糖心vlog官网观看

Advancing your education often used to mean making compromises, like relocating to attend a university or pausing a full-time job to focus on a fixed class schedule. Online degree programs have alleviated some of those hurdles, but many still require formal applications that ask a lot of students.聽

Stanislav Liashkov, a current student in the University of Colorado Boulder鈥檚 Master of Science in Data Science program, was intent on learning data science after seeing the work his brother gets to do as a specialist in the field. But he faced challenging circumstances that made many of those pathways to higher education more difficult than normal.聽聽

The 18-year-old Liashkov was born in Russia, but he and his parents have spent the past year in Turkey. 鈥淭he reason why I鈥檓 here鈥�well, [it鈥檚] kind of obvious because the current situation in Russia isn鈥檛 as good as I would want,鈥� he explained. 鈥淢y family and I had to look for opportunities abroad.鈥澛�

Going from high school to a master's degree

As Liashkov began researching potential degree programs, he wasn鈥檛 sure how he鈥檇 get some of the necessary documentation that universities typically require to apply. 鈥淚 do not have the opportunity to get some documents from my previous school,鈥� he said. 鈥淢oreover, I鈥檓 not about to visit Russia. It really makes things difficult.鈥澛�

On top of that, Liashkov already knew what he wanted to study: data science. While he鈥檇 considered earning his bachelor鈥檚 degree, the time commitment seemed steep and he already had a strong foundation in math and computer science thanks to his high school education. Plus, he鈥檇 been supplementing that knowledge on the side. 鈥淚 had lots of self-learning in computer science,鈥� he said, which raised a valid question. 鈥淲hy can鈥檛 I just pick the education that I鈥檓 really interested in?鈥澛�

That鈥檚 where the MS in Data Science from CU Boulder came in. The degree operates on a performance-based admission, meaning that any student who takes and passes three foundational pathway courses gains entry to the graduate degree. There are no requirements such as a bachelor鈥檚 degree or test scores, which removes what can sometimes feel like a barrier to entry.聽

How performance-based admission helped Liashkov

It鈥檚 part of 糖心vlog官网观看鈥檚 effort to partner with universities aiming to make online master鈥檚 degrees in in-demand areas like computer science and data science more affordable, flexible, and performance-based. 鈥淚 found this program, and I realized that it is exactly what I needed,鈥� Liashkov said.聽聽

Without a bachelor鈥檚 degree, he was able to move into the graduate program thanks to his prior training in computer science. Even still, his pathway courses helped reinforce what he鈥檇 learned and exposed him to other relevant topics he had yet to encounter. 鈥淭he computer science pathway gave me lots of skills and knowledge,鈥� he said.聽

In the computer science pathway, Liashkov watched lectures from Associate Professor Sriram Sankaranarayana. 鈥淚鈥檓 really thankful to him,鈥� Liashkov said. He also attended practice labs, allowing him to apply what he鈥檇 been learning. 鈥淚 really felt all of those labs were designed well,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 do appreciate when I have lots of practice to strengthen my knowledge to write code.鈥澛�

Connecting with global peers on Slack

Being an online student in a new country might have been an isolating experience, but Liashkov has connected with fellow students via the program鈥檚 Slack channel. 鈥淚 have a chat with one girl from Malaysia, and [another] guy is from Israel,鈥� he said. 鈥淸The program] is spread all over the world, as far as I can see.鈥� He plans on taking advantage of the program鈥檚 flexibility by traveling himself. While working on his master鈥檚, he鈥檒l be relocating to Thailand to attend a programming intensive.聽聽

When Liashkov graduates, he wants to work in machine learning. 鈥淭his field is really exciting for me,鈥� he said. 鈥淛ust the fact that I can make my computer perform really complicated stuff without explicitly programming it, it鈥檚 really breathtaking.鈥澛�

But even once he achieves that goal, Liashkov remains eager to keep learning. 鈥淚f you are a specialist in this field, you have to grow day-by-day, and you have to improve your skills, improve your knowledge,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 actually what I really love.鈥澛�