Musings on masters degrees

Today I'm on my old college campus with a friend of mine, who just transferred here from community college to finish his degree.  It's been a couple years since I've been down here, and it's always so refreshing to visit.  I loved this campus, and I loved college.  My three and a half years here were far too short.

Being here has me thinking again about masters degrees.  I tossed around the idea of pursuing one years ago, but ultimately decided not to, partly because I'm busy and partly because I feel like it wouldn't be all that beneficial to my career.

Maybe the latter isn't necessarily true, though.

Continuing education

I am thinking of pursuing a master's degree.

I've been thinking about school for the past two days. Thursday night, I discovered that Metro -- the school from which I received my bachelor's -- is offering a class this fall that I had always wanted to take, but never got a chance to. Unfortunately, the deadline for fall application has passed, so it's too late to reactivate my student account.

This got me started thinking about school again, though. Since graduation, continuing education has always been at the back of my mind. The excitement of taking a class again -- and the disappointment when I found out I couldn't -- had me considering graduate school. Unfortunately, I don't like the programs offered by most of the graduate schools in Colorado. The only exception is Denver University, which offers a PhD (but not a master's) in creative writing -- if you are willing to sell your soul in order to pay for it.

When Michael and I were at the bookstore last night, I had just gotten done telling both him and my mom that the only online schools I knew about weren't "real" colleges -- that is, they weren't accredited by the standard agencies. Call me a snob if you want, but I am adamant about not wanting a degree that will be virtually worthless in academic circles. It turns out, though, that I was wrong.

As I was flipping through the July/August issue of Poets & Writers, I came across a full-page ad for writing programs at Chatham University. They have a fully online master's program: a Master of Professional Writing. And because it is a reputable, traditional school, I don't have to worry about obscure accreditation or any of the other issues with many online schools.

In fact, I think Chatham is very reputable on the East Coast, as it has been around since 1869. Moreover, my family has a history at Chatham -- my grandmother, great-aunt, and great-grandmother all went there, back when it was still called Pennsylvania College for Women. My mom even worked there as a librarian in the mid-seventies, when it was called Chatham College for Women. The campus is beautiful in the way that only an older school can be.

It turns out that Chatham University is comprised of three different schools: Chatham College for Women, which still offers bachelor's degrees just to women; Chatham College for Graduate Studies, for both men and women; and Chatham College for Continuing and Professional Studies, which offers online graduate programs for both the sexes. All three are accredited by the standard agencies -- they just happen to be one of the few traditional schools who have recognized the value of offering online programs.

The problem, of course, is the cost. I mean, YIKES -- that is almost as much as DU (though not quite). The degree would probably cost about $7,000 more than a master's from one of the state schools here in Colorado. I think it's worth it, because it is so specialized to my career -- but unfortunately, thinking it's worth it doesn't magically make money appear in my pockets.

What do you think? Is it worth the hassle of financial aid and student loans to go back to school (which I love) and get a master's (which would benefit my career)?