I have questions about TESC & Political Science Degree. Could someone please help me?

[sanantone]

Actually, you can get a degree in any foreign language. Those other languages are just examples.

Students are required to select a specific language (such as French, German, Spanish, Italian, etc.)

*This list is a guide. Other foreign language courses may be appropriate for this area of study.

Note 1: Other foreign language areas of study may be modeled after the above. The area of study must be planned with a BA degree program advisor.

Note 2: All courses applied toward the foreign language area of study are REQUIRED to be taught in that specific foreign language, not in English translation.

Thomas Edison State College: Foreign Language

BA in Foreign Language is kind of a strange title, but I guess it's better than Learner Designed Area of Study.

[soliloquy]

The University of Maryland has a Bachelors in Persian Studies so I could model my LDAS after that I suppose. I would just refer to it as Bachelor of Arts in Persian Studies I suppose. I get that it would say Learner Directed Area of Study on the Transcript but on the application it says "area of study (created)" and I assumed if approved that area of study and not LDAS would be what shows up on the Degree.

I had looked at ECU's Masters of Science in Security Studies - http://www.ecu.edu/polsci/sec/MSSS-Brochure.pdf as an option for a Masters program when I was finished. This may be a good precursor for that field of study.

I don't think I can go the language route because I don't think I could find the required History of PF Civilization and Masterpieces of PF Literature courses they require.

Do you have to apply to the school before you submit your LDAS?

[sanantone]

The official title of your degree would be BA Learner Designed Area of Study. Nothing on your transcript or diploma will say Persian Studies. To put BA in Persian Studies on your resume or an application would be lying. You could put Bachelor of Arts Learner Designed Area of Study (Persian Studies) or something like that.

I checked out ECU's Security Studies program a couple of years ago. I ended up choosing Angelo State University because it was cheaper for me as a Texas resident. You can see in my signature that I got a Master of Security Studies concentration Regional Studies and a graduate certificate in Terrorism and Counterinsurgency Studies from there. The next two cheapest choices would have been APUS (National Security Studies) and Bellevue University (International Security and Intelligence Studies). If you're interested in online graduate degrees related to international relations, I have a whole list of them.

[soliloquy]

The official title of your degree would be BA Learner Designed Area of Study. Nothing on your transcript or diploma will say Persian Studies. To put BA in Persian Studies on your resume or an application would be lying. You could put Bachelor of Arts Learner Designed Area of Study (Persian Studies) or something like that.

I checked out ECU's Security Studies program a couple of years ago. I ended up choosing Angelo State University because it was cheaper for me as a Texas resident. You can see in my signature that I got a Master of Security Studies concentration Regional Studies and a graduate certificate in Terrorism and Counterinsurgency Studies from there. The next two cheapest choices would have been APUS (National Security Studies) and Bellevue University (International Security and Intelligence Studies). If you're interested in online graduate degrees related to international relations, I have a whole list of them.

Okay. Well, I don't think I'd go that route then. I'm learning a lot today. I would never put anything inaccurate on my resume so I wouldn't be lying.

I think I'll just try for the International Studies and see what I have to do considering the 45 credits from DLI, the 33 credits from the community college, and the 36 credits from CLEP. KayV, Since you did the last plan for International Studies and I posted my actual transcript, do you think there are any other credits from my transcript that might apply to the International Studies degree?

[soliloquy]

Ok, I appreciate all the advice. I will wait until my AA is conferred and reassess what I want to do then. That should give me about a month or two to figure out my next step.

It looks like I was either be settling for social sciences or trying for international studies. I do plan to go to grad school so I know this is not the end of all for me.

[drewthedude]

Heya my degreeforum peeps! Just came back on here for the first time in quite awhile and noticed this thread. Soliloquy, I was one of the few who completed my BA in Political Science through TESC - it certainly can be done, but you can't test out of it. I think I had to take 10-12 classes at other colleges (Ashford, AMU) then transfer them into TESC along with all my CLEP/DSST credits. If Polisci is what you like, it's certainly feasible and definitely worth it - I am glad I did the degree, and learned a TON.

Are you in the military? If you are active duty, you will only be charged NJ tuition rates, meaning your annual enrollment will be $1642, not $3k.

Also, regarding a foreign language degree, your degree, from what I understand, wouldn't just be in "foreign language" but would be in "Persian Farsi" or whatever the actual language is. Language degrees aren't that uncommon and I'd consider it far preferable to a liberal studies or LDAS degree. I'd always advise someone, especially if grad school isn't on the horizon, to major in SOMETHING rather than doing a general studies degree - it makes you look more focused and traditional. This definitely varies depending on each person's specific goals and reasons for obtaining a degree in the first place though.

Regarding grad school - a TESC degree is just as good as almost any other college's degree, CLEP/DSST exams included. I just completed my Master's through George Washington University and had no issue getting accepted - they even waived the GRE requirement based on my experiences. Also, I passed a pre-assessment to apply for an Executive MBA at Cornell University, and again, no issues with my TESC degree. I'm sure ivy league and top-50 schools give you an advantage when applying to grad school, but TESC can definitely hold it's own. :-)

Let me know if you have any specific questions about PoliSci - it's a great major!