Whether you are looking to a residency program or not should also be on your mind when you consider a master degree online. You would be interested to know that despite their name, most online degrees are not just internet-based. There are quite a few with actual class time requirements.
That said, you may well wonder why you should bother with one that has this requirement. Actually, there are a number of reasons to do this. Increased networking opportunities are definitely an advantage of a master degree online that entails classroom engagements.
Networking works best when people interact physically. As such, it may prove to be to your advantage to get a program that has more opportunities for these. There are also academic benefits from this increased interaction.
Naturally it is much better to be able to ask for help from people who are in the same room as you. Among other factors, there is greater speed at which knowledge is shared. There is sometimes a lag in the response time online.
Residencies just gel well with some courses. It could just as well be that these courses have a fundamental focus on the practical side of learning. So if your course is in a field where a great focus is on practical experience, then naturally you would look for programs that encompass a large amount of lab time.
Of course if your field is knowledge based this isn't too much of a concern. Online delivery of all information is entirely possible for some programs. Residencies take a backseat in such cases.
When you discover that your education would benefit from a residency, you will then start thinking of how much of a residency to include. There are varying residency requirements across schools. Some ask you to perform virtually half the course online and half of it offline.
There are low residency programs for people who cannot afford to give too much time to campus study. Some programs actually offer residencies of only a few days per semester. Others have single-semester requirements for the entire program.
These programs also have 'big brother' versions that demand a lot of time on campus. Whatever you decide, a primary consideration should naturally be your own limits. We all know that the reason many go with online programs is to avoid going to campus.
Your location in relation to the actual classrooms of the institution are a critical concern when considering the residencies associated with master degree online programs. The further you are from the institution, the less likely you are to take up too many residence requirements. This spares not only time but also cost.
