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Agreed, revolutionary. In a way, it costing $7000 (rather than being free or nearly free) goes further in lending it credibility. I do wonder though that still for those who would have trouble affording even that, would FAFSA provide aid/loans? And moreover, is an undergrad degree a pre-requisite? I wonder if college dropouts can enroll in this program.

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Unfortunately, at least for the moment an undergrad degree is a prerequisite. More generally, you have to be admitted to Georgia Tech as would any other graduate student.

I think there will be quite a few companies willing to pay $7000 in tuition assistance so their employees can get a MS.

Tech's MSCS is pretty competitive in terms of admissions. I assume this will be somewhat broader in its acceptance?

Well, there's no real scarcity of teaching faculty and other resources in a MOOC format, so that pressure will be removed. But I don't know how the standards will be set. I'm not sure Georgia Tech knows that yet, either.

According to http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/05/14/georgia-tech-a...:

> Georgia Tech said it does not plan to lower admission standards to find 6,000 or so students for this track -- a number than is 20 times larger than its current computer science master’s degree program. Instead, Georgia Tech hopes to attract more qualified applicants from across the world, including inside the military and at companies – places that harbor nontraditional students who could not previously come to a traditional campus or find the money for a full degree, on campus or online.

A large part of the credentialing value of a degree is that the person was skilled enough to be accepted onto the course, if they make entrance less competitive it will likely significantly reduce the market value of the degree in credentialing terms.

True but some degree of selectivity must be related to capacity rather than qualification. They probably have an abundance of applicants with enough skills to get through the program but their capacity forces them to be even more selective than that. Those are the people that would likely be well served by this program.

Except no GRE, which is removing another unnecessary barrier to entry. The admissions process also seems to be an effort-based process of testing out of some initial curriculum. Much better than studying for a standardized test.

> More generally, you have to be admitted to Georgia Tech as would any other graduate student.

I don't think they said that. In the faqs they say you don't need to take the GMAT.... which every graduate student has to take.

I think the GMAT is only required for MBA programs. When I was admitted to Georgia Tech as an Aerospace Engineering graduate student in 1992, I didn't need the GMAT, just the GRE.

Ah, I stand corrected.

You're right -- that was phrased ambiguously. I should have said "there will be an admissions process similar to that for the non-online MS CS". I don't know what the exact requirements will be.

As a non-CS grad, could I really get an MS in CS from doing an online class? Seems pretty insane, but something I might consider for 7k.

Yes. Maybe you'd have to take some remedial courses first though. SNHU offers B.S. in CS online. http://www.snhu.edu/

There is nothing in CS that requires your physical presence in a lecture hall to learn.

I would worry about the legitimacy of any MS in CS program that did not make someone without a CS undergrad degree take significant remedial coursework.

In my experience, at least with average state schools, their MS in CS curriculum is--to a degree--a rehash of their undergraduate curriculum. Often times they'll just assign more work, or slightly harder work. I'm sure it depends on the program, but many programs seem to assume that even if a candidate comes into the program with a BS in CS, they'll have to have their memory "refreshed" to a significant degree.

Also, there is an element of selection bias. Those who are likely to apply to an MS in Computer Science self-select according to their perception of the requirements of those programs. This enables programs to capture those without a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science but who still have the level of motivation, acumen, and interest necessary to succeed in an MS program in Computer Science.

That is interesting- My masters program in Software Engineering was not like this. I remember a guy with an electrical engineering BS complaining he had like 16-18 remedial C-S credits to take before he could enter the MSE program.

"Formal admission into the OMS CS program will require a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science from an accredited institution, or a related Bachelor of Science degree with a possible need to take and pass remedial courses." -- http://www.omscs.gatech.edu/faq/

Having never done an MS in CS...

So long as they know the fundamentals of programming (through, say, the equivalent a Data Structures class) I think a mathematician could take a go at it without much issue. An EE probably wouldn't have too much trouble either.

All I find is a BS in IT, with a concentration in software development. And the IT department is under the School of Business. It doesn't look like they actually offer any computer science courses.

Yep, I looked and discovered the same thing; it isn't a 'pure' CS program. I've discovered lots of these IT programs masquerading as CS programs - it's disappointing, to say the least. I'm really interested in pursuing an undergraduate level degree in CS (I have a liberal arts degree from a Top 15 US school, working full time, but if I could have done everything over, I would have done CS).

In my search thus far, I've found zero schools that offer a traditional undergrad CS program online. And please, before we get into the 'you can learn most of undergrad level CS topics online' - I would like the structure and support from an online, instructor led course that offers student assistance/office-hours. This is something I'd pay for, but because I'm working full time, I can't take classes during the workday.

Regis University offers an online BS in CS. I don't think it is a top 15 school, but it is ABET accredited. The only problem is tuition is $410 a credit hour, so they estimate a total cost of anywhere from 10k to 50k. http://regis.edu/CPS/Academics/Degrees-and-Programs/Undergra...

awesome find, thank you! Yes, it's a bit pricey but...I expected that. I think $15-20K is reasonable, provided students receive instructor support.

Florida State University offers an online BS in CS - http://distance.fsu.edu/students/online-programs?prog_id=177 and it's actually a CS program rather than a glorified IT program.

Generally, 2-way interaction is done via message board, but most (maybe all?) of the instructors I've had so far keep specific office hours and available are for web chat or telephone calls during those hours.

Any of the prereqs that you're missing could potentially be taken as a transient at another institution (be it locally, or online). This is how I've handled the few classes I was missing.

Based on the rates listed on the page linked above, it should be around $25k for the whole thing (based on needing 60 credits of upper-division classes, since you already have a Bachelor's), even as a non-resident.

Well, they also plan to offer certificates, I assume based on the same program, which they say will cost substantially less.

And the materials themselves will be free, like a regular Udacity class.

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