I took a little trip mountain biking with some friends in the beautiful yet political unstable Bay Area today with some friends. As we stopped to view the surroundings and relax for a few minutes the conversation of graduate degrees came up. I told my friend that I had been researching Ed.D.'s to see if that was the right step for me at this time, etc. I also told her that I was going to do it online if possible. She told me that she had actually applied to do an M.S. in Biology through Western Kentucky University. I wasn't sure how this worked since most hard science degrees require a lab component...but anyway, part of her reasoning is to teach undergrad classes at one of the local schools. My question, for those of you that have experience hiring people (I've learned there are at least 2 or 3 of you here), would the fact that her degree was online hurt her at all? The only way a potential employer would know is by looking at the dates and realize that she couldn't have been in Kentucky and San Francisco at the same time. Western Kentucky is a fully accredited (RA) school, and they say the degree is the exact same as the campus M.S., minus the thesis. Even if they realized she did it through distance education, would they hold that against her? Thanks in advance. And by the way, the site has been a tremendous help. I think you guys help people save a lot of money and time with the info you bring.
Despite the fact that there have been lots of advances in distance learning over these past few years there continues to be people who know very little about it and have generally bad opinions of the quality of the educational experience that can be gained through DL. To put it more simply, there are ignorant people everywhere. On the other hand, most of our members have had their degrees well accepted by employers.
I would think that the lab component would be a major question mark. I saw on the website for WKU that some on-campus lab sessions may be required. She may want to double check that part. Going to Kentucky several times could be quite expensive.
Yeah, I'm not sure what the deal is. I'm sure she knows a lot more about the program than I do. It just seemed strange that an online program would be in the hard sciences. It also looks like if you choose the non-thesis option your labs are replaced by an independent research component. And I just found this in their FAQ's: Will I be qualified to teach at the college level with this degree? You will qualified to teach a subject in Biology (ex. Introductory Biology, Anatomy and Physiology, Microbiology are common courses to teach, although many other courses are possible to teach) at the college level. The minimum qualifications that most universities, colleges, and community colleges include having a master’s degree including 18 hours of graduate courses in the subject, ex. biology, in which you plan to teach. These requirements are set forth by each college's accreditation agency, for example the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) for our area. Always contact the schools at which you are interested in teaching to ask what their minimum qualifications are for available positions (ex. full-time, part-time, adjunct, faculty vs. staff). So it appears, according to WKU you will be able to teach with it. But it still begs the question, will the interviewers question the online component even though it's a legitimate RA degree. I guess that's the risk people take...
I do hiring at my corporate job and a degree earned online is not an issue for me. I am more concerned with the logic behind the decision. Was it because th program was not offered locally, was it a matter of other obligations that limited your ability to go to campus, was it because you travel 50% of the time and going to campus is not realistic, is it because you thought it would be easier, is it because someone told you to and you did not do any research, etc. I am interested in the critical thinking that lead you to make the choice. If someone went to a certain well known - high priced - for profit I am concerned right away. Not because of quality but because of cost and perhaps lack of research.
I would imagine that it would be questioned. The hard sciences are not like business or education. You really do need a significant laboratory component in order to do effective research. Depending on how WKU handles this, it may or may not be an issue.
This is not unusual in the least. There are a number of online masters programs in the hard sciences (including, biology, chemistry and microbiology), most require a BA/BS with a major in the same subject (or at very least a minor). Here are some examples (and perhaps more options for your friend to explore): UNK eCampus - Online Biology Degree Saint Joseph College | Biology Saint Joseph College | Online Biochemistry Distance Education - MS Chemistry online Online Masters of Science in Pharmacology and Toxicology Masters - Distance Learning (check out the number of listings under College of Pharmacy) All of the above schools are regionally accredited (most are well regarded).
I don't hire people but I do have an undergraduate degree in Biology from a top-notch research university. From my experiences in the hard sciences and interning in biology, genetics and genomics labs along side graduate students and PhDs as well as knowing people who are scientists for biotechnology companies, I would shy away from an online graduate degree in Biology if I were to go that route. My reasoning for this is the laboratory (research) component, as well as a lack of specialization. Most graduate Biology degrees are very research-intensive with graduate students spending alot of time working in the lab hand-in-hand with faculty members. Additionally, they also spend alot of time TAing and teaching undergraduate courses. So students attending B&M graduate Biology programs will have the upper hand on your friend when she and they go to apply for teaching gigs. They'll have more papers published than her, more conference posters presented then her, have teaching experience under their belt, and be more comfortable teaching lab sections than her...because their time at a B&M graduate program has prepared them for this. Additionally, they'll most likely have a specialized graduate degee in Microbiology, Ecology, Botany, Anatomy & Physiology, Neurobiology, etc while she won't. All of this gives them the upper hand over her. This is not to say that WKU's Online MS in Biology isn't a quality program, it is just lacking for the experiences that she'll need to be competitive in the teaching arena. So I would caution her to consider the points I brought up before continuing with this program if her sole reason for the degree is to teach at a community college.
I agree with all of these points, but especially the one about teaching lab sections. There is certainly a market for adjunct instructors in biology and other science courses. But at most schools, the biggest need is for laboratory instructors. In sciences, it's common to have large lecture classes (with dozens or even hundreds of students) and small laboratory sections (with maybe 10-20 students). Only one professor is needed to lecture, but lots of instructors are needed to cover all the labs. So when science departments advertise for part-time instructors, they are usually looking for to help out with lab sections, and so they favor candidates with hands-on lab experience. Unfortunately, that's exactly where DL science degrees tend to be weakest.
. I'm sure she knows a lot more about the program than I do. It just seemed strange that an online program would be in the hard sciences. Will I be qualified to teach at the college level with this degree? You will qualified to teach a subject in Biology (ex. Introductory Biology, Anatomy and Physiology, Microbiology are common courses to teach, although many other courses are possible to teach) at the college lev ex. biology, in which you plan to teach. These requirements are set forth by each college's accreditation agency, for example the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) for our area. Always contact the schools at which you are interested in teaching to ask what their minimum qualifications are for available positions (ex. full-time, part-time, adjunct, faculty vs. staff). So it appears, according to you will be able to teach with it. But it still begs the question, will the interviewers question the online component even though it's a legitimate RA degree. I guess that's the risk people take... :Animation Tutorial
