Will online degrees gain more reputability after COVID?

Looking at those online CS (and in two cases, math) degrees from otherwise reputable schools. Till now as soon as I hear "online" I think it as subpar and I feel like many older hiring managers think the same, but do you think that will change?

With my background and grades the ONLY CS/Math program I'll get into is probably an online one, so wondering if I should go with that or just not bother with graduate school (for the purposes of trying to become a quant). Obviously with an online program I don't expect to be a Jane Street quant or anything, but just the title of "Quantitative Fixed Income Analyst" or something like that at a decent sized fund (like a Canadian pension) would already be amazing. Another issue is most of the programs are in the US and I work in Canada so the recognition of the schools' brands is not as clear cut unless it's an Ivy or something.

Looking at, in no particular order:

  • U of Washington Applied Math (pro: fair price, con: Canadians probably not impressed by UW)
  • Johns Hopkins Applied & Comp. Math (pro: great course offerings, con: expensive and JHU not known for math?)
  • Columbia Applied Math (pro: name brand, con: full time online program, hard to get in)
  • Georgia Tech Online CS: (pro: seems to be gaining popularity for CS, con: limited course offerings that aren't exactly in my preferred focus field)
  • UPenn Computer & IT: (pro: very cheap; con: limited course offering and hardly even real CS)
  • Any data science programs: (seem like bait; I'd rather go for strict CS or Math degree)

Basically, I don't want to get a 50k USD degree that nobody in Canada (or anywhere) cares about.

1 Comments
 

Qui perferendis nobis nostrum et aut rerum. Amet voluptates alias quo occaecati voluptatem. Omnis pariatur sunt nostrum mollitia natus. Beatae amet culpa sed voluptatem cum est.

Et quam sunt rerum et non adipisci autem. Porro aut tempora vero id quia facilis consequatur. Sequi non vel quidem voluptas. Minus et possimus iure at amet deleniti. Rerum voluptas et non error.

Quaerat quidem exercitationem beatae qui. Voluptas consequatur neque officia voluptates quia nemo.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (51) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (26) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”