Online classes

[Branwen daughter of Llyr]

Ok - so most of you know my situation -

9 years out of school, living out of the country (and not in an English speaking country), need to write a killer writing sample for next year's app round.

Meaning - need access to a professor .

I've been toying with the idea of registering for an online graduate class somewhere (or at the very least, and advanced UG upper division online class) - has anyone heard of universities offering online classes? (aside from Union, Mercy, etc.). I'm great at doing work on my own - I just need a sounding board for the sample and SOP!!

Ideas, suggestions, recommendations, welcome

[VictorianTess]

Several schools have free online classes.  The problem with these is that you're getting the lecture and likely not the interaction with professors, even over email. Best of luck!

[Str2T]

I'd recommend looking at state school online classes. For example, my friend (social work masters) needed to bolster her English/writing and independent study abilities, so she took graduate courses online from the University of Minnesota and Minnesota State University as a non-degree seeking student (free up to 18 credits I think?). As far as I know, most state universities offer such opportunities. She choose MN because that's where she was from and there is great professor-student interaction in online courses for these programs.

Websites:

mnsu.edu

umn.edu

[Medievalmaniac]

Fiiiirst...tell me you love me. No, really, Branwen, I'm serious...tell me you love me.....now, click:

http://www.extension.harvard.edu/distanceed/

If you look about midway down the actual course offerings in English, you'll see some names you should be very familiar with as a future medievalist. No biggie...you know, just Daniel Donaghue(editor of Seamus Heaney's version of Beowulf) teaching Beowulf and Old English lit...LARRY BENSON teaching Chaucer....YES, that would be THE Larry Benson, the editor of the Riverside Chaucer..... Of course there is no way at present to know what classes will be offered next term or the term after, but I imagine you could expect at least one in our field to be available.

My understanding is that you meet WITH the class by being online at the same time as the class meeting, and you participate in lectures by sending questions through a dialogue box that are then read aloud by a mediator during Q&A session. You write the papers also - the whole shebang. It's a liiiittle pricy...but, you can TOTALLY have a Harvard course on your transcript, and you do not have to take it for credit, which is cheaper.

Yes...I know...you love me. It's OK. Have a good time!!

[Branwen daughter of Llyr]

Thank you all!

I will definitely look at all the options. I'm less concerned about transcript - and more with having a prof to help me with a writing sample (i.e. someone to BUG ENDLESSLY ABOUT THE WRITING SAMPLE) - but the Harvard names sound great (ooh boy! a Harvard class long distance! I wonder if it would actually HELP me get in there next year... ) I don't even mind taking a medieval survey class again - just to sharpen my Middle English skills up, and be able to write a research paper "on-topic." This may save me the need to go get an MA - since the writing sample, at this point, is probably my main snafu in my application (grades good, GRE good, SOP will be awesome).

And yes, MM - I love you (but you knew that already!!) (and btw - Georgetown is now heading the MA list - a separate "just-in-case" list (although much shorter than THE LIST, they have a great program and an excellent PhD placement record at AMAZING schools - UCLA, Harvard, Yale, WashU etc. And it looks like I can get a good teaching job at a DC charter or VA / Maryland private...)).

[Branwen daughter of Llyr]

i currently go to minnesota state and there are a few grad courses being offered online over the summer.

they are:

- selected authors (amy tan and jhumpa lahiri)

- world novel (no book list yet)

- genre and gender (reading middlesex, mysteries of udolpho, orlando, possession)

the tuition is also pretty reasonable. i did my undergrad at UMN and there's usually not much offered online in terms of lit classes there, unless something has changed a lot in the last 2 years. let me know if you end up taking one of the classes, as i will likely be in two of the three, if not all three.

I looked at those - my main problem is that I need a MEDIEVAL lit class. All the modern writer classes won't help me with a medieval writing sample. ARRRGH. (I liked the Minnesota state stuff - it was just a shame I couldn't find a medieval class there)

[Branwen daughter of Llyr]

ahhhh. i can tell you that there isn't anyone doing medieval at MNSU period. at umn, there's really only one person i can think of who'd be a possibility (lianna farber) as they're not super strong in medieval either. maybe you could contact her about doing an independent study over the summer via email or something?

I'll keep looking as well - I just posted a request for National to call me about registering for a single class in their English MA program (I think they have medieval at least once a year). I'll also keep looking at other state schools that offer online classes.

Of course, I'll try to write the paper on my own. I may even beg one of my LOR writers to review it. They know me as a student (albeit YEARS ago), they remember me, and they may feel inclined to help. On the other hand, they may not...

This is turning out to be a LOT more complicated than I thought it would be. stupid, stupid economy increasing competition...

[Branwen daughter of Llyr]

Thanks to all who made suggestions - I just found my winning ticket!

UMass Online has an upper division UG medieval lit class this summer, AND has online Latin classes (meaning I don't have to take the trouble to actually GO to a class, I can study at home! yay!)

so I'm contacting them in April to see how I can work out registering for the medieval lit summer session, and the Latin summer session (meaning I can take Latin II in the fall, and maybe even an Intensive Intermediate Latin in the spring - just to be ready for my first year in grad school ).

Yay UMass!!