Military Studies

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by MichaelGates, May 28, 2005.

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  1. MichaelGates

    MichaelGates Active Member

    Military Studies

    Where might one get a degree in Military Studies besides the possibility of the American Military Univeristy?

    http://www.amu.apus.edu/

    .
     
  2. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    Sam Houston State University (www.shsu.edu) and Norwich University (www.norwich.edu) also offer the MA in Military History. Of course don't call up & tell the good people at 1.877.GO.TO.AMU (1.877.468.6268) that I helped steer you away. They might get kinda mad at me! - Theo
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 28, 2005
  3. fnhayes

    fnhayes New Member

  4. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    Be sure to do a search in this forum, and other places, before even considering Hayes' alma mater.

    In those states that regulate use of degrees, as well as issuing them, use of this degree would seem to be a criminal offense, subjecting the user to fine and imprisonment. Oregon, Illinois, New Jersey, North Dakota, and a few others.

    See, for instance:
    http://www.osac.state.or.us/oda/unaccredited.html
    where they actually use the "D.M." words.
     
  5. BillDayson

    BillDayson New Member

    Are you currently serving in some country's military? The various military forces offer lots of in-house DL programs.

    Canada's Royal Military College offers bachelors and masters degrees by DL that they say are open to all members of the Canadian Forces:

    http://www.cadets.ca/support/CIC/CIC-trg/dist_e.asp

    The US Naval Postgraduate School has some sexy offerings, but they require that students be US or allied military officers with official sponsorship (they also admit selected civilian federal employees from the alphabet agencies) and in some cases classes require security clearances.

    http://www.nps.edu/dl/degree_progs.html
     
  6. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    You might also try the MA in War Studies at Royal Roads University (www.royalroads.ca).
     
  7. fnhayes

    fnhayes New Member

    I've probably posted this before, but this is what Dr Charles C. Moskos has to say about the KU MA in Military Studies:

    "Knightsbridge University's Master of Arts in Military Studies course is a splendid academic program designed for the mature student. The reading list is very impressive and covers a multi-disciplinary approach to military studies, including military
    philosophy, history, sociology, psychology, asymmetrical warfare, and military/civil relations. The English-speaking faculty currently consists of accomplished scholars and former senior military officers from the US, Canada, Russia, Hungary, India,
    Romania, Turkey, Bulgaria, Italy, Chile, Greece and Germany. Most have doctorates and all are experts in their fields of study. What they offer is state-of-the-art, challenging, intensive, multi-national, and unique. I highly recommend this Military Studies program"

    For someone of the stature of Dr Moskos to endorse this KU degree makes one wonder where the ODA, AC, RCD, John Bear, et al, are coming from! But we (KU graduates) do know that "RA or NO WAY" is their cry and that the world starts and ends at the ODA!
     
  8. uncle janko

    uncle janko member

    King's College London is beginning a new master's program in war studies (sorry, I don't have the url). This has the advantage, if one wants a British-sounding university, of actually being a real British university. It is also accredited in its home country, well-respected as an institution, and everything about the degree process is open to public view. The contact person is one M. Khilosia, who is very helpful and clear in response to questions.

    Mr Heiks' recommendations of SHSU, Norwich, and Royal Roads are also eminently good.

    I would assume that in the rabbit-warren of UNISA you could also find a military studies or war studies degree of some sort. You should check out the various other South African and perhaps Australian universities as well. Despite the weak US dollar, these remain bargains for the US student due to the exchange rate.

    You are well advised to steer clear of any institution which does not possess appropriate US accreditation or formal government sanction equivalent to accreditation in other countries. I have always been careful to defend legitimate and ethical unaccredited schools, but the utility (and in some jurisdictions even legality) of unaccredited degrees will likely be subject to limitations which you have no reason to inflict upon yourself.

    Welcome aboard, also. Responsible posters will happily work with you to find the best situation. Good luck to you.
     
  9. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    Ah! Thanks for reminding me of KCL's MA in War Studies, my esteemed fellow Lutheran theological buddy! Prior discussions of King's College London's MA in War Studies are living here:

    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7955

    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12988

    and their website is here: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/wsg
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 30, 2005
  10. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    Hayes:
    "For someone of the stature of Dr Moskos to endorse this KU degree makes one wonder where ... John Bear [is] coming from!"

    Bear:
    This is tremendously useful information. When one is arrested in New Jersey (for instance) for using a Knightsbridge degree (which is a criminal offense in that state, among others), one need only say, "Hey, but a retired sociology professor from Northwestern thinks it's great, so unhand me."

    Here, incidentally, is what the official State of Oregon site says, today:
    "Knightsbridge University: Diploma mill. The Danish government denies that this entity has legal authority to issue college degrees. Its degrees are not recognized inside Denmark."

    Well never mind that it has no legal authority to issue degrees in its own country, because a retired professor of sociology from Northwestern says . . .

    Hayes:
    "But we (KU graduates) do know that "RA or NO WAY" is [his] cry..."

    Bear:
    What codswallop. I feel very confident in saying that I have done more to help and promote legitimate non-RA schools, over the past 31 years, than anyone else on earth . . . and not just the three that I helped start, but dozens and dozens and dozens of others.
     
  11. BillDayson

    BillDayson New Member

    The Knightsbridge military studies graduate program certainly succeeds in maintaining an impressive level of operational secrecy.

    Your search - military "knightsbridge university" site:.edu - did not match any documents.

    Your search - military "knightsbridge university" site:.ac.uk - did not match any documents.

    Your search - military "knightsbridge university" site:.mil - did not match any documents.

    Your search - military "knightsbridge university" site:.gov - did not match any documents.
     
  12. uncle janko

    uncle janko member

    Dr Hayes: How do we know of the great stature of Dr Moskos?
     
  13. uncle janko

    uncle janko member

  14. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    How is this measured? Knightsbridge is a private, unlicensed business that sells degrees without any legal authority to do so (other than the fact there is no law against it, it would seem). There is no evidence of its legitimacy, acceptance in academia, etc. It sells degrees (one to Dr. Hayes, who previously purchased one from another degree mill). (Hayes submitted work done elsewhere, not under Knightsbridge's supervision.) The military studies program is, like everything else, in English, and is operated by a sub-contractor.

    By what measure is this "of the world's best DL MA degrees in Military Studies"?

    The operator of another board complains constantly that people on this board overstate the quality of some RA schools. While I think this is both absurd and inaccurate, I find it interesting that one of that board's denizens would make such a statement about Knightsbridge. Again, by what measure is this program one of the world's best? :rolleyes:
     
  15. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    As I've posted elsewhere, Moskos denies making the endorsement. Thompson, who runs the program, claims he (Thompson) wrote the endorsement and Moskos approved it.

    Got anything else, Dr. Hayes? :cool:
     
  16. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Moskos is required reading in Air Force professional military education. He is reknowned for his expertise on military sociology.

    Real involvement by Moskos in the Knightsbridge program would be a strong indicator of the program's legitimacy. Of course, the credential would still come from a diploma mill, which would be problematic. But Dr. Moskos isn't involved in the program.

    A real endorsement of the program by Moskos would be an interesting indicator, causing one to seek more information (before being utterly disappointed in what one found). But the endorsement isn't real.
     
  17. Gus Sainz

    Gus Sainz New Member

    And I've probably posted this before also, but Dr Charles C. Moskos, in an email dated October 19, 2004, stated that he didn’t know much about Knightsbridge except that he wrongly presumed it was “a regular British university.”

    If Neil Hayes is to be believed, then the process he described granted him a doctorate in Environmental Studies definitively brands Knightsbridge University a degree mill. And if you do not believe Neil Hayes, then the fact that Knightsbridge University has “no formal or legal authority to award degrees” (according to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, who oversees higher education in Denmark, Knightsbridge’s actual location) leaves no room for doubt that Knightsbridge University is indeed a degree mill.
     
  18. uncle janko

    uncle janko member

    Agreed on all points.

    The irony of it is that, although I am an utter layman in the field of zoology, I believe that Dr Hayes' dissertation (which I have read) would have passed muster with some revision at a legitimate university.

    Shilling for a mill is not mitigated by that in the least. Not in the least.
     
  19. BillDayson

    BillDayson New Member

    You posted the information months ago, as I recall. I tried looking for the post yesterday, but the search function isn't working.

    I get the impression that Thompson knows Moskos from that interuniversity seminar thing that they are both members of. So Thompson sent Moskos his proposed syllabus and Moskos replied that he liked it. But apparently Moskos didn't have a clue about Knightsbridge and just assumed that it was a legitimate, if obscure, British university. And now Moskos' remarks about the syllabus are being spun into a general endorsement of Knightsbridge.

    Thompson's military studies thing might be a viable opportunity for individuals who are interested in studying with Thompson. Unfortunately the Knightsbridge degrees that they would be awarded are essentially meaningless. But there are people out there who don't have a degree objective, who already have a degree perhaps or who don't need one, who might be looking for somebody with military interests to collaborate with or something.

    Thompson has cleaned up his website a little and removed some of the more inflammatory material. But his rather over-the-top and extremely dismissive views on university accreditation, complete with quotes from Master's Divinity School and Henrik, along with an anti-ODA rant and a link to something by Richard Hoyer entitled 'the truth about accreditation', are still posted here:

    http://www.professorthompson.com/nontraduniv.html

    I wonder if Moskos endorses that? :D
     
  20. fnhayes

    fnhayes New Member

    Yes, I suggest you read - and attempt to understand - what has been said about this at degreeboard, and elsewhere.
     

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