Figuring the price tag of a PhD?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by tschneider, Oct 25, 2005.

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  1. tschneider

    tschneider New Member

    Hi all,

    I have a friend who is interested in pursuing a PhD in Education by DL. I told him about Walden, Capella, and NCU. But here's the confusion he had and now I am wondering myself about it. NCU pretty much spells out the tuition costs fairly well. But Walden and Capella are a bit more confusing because they charge by the semester instead of hourly. So how would one go about figuring the final price in the Walden and Capella PhD programs if he goes on a full time basis, say two classes per term?

    Now the other issue is, he is paying for this himself, so if he went with NCU, they have no federal loans and if he took just one class at a time, this would take quite awhile, wouldn't it? :confused:
     
  2. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Depends. NCU's courses are self-paced (to an extent--one must be enrolled for 8 weeks, IIRC, and can only begin classes at the beginning of new 8-week periods (or something like that). So if you do a course in a week, you can't begin another one until the next starting time period. You could enroll in two at a time, but work them consecutively--but that means paying for both up front.

    Don't forget the cost of books, materials, etc. In the case of Capella, NSU, Walden, and many others, also add in travel, lodging, and the cost of time spent away from work. (Even if you take vacation time, that's time that has a monetary value associated with it, and you're spending it on school instead of cashing it out or spending it on a real vacation.)
     
  3. PhD2B

    PhD2B Dazed and Confused

    Re: Re: Figuring the price tag of a PhD?

    Also, with Capella and Walden, don't forget to add in the cost of the residencies themselves.

    When I was searching for a doctoral program, I strongly considered Capella and Walden, but IMO paying by the quarter as opposed to paying by the credit is a ridiculous notion. I ruled them out due to cost in the end.
     
  4. tschneider

    tschneider New Member

    PhD2B,
    What program did you decide on?
     
  5. PhD2B

    PhD2B Dazed and Confused

    To answer your question without starting another "I love NCU" thread :), I went with NCU.

    I started the NCU PhD program last October but I wasn’t entirely sold on the whole 100% DL university idea. I applied to a PhD program at Old Dominion University, was accepted, and had a less than wonderful experience with them. All the while I dragged my feet on the NCU program so I could give ODU a fair shake. In the end I decided to stay with NCU. I start my fourth class with NCU in November.

    One note of caution…if your friend wants to use a doctorate to break into academia, do not go with NCU. On the other hand, if your friend is already in academia and needs to check the doctorate box or is looking for a doctorate for career advancement or enhancement, NCU is a good choice as are others.

    100% DL universities are a new breed and haven’t been a proven tool for breaking into certain career fields (i.e. academia). As always, there are exceptions, but those exceptions are usually far and few between. Before going with a DL only university, make sure your friend is aware of the limitations that go along with a DL only university.
     
  6. tschneider

    tschneider New Member

    That is interesting......so basically NCU or Touro with no residency requirements would be harder if he wanted to teach with it?

    That leads me to question about my own situation....I have been accepted into SATS Master of Theology program (have not accepted the offer yet) and I know they are implementing the Doctor of Theology. If I completed both degrees from SATS, would teaching be something that would be out for US schools or DL schools? I am not sure I would want to teach, but I may at some point, so I want to have all the facts.

    Teri
     
  7. bing

    bing New Member

    Not to burst anyone's bubble about going into academia with an RA DL PhD(how's that for alphabet soup) but it is tough to do with any distance program...even Capella, Walden, Touro, and Union.

    However, there is an NCU grad who just got an associate prof job at an RA school and his background was only in business and doing part-time adjunct.
    http://www.findlay.edu/events/releases/default.asp?Action=ReadHeadline&RowID=751

    We will have to track these newer distance programs to see how they will fare in the world of academia. Too soon to tell at this time.

     
  8. PhD2B

    PhD2B Dazed and Confused

    It depends on what you want. If you want a tenured professor's position, I would avoid all of the DL only universities. In this case your best bet would be to go with a B&M university that offers a DL doctorate and also has a strong B&M presence and name. If you are looking at teaching as an adjunct professor, then any of the RA DL universities will more than likely be fine.

     
  9. bing

    bing New Member

    But, if you have your heart set on a ThD then I think you would find it a tough row to hoe doing a business PhD. Not that you could not do it. It's just that your interest is in something else other than business.

    For me, I am going to need that motivation of interest to get through it. Luckily, I have many interests but sometimes I have thoughts that a ThD would have been a good path for me to take up. But, since I don't work in it I felt a business PhD is best for me.

     

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