Job Discussion Forums

[sarahg]

I'm a US citizen looking into online MA applied linguistics programs. I've noticed that the Australian degrees are much cheaper than the only American program I've found (the UMASS Boston program), and they take a shorter time to complete. I'm only looking at real, brick-and-mortar universities, mostly programs where "online" wouldn't be written on the transcript or diploma, but obviously an employer could tell by checking against employment history.

My questions are, how much would electing to do an Australian degree instead of an American one, or an online degree in general, affect me when/if I return to the US? Right now I'm thinking of teaching abroad for a few years, then returning to the US, and possibly teaching in a k12/college/community setting, but most likely doing another master's or phd in something related. How likely is an employer to reject or discriminate against an Australian degree, or a degree that was obtained online in general (though from a real, respectable university)? And does anyone know if it would be held against me in grad school applications?

There are several on-campus programs I could apply to that would be really inexpensive for me (California resident) but I was planning to try online programs because I'm also applying to the French and Spanish assistantship programs. That way, I could work on the degree while I'm only working 12-hour weeks, and then could be eligible for master's-level jobs when I'm done with the assistantship or one year after. However, if it'll really set me back to do coursework online, I can do an in-person degree.

[Chancellor]

[sarahg]

Whenever I have contacted anyone to ask whether foreign degrees are acceptable, they basically say something about how foreign degrees must be evaluated before they are approved. I was just wondering whether Australian (or UK) degrees tend to get approved or rejected in general.

I also noticed that at least one AU program allows distance learners to do research work, whereas the UMASS program doesn't. This is a big plus since I'll probably do further graduate work (probably in romance languages or another field of linguistics), though it probably doesn't matter to employers.

[spanglish]

I've got the same questions!

Anybody?