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Why Study Online With A US University?
The United States invented distance learning and it quickly spread all over the country with dedicated distance learning colleges. These colleges have turned into the modern online colleges that are available to study at today, so it’s fair to say that the US has a well established history when it comes to online study. So let’s take a look at some of the other reasons why you should choose to study online with a US university.
Breadth of postgraduate courses
There are all sorts of masters-level courses available to study online at universities located in the US. For example, there are plenty of universities offering MBA programs including the University of Florida, University of Arizona, Ball State University and Auburn University. Meanwhile, the University of Missouri, the University of Minnesota and the University of North Carolina all offer online masters in Child Development. Online programs in Design, Nursing and Engineering are also popular choices for online study in the US.
Global impact of US trade links
If you are an international student, learning how the States operates in your field of interest could be very beneficial to your career. There are very few industries that the US is not involved in and gaining an understanding of how the US regulates or funds it could be helpful to your future – and studying online at a US university could help with this. If your online course includes American students as well as international students, take the opportunity to get to know them and get to know American culture a little better by interacting online.
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Courses are career focussed in the US
There are far more private colleges in the US compared with other countries. This means that the students – both undergraduate and postgraduate – tend to be very career-focused with regards to their studies, and are interested in a return on their financial and time investment. Many online colleges will publish information about expected salaries or employment levels, for example the University of Missouri, which will be based on US careers. These are a great way to judge if a course is right for you. Make sure you use rankings with care and contact fellow professionals to see what they think of the online course or past students before you sign up.
Funding opportunities
The US government – both on federal and state levels – offer only a few students funding and this means that the universities themselves offer funding options. For international students, this may be unfamiliar, but it can also be of benefit for them, as US colleges will consider all of their students and their funding issues. Check when you apply for the online postgraduate courses to see what funding you will be automatically considered for and what you need to apply for separately. A little work early on will help you with funding your studies and keep you focused on your studies rather than worrying about financing. For American students, many US colleges offer discounted tuition fees for their online postgraduate courses if you have served in the US military.
Tuition fees
US universities charge their postgraduate program tuition fees by the ‘credit hour’. Online postgraduate courses in the US vary between 30 credit hours and 64 credit hours, so for online courses the final cost will vary depending on the number of courses they need or want to undertake according to their previous education or experience. This table illustrates the tuition fees of a variety of online masters programs taught out of US universities.
Considerations when studying online at a US university
Choosing to study your online masters course at a US university is undoubtedly a great option, however there are a couple of issues that you should bear in mind.
Visa issues
If you choose to study your PG program online at a US university it’s important to note that as with most other countries, studying postgraduate courses online won’t enable the student to qualify for a visa. So if you are an international student and want a US student visa to enable you to live and study in America then a part-time course or an online course is not the right choice for you.
Keeping focus
Both domestic and international students can face the problem of keeping focused while studying and for online postgraduate students this can be even harder. It can be difficult not to let other aspects of life eat into the time you've got to study, and as an online student you won’t have the help of other students around you to keep you going. Spend a little time planning how you will study before you get started on the online course.
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