Hello All, Any recommendations of reputable Ph.D/DBA programs out there. I've been thinking about Northcentral University (homeland security - Ph.D), but I want to research other schools with a "B&M" presence. I'm thinking about enrolling into Columbia Southern University pilot DBA next year. The problem is I already have my BSBA & MBA through CSU. I think I need a little diversity.
I think you are wise to seek some diversity in your credentials. Yet, apparently the Dean of the Harvard Business School did not. His undergrad, master's, and doctorate are all from Harvard. I used to hear all the time the deal about having your degrees from different schools. However, I see plenty of people with all of their degrees from the same school. Maybe it makes no difference. I have a guy on my team with BS, MS, and PhD from Illinois. He was an assistant Indiana. No one obviously cared there or here. Norhtcentral would be a good choice. Likely more pricey than the CSU DBA. The homeland security program seems interesting to me.
True about the Hardvard Dean, but the difference is this is a DL school. Any degree from Hardvard is impressive, so why not times that by three? Northcentral seems to be the only Ph.D program I can find with a concentration in Homeland Security.
Can you tell me about your experience with NCU (i.e., class structure, exams, research papers, finals). NCU is appealing for me due to them offering tutition discounts for law enforcement. Out of all the schools I've researched, with NCU's tuition discount, NCU has the best deal. On a side note, I'm not very impressed with NCU's website. Looks generic and quasi diploma mill like (I know their not a diploma mill). Websites for online schools I believe are vital. Due to their online presenece the websites should be of the highest quality (i.e., online videos, office tours, adminstration and teacber interviews, photographs). I've been hassling CSU to make their website better (videos & pictures).
As far as the class structure- you get a syllabus when you start the class. It has all the assignments listed and the due dates. You can complete them sooner, which I usually do. I am on my third class. The first class has 8 (I think assignments) and a final which was assignment 2 with examples. It turned out to be about 20 pages. The next class had 6 assignments and a 10 page final. This class has 4 assignements - 10 pages each and a final 15-20 pages. As for the website - it is simple but effective. I know it does not have a lot of flash.
For non-AACSB biz doctorates via distance, I'd look into Nova and UMUC (D.M.- Doctor of Management). AACSB degrees include Case Western (D.M.- Exec program -expensive!), Grenoble (France- DBA); Manchester (UK - DBA); Aston (UK- DBA or PhD); Henley (UK - DBA). There's also Indiana State University, which offers a PhD in Technology Management via distance. I don't think any of these programs have beans to do with Homeland Security, but since you mentioned the DBA, I though I'd suggest some of the better biz or biz-related programs available by distance. These are all pretty good schools which also have a strong brick & mortar presence, and as that's my bias, those are the only ones I mentioned.
Jamie, It depends what you want to do with the PhD or DBA. If all you want is self improvement or a title in your business cards, a DETC doctorate will do it for you. The only real use of a PhD is if you are going to go for either a research or a University teaching position. If your Doctorate is from a low profile school, you better have an impressive number of articles pubished on a peer reviewed journal of high impact. When applying to research positions, normally organizations will ask for samples of your articles published in good journals coupled with good research experience. When teaching at the University level, competition is quite tough so a DETC doctorate or a low profile RA PhD would need to be compensated with an impressive resume of accomplishments. My advise, just get the best you can get. A NCU, TUI or any virtual doctorate is not the best option but if it is that or not doctorate then I would take the latter. The foreign doctorate route seems more attractive as more solid schools offer DL options but they are also very demanding and expensive, most of the PhDs at foreign schools are not meant for working professionals but for full time academics so they are not so manageable when it comes to time. NCU or TUI PhDs seem to be doable as many students here reported successful completion rates but the usability of those degrees still remains unknown as not so many graduates are using their degrees in places where a PhD is a must (tenure based positions or goverment research positions). Some foreign schools that are not so expensive are Charles Sturt and Southern Queensland. Charles Sturt seems to be a candidate for AACSB accreditation as it is listed on the AACSB website. The DBA costs around 20K AUD and it can be completed in 4 years part time with the option of doing it on campus. Will they achieve AACSB accreditation, may be or may be not. But I bet they have more chances than NCU or TUI as they are more established with full time faculty.
As a point of clarification, NCU is not an "online school". NCU is simply a distance learning school with a website. With that said, I'm sure few people would disagree that the website needs significant improvements.
OK, a virtual school with only presence on the web. No courses are offered on campus and most faculty are part time working from home. No research facilities or institutes are on campus.
Looks like we agree on everything except the "virtual" part. NCU (like other DL schools) offers education at a distance. This school, like COSC for example, grants real degrees for real college work. The school is real, the work is real, and the degrees are real, even if no classes are offered on campus.
Central Queensland University www.dtls.cqu.edu.au (BG15, 103) Charles Sturt University www.csu.edu.au (BG15, 104) University of Glasgow www.gla.ac.uk (BG15, 137) Henley Management College www.henleymc.ac.uk (BG15, 160) Liberty University www.liberty.edu (BG15, 162) University of Maryland www.umuc.edu (BG15, 140) University of Melbourne www.unimelb.edu.au (BG15, 140) University of New England www.une.edu.au (BG15, 141) Nova Southeastern University www.nova.edu (BG15, 165) University of Phoenix http://online.uophx.edu (BG15, 143) Regent University www.regent.edu (BG15, 168) University of South Africa www.unisa.ac.za (BG15, 144) South Bank University www.lbsu.ac.uk (BG15, 172) University of Tasmania www.international.utas.edu.au (BG15, 146) Technikon of South Africa www.tsa.ac.za (BG15, 132) University of Teesside www.tees.ac.uk (BG15, 181) Touro University International www.touro.edu (BG15, 134) Well, what have we here? 17 possible schools with both DL and B&M DBA/PhD Bsns programs to choose from. 11 of these are foreign (dissertation-only) doctorates. Of the 6 American (coursework + dissertation) doctorates, 2 (Nova & Phoenix) are basically DL schools that happen to have B&M programs. Of the remaining schools, 2 (Liberty & Regent) may have too strongly religious a flavor for some employers. The University of Maryland and Touro are both respectable schools, but even there you might find out whether UMUC (the DL programs) have a different rep than the University of Maryland (B&M programs) or whether Touro University International (online programs) has a different rep than Touro College (onground programs).
NCU isn't an online school? "Northcentral University is regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of NCACS and offers 100% ONLINE distance learning degree programs for adult learners to obtain a college education ONLINE. You can earn a Bachelor's degree, Master's degree or Doctorate degree in Psychology, Business and Technology Management, or Education with the advantages of an ONLINE university education. Our ONLINE distance learning degree program specializations offer timely professional advancement opportunities.. " http://www.ncu.edu/
What are some of your requirements, since there are so many out there, it would be nice to know your preference in: Accreditation (RA, AACSB, etc.) Cost limits Time Residency etc, etc....
An AACSB school might not be a good recommendation for him. His BSBA and MBA are from Columbia Southern University --- a DETC school.
May Have Trouble with NCU He may not even get into NCU. He will definately have to check with them first..
