Online Master's Degree for under 10k a year? Not WGU

Currently my employer is offering upto 10k a year for a Master's Degree related to IT, so my goal is to find a school that is under this cap. I already checked and WGU is not an approved school. Any suggestions on schools I should look into?

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NetworkNewb

I'm just started working towards mine at DSU (Dakota State University). Depends how many classes you can do if you can keep under 10k though. DSU is fairly inexpensive compared to others I've seen.

There are always even cheaper options like Georgia Tech online too.

Infosec_Sam

Are you in the US? If you want to minimize your personal expense, you might want to look into any in-state schools that provide online MS degrees. For instance, here's a site that shows a number of schools with MS degrees in IT.

EANx

You said that WGU is not an approved school. Since WGU is regionally accredited, I would ask what the criteria for your company is. And as Sam mentioned, where are you?

JDMurray

Yes, what kind of schools are approved by your employer?

mels65

I am located in the US. I read through the reimbursement policy the school accreditation needs be ABET or AACSB.

UnixGuy

get into the best school that you can get admission into, and pay the difference out of pocket (if you can) - just a thought.

Infosec_Sam

mels65 said:

I am located in the US. I read through the reimbursement policy the school accreditation needs be ABET or AACSB.

So after looking into this a bit, it looks like you have a minimal number of options with this constraint. The AACSB accreditation only applies to Business and Accounting degrees, so no MS in IT - only MBA. The ABET accreditation has one kind of IT-related MS degree: the Masters of System Engineering at The Johns Hopkins University. It looks like your company's accreditation constraints and IT requirements really don't leave you with a ton of options.

the_Grinch

If they offer 10k per year, why are you looking for a program under 10k? If say the program was 30k, you could complete it in 3 years with your company covering the costs no?

Regardless, I'd push you towards DSU. Currently in their MSCS program (taking my pre-reqs) and it is hands down one of the best programs I've been a part of. Very challenging, but the instructors are top notch and the material is amazing.

MrNetTek

I agree with the_Grinch; DSU is a good option.

-MrNetTek at your service-

Pmorgan2

mels65 said:

I am located in the US. I read through the reimbursement policy the school accreditation needs be ABET or AACSB.

That makes it seem like your company doesn't have a lot of support staff like IT and their policies weren't made with you in mind.

Infosec_Sam said:
So after looking into this a bit, it looks like you have a minimal number of options with this constraint. The AACSB accreditation only applies to Business and Accounting degrees, so no MS in IT - only MBA. The ABET accreditation has one kind of IT-related MS degree: the Masters of System Engineering at The Johns Hopkins University. It looks like your company's accreditation constraints and IT requirements really don't leave you with a ton of options.

As Infosec_Sam pointed out, you only have one option - System Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. However, that program doesn't appear on their website anymore, so it's possible you have no options. If that program does exist, you can only take 2 courses a year to keep it under $10,000. That means it would take you 5-6 years to finish the degree.

With all that said, you might need to get an exception to this policy. Coming armed with information about other accreditations and how they compare to ABET might help the argument.

WGU is NWCCU accredited which itself is CHEA accredited. This would come in under your $10,000/yr limit.

I personally would go for an https://www.sans.edu/academics/degrees/msise MSISE from the SANS Technology Institute if I was getting $10,000 a year. The program is $51,000 total, so if you do the degree over 5 years (they recommend 3-5) then you'd only come $1,000 out of pocket. The SANS Technology Institute is MSCHE accredited which is also CHEA accredited.

Edit: fixed my links.

JayLQue

Liberty University