South African Universities

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Jack Tracey, Mar 4, 2001.

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  1. Jack Tracey

    Jack Tracey New Member

    I have 2 traditional, RA degrees (ALB & MSW)
    and have been looking for a way to get my PhD in Philosophy. I had settled on Union but my new daughter has made money tight. I'm looking at South Africa now. UNISA would work (if I can ever figure out their catalog)
    and I've been told by the Phil. Chair at U of Natal that they could do it too. Looking further I've found 5 other S. African universities that grant research MA's and PhD's. I'm in the process of contacting them regarding their residency requirements, etc.
    That's the context, here's the question:
    How can I tell which one of these has the best academic reputation (either the Phil Dept. or overall)? I may be in a position of having to choose between several schools. The
    interests/backgrounds of the academic staff should be considered equal (since I would choose one that was a bad fit with my own area(s) of interest. Is their an organization that rates S.African universities (don't suggest the Philosophical Gourmet report...they don't include S. African schools)? Any help is appreciated. BTW a nice listing can be found at: http://www.findaschool.org
    Thanks, Jack
     
  2. BillDayson

    BillDayson New Member

    I'm interested in philosophy at the doctoral level as well. My understanding (apparently mistaken) was that Natal didn't encourage people outside SA to apply. Do any of the others besides UNISA offer doctoral degrees in philosophy? There are programs in related subjects like theology, but philosophy itself?

    For me, residency requirements would probably be the killer.

    Is it that the Philosophical Gourmet Report doesn't list SA schools, or that no SA school rates a listing? I think that the Gourmet Report is rather Americo-centric, and only lists the most prominent foreign programs.

    I don't know of any SA university ratings, especially not one detailed enough to break down doctoral programs in particular subjects. But I don't find those kind of ratings very credible anyway.

    I think that you are going to have to do it yourself:

    Look at the faculty listings for the various philosophy departments. How many faculty are there? Normally the larger departments are seen as being the better departments. (The US National Research Council discusses that size effect for doctoral programs in general in their discussion of their own American departmental rankings.)

    Look at the kind of coursework that the department offers and at the research interests of the faculty. If you are interested in the philosophical foundations of cognitive science, a department full of Nietzsche and Derrida may not be the best choice.

    Look at the names of the faculty. Have you heard of any of them? Investigate them a little. Are any of them officers in national or international scholarly organizations? Do they make presentations at professional gatherings? Look at their publications. I'd expect that the departments that are putting out more publications are the better departments, or at least the more prominent ones. If possible, try to see which articles are being cited a lot.

    Those are the kinds of things that I would do, rather than simply depending on a university ranking in a magazine or something. I would understand the strengths and weaknesses of my candidate schools, and the results would be customized to my individual interests.
     
  3. Tom Head

    Tom Head New Member

    Jack --

    I wish I knew of such a listing; I'm probably going to begin a Ph.D. in theology through Potchefstroom myself,
    and it'd be really interesting to know how it stacks up against other South African universities in that field.

    But UNISA is certainly a wonderful school; I applied for their DLitt et Phil in philosophy myself back in late 1996, and was rejected (and rightly so, given that I only had a B.A. in liberal arts to my name),
    but I remember being impressed by the size and scope of their philosophy department.


    Peace,


    ------------------

    Tom Head
    co-author, Get Your IT Degree and Get Ahead (Osborne/McGraw-Hill)
     
  4. Jack Tracey

    Jack Tracey New Member

    Thanks for your replies. Since my original posting I've received an answer to an inquiry I made to the South African Dept. of Education (Council on Higher Education).
    A Mr. S. Badat informed me that no such rating or ranking of South African universities has been made. Furthermore, he suggested that they might not be all that interested in undertaking such a task as they believe that each school has a unique character, etc, etc. He was very polite and I appreciate his prompt reply to my inquiry. Otherwise, I've continued my search through the various SA schools and have wound up back at UNISA as the best prospect. Thanks again, Jack
     
  5. David Law

    David Law New Member

    Is there a difference between the a Technikon and a University in South Africa? Would a DTech for Technikon SA be considered to be a completely different animal from a PhD from UNISA? I recall hearing that Technikons were similar to Community Colleges, but the degree designations seem to match universities.
     
  6. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    The technikons relate to universities similarly to how polytechnics in Britain related to universities. The technikons are much more career-related than universities,with most of their efforts at the bachelor's level and below. Some master's programs (MTECH) are course-based, others are research-based. All doctorates (DTECH) are research-based.

    The designation "DTECH" or "DTech" is commonly used, and seems to be on par with other forms of doctorates. (Although some may argue that professional doctoral designations such as the DBA and Ed.D. are inferior to the Ph.D.)

    Let us know how it turns out with Technikon SA.

    Rich Douglas
     
  7. Jack Tracey

    Jack Tracey New Member

    Well I contacted UNISA by email and asked for the two brochures as their website recommended. In reading the first one, "Study with a view to a Masters or Doctors Degree in Philosophy," it stated explicitly that they DO NOT welcome students from outside of South Africa. While I understand that this does not mean that they will refuse admission to non-S.A. students, it doesn't exactly give me that "warm and fuzzy" feeling. A characteristic of my personality is that I tend not to go where I am not welcome. I have, on the other hand, received a very encouraging response from the U of Pretoria. The South African short list consists of: Pretoria, Witwatersrand, Cape Town and Rhodes. Sorry, I have no info on the Technikons as my interests are not "Tech"
    Silly, perhaps but that is how it is. Jack
     
  8. Tom Head

    Tom Head New Member

    I can completely understand where you're coming from, as I picked up similar vibes during my very frustrating five month application process (to the DLitt et Phil in philosophy, no less) in late 1996/early 1997; the person I spoke to at UNISA did not bother to inform me that my being assigned a student ID# does not necessarily mean I've been accepted (Potchefstroom prints this fact on their application forms), and so forth. On the other hand, their faculty is top notch and, now that they've stopped subsidizing foreign students, I've got to believe their staff is friendlier than it used to be. Not to mention the fact that we've got AIHEC, now.

    But still and all, I don't blame you one bit for going elsewhere; I completely ruled out a few schools simply because the people I contacted, who would have been responsible for processing my application, acted as though they were doing me a favor. And of course they weren't doing me a favor at all; they were being paid to answer my questions and process my application, should I choose to apply.

    BTW- If you do discover any research doctorate possibilities at Witwatersrand (second alma mater of Nelson Mandela), Cape Town, or Rhodes, please do let me know.

    Good luck in your search!


    Peace,

    ------------------

    Tom Head
    co-author, Get Your IT Degree and Get Ahead (Osborne/McGraw-Hill)
     
  9. Michael

    Michael Member

    Tom,

    I e-mailed John Craparo at AIHEC a couple of weeks ago, and I haven't heard fom him yet--very frustrating.
     
  10. Michael

    Michael Member

    A note: I've been in touch with the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Theology at UNISA; they've been very supportive. I also e-mailed Coolamon College, and they replied within 24 hours. I haven't heard from Potchefstroom yet.
     
  11. Tom Head

    Tom Head New Member

    Potchefstroom is a pain in the toches to reach directly through administrative channels (though the faculty is very receptive); I do most of my correspondence through Greenwich School of Theology to save time.

    Good luck!


    Peace,

    ------------------

    Tom Head
    co-author, Get Your IT Degree and Get Ahead (Osborne/McGraw-Hill)
     
  12. Sam

    Sam New Member

    Tom,
    Are you certain that AIHEC is still in business? I was told by one colleague that he has been attempting to call them for the past two seeks but that their number has been disconnected. No other telephone number was available.

    Also I notice that a Poster, Michael, has indicated that the sent an e-mail and has not heard from them either.
     
  13. DWCox

    DWCox member

    Give up and save your time and energy. I tried without success for several months to get John to assist me. I called the AIHEC probably forty times before he finally returned my call. He told me he could and would be of service to me. Well this never proved true. He rarely returned my calls or emails and when he did it was only after several weeks and numerous other attempts. After total frustration with this guy I gave up and in fact asked for the original copies of my application and transcripts to be returned as I feared John was a fraud trying to collect sensitive and very personal information on people. This man had all of my important personal ID numbers. I no longer fear that John is anything other than extremely ineffective.

    Oh and by the way, each time I spoke with John he told me that UNISA would accept me and that he would be geting back with me regarding matriculation information. I called UNISA direct and guess what? Yep, they didn't even know who John or the AIHEC and had NO records of my file!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    It was at this point I started to think John might have some sort of SCAM going. Again, I state that I no longer suspect John to be any thing other than a AIHEC employee who is INEFFECTIVE at best.

    Go straight to the Unisa Department head via email with any inquiries. An email directory exists on the Unisa website. I have had very good luck with this method.

    Also I have a copy of the Unisa thesis proposal guidelines should you desire a copy. The proposal, if accepted becomes chapter one of the thesis.

    Best of Luck!

    Wes
     
  14. Jack Tracey

    Jack Tracey New Member

    Hey DW - I'd love to see those thesis proposal guidelines. How many pages? Let me know how you'd like to do it...email ? fax ? snail mail ? you can find me at:
    [email protected] Thanks, Jack
     
  15. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    John and AIHEC are indeed legitmate. Last I heard, John was a Vice President at Dell Computers, so no doubt he is very busy.

    However, this is by no means the first complaint I've seen regarding the non-response of AIHEC. I'm starting to wonder if AIHEC has gotten in over its collective head.

    UNISA is such a major player in the DL game that they should have an agency in the US that is available 24-7, IMO.


    Bruce
     
  16. Mark A. Sykes

    Mark A. Sykes Member

    I received no response at all from AIHEC after requesting information twice, so I went directly to Unisa. Confusing, but not impossible.

    I envy Canada for their counterpart to AIHEC: http://www.iaci-canada.com/ . This organization looks to have its act together.

    Mark A. Sykes

    P.S. I will post another 'Attending Unisa' in two weeks when this quarter ends. I'm still finishing my Associate's, and the Unisa materials have hit (with a vengeance).
     
  17. Tom Head

    Tom Head New Member

    I second Bruce -- I have no doubt that John Craparo is honest and knows what he's doing (and he's a nice guy besides), but he seems to be a little overworked.


    Peace,

    ------------------

    Tom Head
    co-author, Get Your IT Degree and Get Ahead (Osborne/McGraw-Hill)
     

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