For people considering getting a CS degree
Posted by MagdyDoze@reddit | learnprogramming | View on Reddit | 44 comments
University of the People (UoPeople) just got regionally accredited like 2 months ago!
& for those who've never heard of it, its a non-profit tuition-free 100% online university that charges only for assessments (140$ each), which will cost you 5660$ only for the whole degree!
You can apply also for partial or full scholarship that will cover your fees if you have unfortunate circumstances or from unfortunate country or both (like me)
The CS degree has 40 courses & their academic year has 5 terms, you can go as slow as you want (1 course per term) if you're busy, or faster (4 courses per term) which will make you finish the degree in only 2.5 years, & you can finish it even faster by transferring credits from your previous degree (if you have one), or from other credit-transferring learning sites like Sophia, Coursera..etc (you can transfer up to 75% of the credits "which is 90 out of 120", & that will make you finish the degree in less than a year!)
Link for a document of all courses that could be transferred in UoPeople https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jYSgm5gXVhAC1FxLfrTAZ1v4ZrxPAUhoAL6NwOTQOS0/htmlview#gid=1888705900
I'm not affiliated by them by any means, I'm not even a student with them yet (finishing some stuff before admission God Willing), but like 10 days ago I asked on OSSU discord if OSSU curriculum could be considered as a degree if it's well documented or at least better than not having one at all if I put it on my resume, & the answer was as expected
But a random kind soul replied to me to check UoPeople out (he is a first-year student there), & asked him if its good, he told me it will give you the paper!, which I think is the best thing about this..it will check that box for you once & for all & you won't be insecure with your resume or get filtered out while applying for jobs just for not having a degree especially in the current market
Here is the link for their full CS curriculum https://my.uopeople.edu/mod/book/view.php?id=45606&chapterid=113665
There were a couple of UoPeople-related posts in this subreddit in the past & almost all of them addressed the fact it was not regionally accredited, so I figured out that I would tell you for those who could benefit from it as it was benefitting for me
Amenian@reddit
I tried UoP. They wanted me to write full on multi page essays every week for each class. Just wasn't feasible while working full time. I ended up getting my degree from WGU instead. It was easier to fit into a busy adult's schedule.
andyke@reddit
Even for the cs courses? Been a while since I looked into them
Amenian@reddit
I never got that far. You have to do all the Gen ed first
A11U45@reddit
As a non American I've always found American universities requiring gen ed to be weird.
Amenian@reddit
Agreed. You should learn all that in high school. Not sure what it's called where you're at
tarheeljks@reddit
even the best research institutions in the usa still require students to have some diversity in their studies at the undergraduate level (and for good reason).
Terrible-Hornet4059@reddit
It's a two-problem. Lacking confidence in high schools to actually follow through on that, and colleges/universities milking the bank.
rea1l1@reddit
Developing the ability to effectively write out your thoughts through practice is a core necessary skill. There is a growing literacy problem in the United States in part due to our educational institutions refusing to hold failing students back and continuously passing them onto the next grade. With that in mind, its hard for me to fault them for setting this standard in the curriculum.
BaboonBaller@reddit
I agree with you about passing people on with failing grades. I developed my writing skills through a mentor in my late twenties. Decades later, I’m very good at it and help others in my circle. My entry level employee’s writings were dramatically improved through the use of AI in a very short time period. I’m basically teaching them how to feed AI better prompts which also has a shorter learning curve. I put forth a lot of effort to achieve well written communication. I’m a bit jealous that this tool was not available when I needed it.
There are other factors of writing like nuance, explaining for the intended audience in their terms, and convincing the receiving party to provide what the project needs of them. I’m still ahead of others in that regard so my training focuses on that rather than grammar.
ops10@reddit
That sounds fucking depressing. The writings of your employees have improved, but their own understanding of language?
mxldevs@reddit
Ya but...for computer science?
I do programming because I don't want to have to deal with natural language.
Anotherteenartist@reddit
Well if you want to work in actual software engineering you will have to be able to communicate your ideas effectively both in speech and in text. A good portion of it is natural language.
MagdyDoze@reddit (OP)
Me too lol
andyke@reddit
Oh I was thinking of a second degree if I recall I believe they offer the post bacc where you just take the main cs courses
MagdyDoze@reddit (OP)
WGU is more expensive unfortunately especially for people from unfortunate countries like me + its for US only to begin with
But I'm curious, how does WGU grade their students?
gjallerhorns_only@reddit
WGU courses are pass/fail but they consider a pass (meets competency in their words) to be an 80% or better. I forget the wording for exceptional scores. So if you don't know the material well enough to get 80% then you fail, but they give you 3 chances to take your exam.
MagdyDoze@reddit (OP)
Oh I see, thanks
Amenian@reddit
Oh apologies, I didn't notice you weren't in the US.
MagdyDoze@reddit (OP)
Nvm its ok :)
Yamikuh@reddit
this is not free it’s actually just ab how much my community college degree costs everything included for 4 semesters. you might be better off just going to your local cc and doing online
MagdyDoze@reddit (OP)
I've replied to that here, tldr I have no other choice
https://www.reddit.com/r/learnprogramming/comments/1k85uim/comment/mp48z53/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Automatic-Yak4017@reddit
Cheap doesn't necessarily mean good. Just because they're accredited doesn't mean you'll get a good education. Computer Science is not a degree I would want a so-so education on.
MagdyDoze@reddit (OP)
Cheap IS necessarily good for people needing it & having no choice, & its accreditation means its at least not less than any community college out there & my resume won't get auto-filtered out while applying to jobs....& thats all I need
gjallerhorns_only@reddit
I tried UoP like 7yrs ago but because of things happening in my life I had to withdraw. But I definitely learned a lot in the courses that I did take at the time. I'm in WGU now but would definitely recommend University of the People for someone outside of the USA, especially since it's an American university so will face less discrimination than a foreign degree if you're trying to immigrate for work.
MagdyDoze@reddit (OP)
I really hope so my friend, appreciate your take on this
makINtruck@reddit
OP, thank you so much for sharing! I'm in Russia and this seems to be the only way for me to get a recognizable degree.
MagdyDoze@reddit (OP)
I feel for you in every single way my friend, you're absolutely welcome!, stay strong & I hope you the best <3
makINtruck@reddit
Same for you, friend!
Left_Huckleberry5320@reddit
There's also wgu
MagdyDoze@reddit (OP)
You're right, but thats more expensive + its for US only
Aezzil@reddit
Its free if you work at kfc.
MagdyDoze@reddit (OP)
oh I didn't know that thats great, but I'm not from US & WGU is exclusively for US unfortunately
thrwysurfer@reddit
It seems you are in Egypt, have you thought about attending domestic universities? In terms of cost, they shouldn't be more expensive than US institutions, even online ones right?
While Egypt isn't exactly known for its universities, I actually met people who did their undergrad in Egypt and then went the route of overseas Masters in the West for immigration purposes.
I knew someone who attended Mansoura and he seemed to be ok at handling the course load here.
MagdyDoze@reddit (OP)
Yes I am (how did you know that? :D)
I did actually try to attend here 5 years ago, but unfortunately I got discriminated against because of my age "late twenties back then" even from the most forgiving one on that metric (I was one year off from their cut-off age!)
& coincidentally, I'm also planning for Masters too God Willing (Georgia Tech OMSCS), & a lot of graduates from UoPeople got admitted there no problem, its also way cheaper than other options (6600$ only) + 100% Online + prestigious (top 10), but I need money for that lol, so I have to get a job first
dhrime46@reddit
The online masters from Georgia Tech isn't prestigious.
MagdyDoze@reddit (OP)
Top 10?!...it has the same curriculum as the on campus one, some courses require you to be on campus though but I'm not talking about those
thrwysurfer@reddit
I kind of assumed because "god willing" is usually only something muslims say translating inshallah by word (although zeleaous Christians tend to refer to God willingness as well, but those are much rarer). Also you posted in an Egyptian sub a while back.
Why do Egyptian universities have cut off ages? Isn't that defeating the purpose of a university? I assumed you just have to pay the right amount of money to attend and have the right credentials.
Just keep in mind: Regardless of how educated you are, your job prospects also depend on how well the labor market as well as the industry in your country is. A lot of people who are decently educated but can't find a job in their own country due to general development problems of their country will emigrate, aka brain drain.
MagdyDoze@reddit (OP)
Good guess :D
I know right!, its a very weird & sad thing to think about tbh, but thats the situation of how unbelievably bureaucratic Egypt is!, even though the university I tried to attend is a private one (fun fact its called the "Open" Arab University) it has to work under the management of our bureaucratic ministry of high education
You're absolutely right on that & I'm aware of it fully, thats why I am willing to work at the international market inshaAllah, whether its Gulf/Europe/even USA if I could, remote or otherwise, because the economy here is nose diving annually my friend :D
confused_900@reddit
So if I want to learn software engineering, can I start with any language or do I have to go through this whole course?
MagdyDoze@reddit (OP)
Of course you gonna start now, & let it be hand in hand with your studies on your degree
Confident-Step-1685@reddit
It was never about learning or science the information is so easy to get I need to go to Harvard or MIT or any of top schools for " brand"
MagdyDoze@reddit (OP)
You can go to UoPeople as a stepping stone for Georgia Tech Masters (Top 10), so I think its good enough
Original-Box-4346@reddit
Did you transfer and if so was it easy to transfer you're credits?
MagdyDoze@reddit (OP)
I haven't applied yet, & I'm planning to transfer Gen ed. courses
but ton of people testified "check UoPeople subreddit" & shown screenshots of them successfully transferring credits even for some of CS core courses (although some are advising to do it only if you're already familiar with the transferred course)