Georgetown.