Earn A Ba In Thailand?

[gavob]

Is there anywhere I can study for a BA in Thailand earning a teacher's salary and do it on evenings and weekends?

[luangtom]

You sure you want to get a BA from a university in Thailand? Its acceptance in other countries, should you leave Thailand, would be questionable. A Thai friend that is an engineer told me that his degree from the US and his experience in the US will garner him a salary over double that which he would have gotten with a degree from a Thai university. He has returned to Thailand and this has proven very true.

[Daren]

Gavob, I fear luangtom said is correct. The best way to earn a degree on your own schedule would probably be through an online university. Google will be your friend here...

[gavob]

Cheers guys, you just confirmed what i thought. Online it is then.

[BlackArtemis]

The best case is to pack it up and return home for a few years. Yeah it kinda sucks to be out of Thailand, but you get a degree that is from a western country and isn't an Online degree.

2 years and counting till I'm done doing this...

[gavob]

The best case is to pack it up and return home for a few years. Yeah it kinda sucks to be out of Thailand, but you get a degree that is from a western country and isn't an Online degree.

2 years and counting till I'm done doing this...

NIce one BlackArtemis, good luck with it. But my wife is due in 10 weeks with a wee baby girl so need to keep working full time.

[haltes]

University of London External Courses

Same degree as you would get studying at the bricks and mortar uni, some course, same materials, same exams but administered local via the British Council. It's not that expensive and is very good!

[migs]

I'm considering doing one through RDI. Online course and again you graduate through an accredited university.

[BlackArtemis]

The best case is to pack it up and return home for a few years. Yeah it kinda sucks to be out of Thailand, but you get a degree that is from a western country and isn't an Online degree.

2 years and counting till I'm done doing this...

NIce one BlackArtemis, good luck with it. But my wife is due in 10 weeks with a wee baby girl so need to keep working full time.

Congrats on that!

Mine wants to get her masters here before trying again :/

In your situation online is the way to go, you can even do classes when rocking your baby girl to sleep and let the wife have some well deserved rest haha!

Good luck in all.

[Daren]

The University of London External Courses look really good and very reasonably priced! Thanks for the tip, haltes.

I wonder if it's possible to take exams in Thailand. The closest location I see listed on their is Singapore.

[Daren]

Strike that. They do indeed mention Thailand as a location where examinations could be taken.

This seems like a very good option.

[markg]

The best case is to pack it up and return home for a few years. Yeah it kinda sucks to be out of Thailand, but you get a degree that is from a western country and isn't an Online degree.

2 years and counting till I'm done doing this...

Absolutely nothing wrong with an 'online' degree - as long as the university is properly accredited. If you go for one of the major mainstream western universities who offer online courses then you won't go far wrong.

A friend of mine recently did one at Anglia Ruskin University in the UK, a bricks and mortar campus established over 100 years ago who offer a number of online courses which are all accepted and accredited. The Ba (hons) is a 3 years online course with no examinations - assessment is provided by passing a number of very hard modules and written assignments.

Many traditional mainstream universities are now offering online courses in addition to their standard, traditional courses. It makes financial sense - they can offer more courses without having to extend the fabric and infrastructure of the campus.

They are perfectly accepted worldwide.

One of the downsides may rest on YOUR shoulders. YOu have to have the self-management and fortitude to motivate yourself to study at home for a significant amount of time.

Financially, i think Anglia charges about 1500 pounds per year. This is significantly cheaper than going back home to the UK to study.

As someone else mentioned, Google is your friend here.

Australia and South Africa have a history of 'distance learning' which is now morphing into 'online learning'

The good old Open University in the UK is still providing 'distance learning' though very very slowly they are starting to embrace 'online' as opposed to 'corrospondence' courses.

If you have the motivation, and think hard about exactly what that entails, then my advice is to stay in Thailand where it's relatively cheap, and do the course online.

[BlackArtemis]

Yeah, I realized my post came off as a bit of a #$%#.

I think my problem is that I am still thinking with a western mentality when it comes to work.

Here in the US, trying to get an education job, or many others for that matter, with an online degree still puts you at a disadvantage.

While Thailand is hiring a much more international clientele and there is strong notion as to why you would pursue and online degree.

It may also be that since here in the US, online degrees are often mentally connected with Shoddy commercials at 3am asking if you are tired of sitting on the couch.

I still wonder how the degrees will be weighed at a prominent international school.

Sorry for sticking my foot in my mouth

[markg]

Yeah, I realized my post came off as a bit of a #$%#.

I think my problem is that I am still thinking with a western mentality when it comes to work.

Here in the US, trying to get an education job, or many others for that matter, with an online degree still puts you at a disadvantage.

While Thailand is hiring a much more international clientele and there is strong notion as to why you would pursue and online degree.

It may also be that since here in the US, online degrees are often mentally connected with Shoddy commercials at 3am asking if you are tired of sitting on the couch.

I still wonder how the degrees will be weighed at a prominent international school.

Sorry for sticking my foot in my mouth

The mainstream universities that offer 'online' learning in conjunction with their traditional mainstream, bricks and mortar courses, will give you a certificate from themselves which will not mention the word 'online'

If it's with say the University of Manchester then that is what it will say on the degree.

Any employer who thinks that working full-time and doing a SIGNIFICANT amount of study online in your spare time, for 3 years, is a walk in the park, needs re-educating. In many ways, an online degree whilst working full time is HARDER than a traditional degree, and those who pass it are at least as employable as others who take the more traditional route.

[richard10365]

I am working in the International Marketing office at Payap University in Chiang Mai. Like other universities in Thailand, we also have an international program that you can earn a BA degree. However, the hours you are looking for we don't have.

Being in the marketing office I have had a chance to look at other universities. I don't know all the programs that are being offered because new international programs are opening in universities all over Thailand. I do know one university that might be able to accommodate the hours you are looking for.

Ramkamhaeng University http://www.ru.ac.th/english/index.html has satellite schools in a few different places in Thailand. They are not too expensive. However, I cannot vouch for the quality of their programs.

Good luck with your studies. If you have any quesitons about studying in Thailand, feel free to ask me.

Mark

[aussiestyle1983]

I'm doing a BA online. The degree is from Macquarie Uni in Sydney, a uni with a good rep. There are not many majors to choose from because obviously not all subjects can be studied entirely online. You enrol through Open Universities Australia. They handle the paperwork, but you graduate from a real uni with a real degree. Nothing about online is ever mentioned as it is irrelevant. I'm two years into it now and have one year to go. I'm glad I did it this way because I probably won't return to Thailand. I would hate to have gotten a degree from a Thai uni and then have to get it recognized in Oz. Anyway, check out www.open.edu.au There are lots of degrees available and you can study non stop in 4 semesters a year. I just do 1 or 2 classes at a time so study does not interfer with work. But you could turn a 3 year 24 unit BA into half that time if you did 4 classes every semester.

[Ijustwannateach]

Good for you, Aussiestyle... I know we've had differences over the utility/meaning of academic degrees, but if nothing else the process of getting one demonstrates determination and chutzpah (and I also think more!)

[SEETEFL]

Strike that. They do indeed mention Thailand as a location where examinations could be taken.

This seems like a very good option.

The UoL's Goldsmiths College BA English does not require you to spend any time in the UK. You study in your own time and at your own pace. You can take all examinations at the British Council Bangkok or Chiang Mai.

http://www.londonexternal.ac.uk/prospectiv...ish/index.shtml

The University of London:

As a family of 19 world-class Colleges and acclaimed Institutes, the University of London has an international reputation for academic distinction in teaching and research.

Through its External System, the world’s oldest provider of degrees through distance and flexible learning, the University of London offers degree programmes to students all over the world. Established in 1858, today the External System has 45,000 students in every corner of the globe studying on more than 100 different programmes.

Former students and alumni include seven Nobel Prize winners, leaders of Commonwealth countries, government ministers, renowned authors, academics, judges and business leaders. The External System’s international reputation continues to ensure our graduates are to be found in leading positions around the world.

The University maintains a robust quality assurance process for all its courses. Drawing on the expertise of University of London academics, External students benefit from specially designed courses to suit their needs and achieve exactly the same standard of internationally recognised qualification as those who attend the University itself.

Many of our courses are supported by independent teaching institutions around the world. There is a network of institutions which have been recognised as offering teaching and learning support within our quality assurance framework.

Edited January 24, 2010 by SEETEFL

[aussiestyle1983]

Good for you, Aussiestyle... I know we've had differences over the utility/meaning of academic degrees, but if nothing else the process of getting one demonstrates determination and chutzpah (and I also think more!)

I am just greatful that technology has made online study possible. I would not have given up work if it meant I had to stop working in order to study. I think degrees that can be done online are good because they allow people more options, particularly those who want to keep working and study, or those who might not want to leave LOS to return home to get a degree from their homeland. As long as people do their homework on the institution and effort it will take before they start, there is not much to lose. But, like you say, it takes determination - it's a long term commitment, something I hated the though of, and still do, but now I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, it has been worth it. Also, once you get in the hang of it, it becomes actually enjoyable and easy. Out of the 16 subjects I have completed so far, I have got 14 A's and 2 B's - this is whilst working 11-12 ten hour days per fortnight. So, it is very possible to work hard and sudy hard at the same time and get good results. Time management is the key. As much as I want to finish, I will actually miss researching and writing essays when I have finished. I reccomend to just try it for anyone considering it - especially if they know they will need a degree eventually one day.

[watchman817]

if you do get a degree in bangers, do it through chula. as far as i know thats the only school thats recognized by the big canadian schools, UBC , etc.