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OzBurn · Joined: 03 May 2004 Posts: 199

Does anyone have any direct experience with this institution? I'd be interested in the TESOL program as well as experiences with the English language and literature program.

Thank you.

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

I looked into it in 1997. I can't remember why I decided not to do it though.
Anyway here's the link.
http://www.boun.edu.tr/graduate/social_sciences_and_humanities/english_language_education.html

OzBurn · Joined: 03 May 2004 Posts: 199

Thanks. I couldn't access the info about fees, as it demanded a password; but it gave me an overview.

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

when I looked into it fees were 1000 dollars a year. very cheap. I don't know the current fees though.

ghost · Joined: 30 Jan 2003 Posts: 1693 Location: Saudi Arabia

OzBurn · Joined: 03 May 2004 Posts: 199

Yes, I've heard that universities outside the English-speaking world usually do not carry the cachet of our fine American schools such as the University of Phoenix Online. LOL. It *is* too bad. I don't want to attend a British school, online or otherwise, and have no respect for the imprimatur of the British authorities (or American ones); and American schools are too expensive. Bogazici, on the other hand, I just found out, is $925 a year.

I wonder if it's possible to study at Bogazici and then transfer credit to graduate program in the English-speaking world?

I'd actually rather attend classes at this point. It would be interesting to have the social interaction, and I think it would help keep me focused.

gelin · Joined: 09 Mar 2003 Posts: 144 Location: Istanbul, Turkey

I must concur with Ghost. If you want to work in Turkey for the rest of your life, go with Bogazici, but if you want to go back to the U.S., Britain, Canada, etc., you will have a hard time getting anyone to accept the degree. I've been it happen countless times.

OzBurn · Joined: 03 May 2004 Posts: 199

I looked at gradschool.com, but the only program that seems feasible (that is, from a real university rather than something I've never heard of but which seems dodgy, such as Nova Southeastern Florida or "National University" or the like, or something I have heard of and have good reason to consider a joke, such as the University of Phoenix) is offered by the University of South Queensland in Australia. Not that I have any strong reason to believe that USQ's program is a strong one; it's just after reading the web site, I can say that it doesn't seem quite as diploma-millish as the others.

But all online programs seem like scams to me, fundamentally. They have very low expenses, the student does almost all the work, and yet they charge a minimum of 4000 USD a year. The whole system shows what a racket "higher education" is. Essentially, it's a matter of "we've got the degrees, and you don't. Pay us or you don't get the paper." The idea that the degree should be available to anyone who shows the requisite skills and knowledge isn't even on the table. It's outrageous!

But there's nothing I can do about it...

By the way, I did some digging and saw that my question was basically answered long ago on a similar thread on this site. Sorry about my laziness. Next time I will look through the archives before asking.

Thanks to everyone who replied.

ghost · Joined: 30 Jan 2003 Posts: 1693 Location: Saudi Arabia

OZ - what about the Open University in Britain? They are a bona fide Institution....

Maybe you could do it with them.

By the way, if you have good credentials, why pay for an M.A. or Ph.D? You could do both for free!......

How? - by applying as a Graduate Research or Teaching Assistant. That way you have a stipend AND a free tuition waiver..your only cost, in some cases, would be food and accommodation, which can be paid for by the stipend. Ghost was getting about $200 a week for 15 hours back in 1994, and that was easily enough to live on in rural Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania (cow country).

Ghost, for example, got his M.A. for free (in Communication Studies, with an emphasis on Intercultural Communication) from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania in 1993-94. The hours ghost "worked" were only about 15 hours a week, and most of those hours consisted of staying in one of the offices and answering questions from undergrad students. Ghost also corrected undergraduate essays for the Professors. The job was a bit of a "joke" as some of them are. Certainly it was no stress, and the M.A. was done in 1.5 years residence, with one summer at the University of Costa Rica, for a study on non verbal communication differences between U.S. and Costa Rican students.

You can do the same - OZ - there are literally hundreds (if not thousands?) of Unis. giving out these 'Assistantships' every year, and if you look long and hard enough you will find one.

OzBurn · Joined: 03 May 2004 Posts: 199

Last time I inquired of Open University, that option was not available.

It might be possible to get a tuition waiver, as you say. I don't know. There aren't that many pure MA programs in English, and those that exist are mainly for people who are getting an MA to bump up their salaries as teachers in public schools. So the universities do charge for them. But I'll look into it.

naf · Joined: 22 Sep 2004 Posts: 15 Location: Istanbul

I'm teaching courses at the undergraduate level of Bogazici's FLED department. They can't pay much so it's pretty much volunteer work, but if tuition is so low, it's understandable. If you are interested in studying at Bogazici but getting a degree from the States you might want to inquire about Bogazici's exchange program with Georgia State University in Atlanta. They exchange some graduate students every year for a semester or two. They might be into expanding the program, and Georgia State might be willing to give credit for courses taken at Bogazici. It hasn't been done before that I know of, but it's worth checking out.

OzBurn · Joined: 03 May 2004 Posts: 199

Just an update:

1. www.gradschools.com (not gradschool.com, which is something else) has a lot of useful links for people looking for programs worldwide.

2. The BU website says all students (all as in all) must take the TOEFL or a similar test. I am inquiring of BU whether this applies to native speakers, but so far, it appears it does. There's no way I'm going to any university that requires that I take the TOEFL...

comenius · Posted: Tue Nov 02, 2004 5:13 am Post subject:

If you're a native speaker, how hard can the TOEFL be? I've taught TOEFL classes before and they're really not a big deal. I wouldn't blow off a viable option just because they make you take the TOEFL, all other things being equal.