Chances of Online Grad being accepted in Canadian Universities

[indiabhagat101]

Hello all,

I'm currently enrolled in a three-year online program (BA with single hons) in Theology & Religious Studies which is externally validated (accreditated in US terms) from the University of Chester. It is catered through the Bhaktivedanta College. I'm right now in the last year. By the time admission process starts in Canada, I'll be a PR giving me the local student fee advantage. I'm planning further to opt for Masters in Religious Studies. I have an intention to study in one of the three top universities in Canada - University of Toronto, McGill University or University of British Columbia. All three Universities have either accepted that my degree is valid or they will take on case by case basis. None of them have outright rejected the degree. 

Some additional info is here:

1. My GPA is 3.8+
2. I have 5-7 online articles published online in blogs, encyclopedias and websites. All are pertinent to Hinduism (which is my major subject and which I further wish to pursue).
3. I have completed two years language study in Sanskrit. Religious studies is language intensive.
4. My project for a book on ancient manuscripts is approved by one of the Universities in India. I'm not willing to publish it before admission but I have the introduction chapter ready to supplement my admission package.
5. I'm also trying to publish an article in an undergrad research journal which I'm very much hopeful of.
6. I've completed a couple of courses from EdX and Coursera.

What are my chances of getting admitted to these top-tier Canadian Universities for MA in Religious Studies?

[marycaryne]

I am not familiar with that program or the top tier schools for it, so I apologize. But my undergrad degree was online. If they haven't outright rejected it, I don't see how it should be a problem. As long as it is from an accredited school, then they shouldn't reject the school anyway. Although I will say that because the popularity growth of online schooling is still relatively recent, there may be some admissions committee member still of a mindset that online school = degree mill. Fortunately because respected schools are adding online programs, this is a mentality that is going away. However, I understand them taking it on a case by case basis.

I began my online degree at the University of Oklahoma. At the time they had about 15 majors. When looking to register for the fall semester of my sophomore year, I could not find any of the required classes for my major. Thinking that was odd, I emailed my advisor who informed me the entire program change and the majors were eliminated. We were now "liberal studies" which pretty much meant all of our classes were going to be those generic ones. The school had never bothered to inform us about this change. I transferred over to Southern New Hampshire University. I majored in fashion merchandising there and got a great education with very detailed and relevant (and challenging) classes for my major. I will be attending Florida State University in the fall to continue my studies in merchandising. My degree being online wasn't an issue for them. I didn't even have research done. But I had a 4.0, was getting my degree in the field I wanted to continue studying in, was already working as a merchandiser, and my research interests went along well with a professor they have on faculty. Online degree? No big deal...I got accepted and was offered a teaching assistantship. But honestly, I have to wonder if all that would have been the same had I stayed at OU. Yeah, the degree would have been from a more well known school. But because of how they redid the program, all those classes basically would have been as if I chose whatever random electives looked cool to me until I had enough credit hours to consider it a bachelor's. And I just don't believe I would have been accepted into grad school with that. And for that reason, I can see why any grad school would evaluate an online degree. I don't know if OU's program has changed again during that time though.

I don't know how much of a help that is. Probably not much. But as I did my degree online and still got accepted into grad school with a TA, it isn't something I would stress about too much.