Do mainstream Universities these days let you study remotely?

May 17, 2018 9:32 AM

I want to travel around Europe while studying coursework undergraduate or Masters. I'm happy to visit the University monthly and turn up for exams or other deliverables. I'm not specifically talking about online courses. I'm talking about programs and academics I'd like to learn from. I would like the qualification but the ranking of the University is not important to me if the context is good. Anyone have direct experience with this? Thanks.
posted by vizsla to Education (8 answers total)

Many people I work with teaching English overseas are completing Master's degrees in applied linguistics/teaching English to speakers of other languages entirely online through British universities. Here is an example.
posted by mdonley at 9:45 AM on May 17, 2018

Check out Hyper Island - the part time masters in Digital Management is exactly this, in either the UK or Sweden.
posted by teststrip at 9:59 AM on May 17, 2018

Legitimate accredited universities now offer whole undergraduate and graduate programs that are completely online. (Exams are given online.) What do you want to study? What qualifications do you hope to obtain? What degrees, qualifications, experience do you already have. Please clarify so that we can offer more useful answers.
posted by mareli at 10:03 AM on May 17, 2018 [2 favorites]

The Open University in the UK is almost entirely distance learning - some final exams are in-person, and some courses have optional in-person seminars, but the majority of the study is done remotely. They offer both undergraduate and postgraduate courses.
posted by A Robot Ninja at 10:12 AM on May 17, 2018

Best answer: University of London also offers some respectable distance-learning options (I and several other doctors I know did one of the LSHTM distance MSc's part-time around our day jobs). Exams are done in-person, but they have plenty of overseas exam centres.
posted by tinkletown at 11:16 AM on May 17, 2018 [1 favorite]

University of Wisconsin has a Flexible Options program.
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 12:44 PM on May 17, 2018

I've completed three extramural papers via Massey University here in NZ, I'd recommend Massey to anyone. Many kiwis working and travelling offshore use them. I don't know but suspect they run workshops etc offshore for when you need to be 'there'.
posted by unearthed at 6:35 PM on May 17, 2018

Seconding the University of London. My cousin is completing an undergraduate degree with them while traveling around playing tennis on the pro circuit. They seem entirely legit and have been around a long time in distance education form. It was reportedly began as a way to educate those living in the British Empire's far-flung outposts.
posted by peacheater at 4:16 PM on May 18, 2018