Whether you are looking to a residency program or not should also be on your mind when you consider a master degree online. You would be interested to know that despite their name, most online degrees are not just internet-based. You will be required by some to put in at least a few hours in a classroom or lab.
You might be wondering why you should even consider these types of online programs. There are many reasons for picking such programs. First of all, a master degree online with some element of classroom learning permits you to do better networking.
Face-to-face interaction is of course the best method for networking. Programs that allow such networking opportunities are advantageous for this reason exactly. Furthermore, you may benefit from the heightened interaction too academically.
It is easier to ask for help from your peers and professors if they are within your reach. Ideas and knowledge are shared quickly. Because there is less urgency online, the response time is a little slower.
Residencies just seem to be a perfect fit for some courses. This is due to their emphasis on experience or practical learning. So if your course is in a field where a great focus is on practical experience, then naturally you would look for programs that encompass a large amount of lab time.
This is not as important in fields where knowledge takes preference. Some programs really can deliver all the information you need online. Residencies are not important in these instances.
Should you see the benefits of a residency, you need to consider just how much time you can commit to it. There are varying residency requirements across schools. Almost half of the course can be required to be performed offline.
Those who cannot afford to spend too much time in a campus due to other commitments should look for courses with lower residency needs. You can get away with just a couple of days per semester in some courses. Some offer as little as a single-semester residency commitment for your entire study duration.
These programs also have 'big brother' versions that demand a lot of time on campus. Whatever you pick, be sure that it is commensurate with your limits. Online programs are after all, attractive because of the lack of campus attendance requirements.
How far you are in relation to the institution's classrooms is a huge concern when one thinks of the residencies offered by master degree online programs. Greater distances from the base decrease dramatically the residency requirements you may be inclined to take. This can spare you a lot of effort as well as travel costs.
