Advice Needed: RA vs. Foreign Doctorate

I've been lurking for awhile and have learned so much from many of your posts; you really helped me narrow my focus as I pondered distance learning for the first time. Now, I have to make a choice between the two institutions to which I have been accepted, The Fielding Graduate Institute and University of South Africa.

A little background: I am a former legal aid attorney who has since become an elementary school teacher. I would like to obtain my doctorate in education so that I may join the faculty of a college or university teacher training program. Alternatively, I may seek to work in an administrative position in curriculum development, while also being an adjunct in teacher training.

I've googled Fielding and see that many PhDs are now teaching at the university level. Cost is an issue, however: Fielding is about 15k per year, while Unisa runs less than 2k.

I would love to go the Unisa route, mostly to avoid further debt. What do you believe my chances are at reaching my goals with a Unisa D.Ed. as opposed to a Fielding Ed.D? I would appreciate your insight.

Michael

 

My opinion: if you can afford the Fielding program, go with that. A degree from the developing world is always going to be received with some suspicion in the U.S.

 

I agree with Oxpecker that the best route for a US student is usually a US RA program. It might be hard to explain how you earned an Ed.D. from a California school while living in Washington, but it would be even harder to explain a school in South Africa. UNISA is also on the verge of merging with other schools, so their infamous bureaucracy may turn into a quagmire during their transition.

On a side note, I think your credentials right now (Master's in Teaching, J.D. from a top-tier law school) already qualify you for many university teaching positions.

 

Thank you for your input. I just wanted to add a couple of factors to the mix and get your reaction: If I go the Unisa route, I have thought of ways to increase the value of the doctorate by creating more of a connection to South Africa. For example, I would actually go to South Africa a couple of times during summer breaks (I'm a teacher) to meet with faculty. (I have lots of frequent flier miles and I've heard it's really cheap to stay there). Additionally, Unisa accepted me into the Comparative Education concentration--I would write a dissertation that compares an aspect of South African and American education. (I actually have an interest in South Africa and comparative ed.) I was hoping that these factors might help me to explain the "why Unisa" question. I'd welcome your opinion.

Michael

 

Our opinions may not be representative of the people who would be hiring you. Why not call some local universities, and ask if you can have an appointment with the dean of education for some advice? You might make some useful contacts that way as well, and you could also discuss your thesis topic.

 

If you haven't already, I would suggest you use the search engine on this site to get more information. There has been quite a bit of discussion on UNISA, foreign doctorates, dl doctorates, and the foreign vs RA doctorates debate.

In any event, welcome to the forum.

 

For US students, I still think that a US RA program would be more marketable (and explainable) in terms of seeking a college teaching job, but it seems that UNISA has the exact program you want. The fact that you want to focus your research on comparing US and SA education would also probably favor a SA school.

If you think that UNISA will fit your needs (and it appears to fit nicely), then by all means go for it. The only things I might add is that while it might be inexpensive to stay in SA, it also seems to be incredibly dangerous (I believe that Johannesburg is the car-jacking capital of the world). I would also be careful of UNISA's infamous bureaucracy. I've read some things that indicate they might have cleaned that up somewhat, but their upcoming merger with other SA schools may turn things for the worse shortly.

 

I would seriously consider the NOVA SOutheastern option.

 

Thanks for all your replies. They have given me food for thought as I consider my options. As advised, I emailed a friend of mine who has been a departmental dean. In terms of Nova Southeastern, I considered it strongly, but it didn't give me the level of flexibility that Fielding would offer. Also, turns out the faculty I want to work with at Fielding lives within 20 minutes of me; we've already met. So, if I do go with Fielding rather than Unisa, it will be a big plus to have lots of opportunity for face to face with my faculty adviser. Again, thank you. I'll let you know once I decide.

Michael

 

My only reason for suggesting NOVA is that I am aware of faculty in Washington state and Oregon with Nova degrees in university postions (e.g. Western washington University has education faculty with Nova degrees and Portland State has a department head with a Nova degree). It is also less expensive than Fielding. You may also want to check out UW or other schools in the area that may have evening programs or alternative programs for the Ed.D.