Are there distance learning math undergrad degrees?

[cloister2]

Are there any brick and mortar universities offering a bachelor's degree in math or statistics? I am interested in one with a decent program of study. Preferably the best one out there.

 

[dkotschessaa]

I searched around for this awhile last year and got a lot of phony search results for universities that really didn't have math degrees, and some unaccredited. The only one I found that looked decent was at the University of Illinois at Springfield (http://www.online.uillinois.edu/catalog/ProgramDetail.asp?ProgramID=541) and it's a transfer program.

It seems that most online degrees at the undergrad level are for things like accounting, criminal justice, etc. geared towards people who are looking to further their careers, not really for people who are interested in learning a pure subject like math and definitely not physics. Statistics I'm not so sure of - you might have better luck with that since it is viewed as more practical (I think). Though the closest you'll probably find is actuarial science.

-DaveKA

 

[cloister2]

How do these programs compare to on campus learning?

From my own research I also found Saint Mary of the Woods College, Thomas Edison State University, and University of New England have online degrees. Does anyone have any personal experience with distance learning degrees? I was wondering how rigorous they are compared to on campus education. I have the opportunity to go to a state school on campus but these sound way more convenient.

 

[twofish-quant]

There's also Excelsior College and Charter Oak State University. Most of these programs are those in which you design your own course of study, and get a general undergraduate bachelor degree, but you can create a math degree.

I'd be interested in talking to someone that has gone through one of these programs in math and physics.

 

[chiro]

Are there any brick and mortar universities offering a bachelor's degree in math or statistics? I am interested in one with a decent program of study. Preferably the best one out there.

I might be out of line here, but unless you have some kind of good academic support network, I would not recommend you do a distance based math degree. I highly doubt that there is any decent distance degree for science based subjects.

The thing is that with a subject like maths, the sciences, or an engineering course, even bright people get confused, make mistakes and so on.

If the learning environment has a good academic support network, whether it be through forums, or perhaps gatherings with people in your local vicinity to get together (ie other distance students in your town or precinct etc), I wouldn't do it.

Math is one of those courses that trips people up no matter how smart they are.

One other thing is that distance courses offer less of a social scene and for a lot of people, social interaction is a good motivator to do anything. When you're with other people with a common interest, it becomes a lot easier to get stuff done, work out problems in a group, verify answers, and actually enjoy what you are doing.

Most of the distance courses in math that I have heard of are postgraduate. Also out of these some are geared to "apprenticeship" type situations where you become a trainee statistician and do your study when you're off work. This situation is understandable because the student typically has at least 3-4 years of math behind them and has demonstrated good results in a particular field, which demonstrates a high likelihood of having the personal motivation to get through distance based learning.

I don't think distance based learning for undergraduate subjects/degrees is a good idea to be honest.

 

[dkotschessaa]

I came to the same conclusion as Chiro which is why I ultimately decided to go to a "real" (as opposed to virtual) university. Here's a quote from a friend of mine on http://www.analogsf.com/aspnet_forum/messages.aspx?TopicID=702" when I asked the same question.

My objection:

Eventually you'll have questions. It's not easy to answer questions in math via e-mail. You're right, anything experimental would be harder <g> but even math often requires face time with a chalkboard. I've found trying to answer questions via e-mail, especially mathematical questions, difficult.

Also, I find that for abstract topics, self-teaching is not easy -- and that's something I've been doing all my life. It is *much* easier in a good lecture to stop the instructor and ask a question for immediately clarification. Otherwise you are reading on and wondering, what does that symbol mean, and feeling more and more frustrated. Unless you are genius (see http://quanta-gaia.org/reviews/books/FeymanJoking.html ) it doesn't work out well.

PS -- I'm not trying to tell you not to do this. But be aware it will be harder, much harder and probably more frustrating, online than in person. True, you'll skip the bad lecturers, the ones you can't learn from anyway. But you'll miss the good lecturers. the ones with true value-added insight, as well as the peer tutoring from interacting with fellow students.

There are a few other good posts there, including philwithbeard's response. He makes some really good points about life interruptions. I know a lot of people who took a long time completing online degrees or who quit because of the difficulties at home.

-DaveKA