Masters Program

[richlyblessed]

Hi Everyone, 

I am new to the forum but it has been a great source of enlightenment and information. I have a BA in History and International Relations (from my country). I presently live in the United States and  I intend to embark upon a masters degree in International Relations and Diplomacy and i want to do it online. Does anyone here have any suggestions for any 100% online university that offers this degree? 

Besides, i will like something that is

( 1)Not too expensive, possibly a monthly payment option like Patten University (i have taken a couple of courses with them) and around that same price option.

(2) Regionally Accredited

(3) Self Paced program

(4) Does not entail proctored exams for all the finals (possibly a mixture of proctored exams for some courses and project writing for some)

Thanks....

[sanantone]

I doubt you're going to find a self-paced master's in international relations or diplomacy from a regionally accredited school. Self-paced programs are usually offered in cash cow majors for colleges and universities: business administration, information technology, psychology, criminal justice, healthcare management, nursing, general/liberal studies, education, etc. Several years ago, I looked through hundreds of programs in political science, cultural studies, international relations, national security, diplomacy, and related subjects. I don't recall seeing any self-paced ones. Granted, there have been more competency-based programs in recent years, but I have been keeping track of them, and they mostly offer the same five or six most popular majors for online students.

I have a master's degree in security studies which is a sub-field of international relations.

[jsd]

I concur with sanantone, you won't be finding a self-paced program for this path.

but you might want to look at American Public University. Relatively cheap and short course terms.

https://www.apu.apus.edu/academic/school...ution.html

[eriehiker]

https://online.uj.ac.za/Programmes/Maste...Governance

[sanantone]

https://online.uj.ac.za/Programmes/Maste...Governance

I don't know if the OP is interested in foreign schools that don't hold American, regional accreditation, but that program is the equivalent of public administration. It's not closely-related to international relations. If the OP wants an MPA, then there's an NA, U.S. option.

[eriehiker]

I know.  I just threw it out there.

[dfrecore]

I agree with jsd, AMU/APU might be a good choice. They don't have monthly payments, but you do pay by the course, so if you just split up the cost of the degree and make monthly payments to an account of your own, then you'll soon have enough to pay for a single course - and you just continue that and pay as you go.

[richlyblessed]

Thanks all. I am beginning to see options with all the replies...More suggestions will be highly appreciated...

[sanantone]

This is not one of my favorite options because of the curriculum, but it's the cheapest that I know of. Fort Hays State University only charges $287.75 per credit hour, and they have a Master of Liberal Studies with a concentration in Global Studies.

[richlyblessed]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I am kind of leaning towards APU. It checks off one of the criteria (regionally accredited) but has anyone taken any classes with them? How is it like? I also read they allow you to transfer in 15 credits into the graduate program..