I’m looking for programs that are high quality, online, and affordable to pay for out of pocket:
I work full time consulting, teaching, and expanding my startup. The nearest college campuses are 25–45 minutes away in Denver and Boulder. So I want to do the vast majority of the work online, with the option to do everything online.
All the programs are 30 credits:
| Institution | Degree | $ / Credit | Self Paced? | Transfer Credit? | Performance-based? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CU Boulder | MS/CS | $525 | ✔ | ✔ | |
| GA Tech. | MS/CS | $195 | Difficult | ||
| UT Austin | MS/CS | $333 | Maybe |
| Institution | Degree | $ / Credit | Self Paced? | Transfer Credit? | Performance-based? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CU Boulder | MS/DS | $525 | ✔ | ✔ | |
| WGU | MS/DA | $141–$5,6521 | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| GA Tech. | MS/DA | $195 | Difficult | ||
| UT Austin | MS/DS | $333 | Maybe |
University of Colorado Boulder
The program is no-application (also no application fee) and performance-based. Just do well in the first few courses and you’re in. Amazing.
Yet students in the online program can get UC Boulder student ID cards and are welcome to participate at the graduation ceremonies.
Courses are 1 credit each. They designed the curriculum to break up the content into smaller bite size chunks. In the introductory videos, they cite research correlating this with better outcomes. (It sounds good to me, tbh. Each course is shorter and more focused.)
Terms begin six times per year. They expect the classes to be able to be completed with plenty of time before the formal end of a term. Classes can be re-taken.
The courses are delivered on Coursera. One can take the courses for a flat fee of $49–$79/month as “non-credit”. Then, when money’s available and the work is done, convert them to for-credit by (1) paying tuition (2) possibly doing a final exam or project. This adds even more flexibility, maybe even more than WGU (see below). Reminiscent of Data Camp, there are prerequisite refresher courses on Coursera. Although these classes are created by UC Boulder—that’s a good thing. As far as I can tell, WGU uses just the standard Data Camp classes.
There are a few downsides stemming from the innovative format: financial aid and grants don’t seem to be available. Neither is transfer credit (in or out).
Western Governors’ University
One pays $4,520 per term, no matter how many classes one takes. So, people who have lots of experience working in the field can complete the program inexpensively and much sooner than the standard two years. The subreddit has testimonials like this one from people finishing very quickly.
The majority of courses use Data Camp. That’s a mixed blessing, IMO. On one hand, Data Camp is very practice-oriented. In other words, it’s tailored to the “using a car” as opposed to the “designing a car” end of the spectrum. I think the appeal will depend on one’s goals. Personally, I’m looking to move into more academic and deeper work after my degree. Now on the other hand, the Data Camp aspect should make the program even easier to complete quickly: (1) the material is more practical as opposed to theoretical, and (2) one can pre-study on Data Camp directly.
Here’s one odd little thing about WGU: students are prohibited from saying anything publicly about the course materials. Like, they won’t say which Data Camp courses are used, or if they’re custom ones created by WGU or not. Students are forbidden from saying what texts are used. (!) This is shocking, tbh. I discovered this when I was trying to find out of WGU would be right for me. It’s a surprising lack of transparency. IMO it reduces potential students’ ability to make good market decisions, whether to invest in the program.
GA Tech
The GA Tech programs really seem like a mixed bag to me. The school has the highest ranking and best national reputation of the group. The prices per credit are the cheapest. However—and this is a big however for me—the actual student experience seems to suffer. The subreddits, r/OMSA and r/OMSCS, have many reports of rude & incompetent TA’s like this, this, this, and this video about a potential lawsuit. The course reviews describe sometimes outdated content, disorganized classes, and exams that are difficult for the wrong reasons. There are “bad” courses that informed students avoid. I also saw some talk that one feels like it’s basically independent study, that there isn’t so much of a community. Online students are not able to attend the graduation ceremonies. The school will only look at your transcripts for potential transfer credit after you’ve matriculated—not in the application phase.
The above issues in the student experience are mitigated by the school’s stellar reputation. There’s some heavy irony here. IMO the impact of all this will come down to one’s personal tolerance of these logistical problems (and some academic ones). This is pretty much the European/German university experience that I had. For me, though, I don’t want to deal with this kind of needless friction and frustration any more. I’m over it.
The final disappointment for me was looking at the MS/CS curriculum. Most of the courses in a typical plan are pretty basic, not advanced, and many seem to be a repeat of what I studied in my BS/CS. I found others had the same impression. The MS/DA program seems more original and in-depth.
University of Texas — Austin
This is the program I know the least about. The curriculum is far more interesting—and opinionated— than GA Tech’s. It’s fully focused on new & trending topics and it sounds very interesting.
Finally, the options I’m considering
Personally, I have two reasons to go back to school for a Masters of Science. And they kind of conflict: On one hand, I’d like to do more teaching at the college level. While I’ve been able to get adjunct faculty jobs with just a BS/CS, a Masters will open a lot more doors and help me stand out. From this perspective, I’d really just like “the piece of paper” that confirms all my professional experience and knowledge I’ve built up over my career. And get it quickly so I can transition to more teaching sooner. But on the other hand, I do want to move more into scientific work; I want to do less broad-based software engineering; I want to focus on deeper and more interesting problems.
University of Colorado Boulder
- MS/CS + AI and/or DS Graduate Certificates
- MS/DS + AI Graduate Certificate
Western Governors’ University
- MS/DA completed quickly
- MS/CS when it goes live in 2025
Dogweather 
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