Do graduate schools accept distance education degrees?

[sid0123]

I hold a 3 year BEng in Mechanical from a British university and currently I am working. I want to switch over to Physics. I am planning to do a BSc degree with Physics major from an distance education university in India namely IGNOU i.e. Indira Gandhi National Open University.
This program will be of 3 years and includes the practical component too!
I want to know if it will be accepted by the American universities for their graduate program or now?
I am confused about this distance education thing because I am afraid if they give these degrees equal weightage as a full time degree or not.
I have attached the program outline. If anyone can see that and tell me if that would be sufficient or not, I'd be really thankful.

Kindly help.

Thanks

 

[Dr. Courtney]

The important details have more to do with accreditation than distance learning.

 

[tom aaron]

I hold a 3 year BEng in Mechanical from a British university and currently I am working. I want to switch over to Physics. I am planning to do a BSc degree with Physics major from an distance education university in India namely IGNOU i.e. Indira Gandhi National Open University.
This program will be of 3 years and includes the practical component too!
I want to know if it will be accepted by the American universities for their graduate program or now?
I am confused about this distance education thing because I am afraid if they give these degrees equal weightage as a full time degree or not.
I have attached the program outline. If anyone can see that and tell me if that would be sufficient or not, I'd be really thankful.

Kindly help.

Thanks

I don't open things on line so didn't look at it.

You already have a degree? Then you shouldn't have to do another 3 years for another bachelor's in science if your degrees have crossover material. Did you not do Calculus, some physics, etc?

As for accepting the degree . It depends. Every institution has its own criteria for acceptance. You should contact a couple directly and explain your aspirations. You don't always need a degree in a specific discipline to do a graduate program in that discipline...especially if your planned concentration and thesis ties into your undergraduate degree.

 

[sid0123]

@Dr. Courtney - US universities recognize all the AIU (Association of Indian Universities) i accredited degrees. And have checked with AIU that the degree is well accredited and recognized. I just want to know if the universities differentiate between a distance education degree holder and a full-time degree holder.

@tom aaron Sir, I do have studied Calculus during my engineering degree. But not so deeply. Also, we studied just the basic Physics in the first year. Apart from Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer, we have mostly studied application of Physics such as Theory of Machines, Robotics etc.

I am planning to get a physics bachelor degree to make my basics strong. Is it advisable to do so? I mean another Bachelor?

 

[tom aaron]

@Dr. Courtney - US universities recognize all the AIU (Association of Indian Universities) i accredited degrees. And have checked with AIU that the degree is well accredited and recognized. I just want to know if the universities differentiate between a distance education degree holder and a full-time degree holder.

@tom aaron Sir, I do have studied Calculus during my engineering degree. But not so deeply. Also, we studied just the basic Physics in the first year. Apart from Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer, we have mostly studied application of Physics such as Theory of Machines, Robotics etc.

I am planning to get a physics bachelor degree to make my basics strong. Is it advisable to do so? I mean another Bachelor?

I wouldn't. You could add a few courses to a Masters to give you better tools (if needed). If you get into a Masters and focus on a topic, you will find it more stimulating. Doing a Bachelors followed by another might be more of a chore than a positive challenge. Also, doing a Masters will be an eye opener to what you may actually want to do...some new world may open up to you.

Needless to say, a Masters will also give you more opportunity when applying for positions.

 

[sid0123]

@tom aaron Thank you for the advise. But it is very difficult to find a Masters in Physics without having a Bachelors degree in Physics. Most of the universities in India have a prerequisite of having studied a Bachelors course majoring in Physics. Same is the case with universities in Germany. I'd be really happy if you can tell me some of the universities which admit engineering students in the Masters program.

Thank you

 

[tom aaron]

I wouldn't. You could add a few courses to a Masters to give you better tools (if needed). If you get into a Masters and focus on a topic, you will find it more stimulating. Doing a Bachelors followed by another might be more of a chore than a positive challenge. Also, doing a Masters will be an eye opener to what you may actually want to do...some new world may open up to you.

Needless to say, a Masters will also give you more opportunity when applying for positions.

Just a note on qualifications. Internationally accepted is not the same as a graduate department accepting students. Departments are made up of individual professors. They are no different from anyone else. Two students...one has a degree from Oxford, one a degree from no name college. Perhaps the prof hates Oxford but, all things equal...