Affordable PhD or EdD (Education)

I hope someone out there can help me with my frustrating search!!! For the past year or so Ive been trying to find a credible AND affordable PhD or EdD (Education) prgram that is primarily online with very little residency(ie. a couple of short visits at most). There are lots of cheap diploma mills but but I have yet to find one that is credible and financially feasible (ie. teacher's salary). Most online programs seem to run well past 20k. Is there one out there that won't bankrupt a family? I'm desperate for some guidance.........

 

Hi Donnie - There are lots of options. Please look at the one offered by the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Beyond that you can check out the website I've listed below. It will have several others listed.
http://www.geocities.com/liu_jonathan/distance.html
There will be additional suggestions from other knowledgable people. It's all possible.
Good luck.
Jack

 

Donnie,

NCU offers a PhD in Education as well as an EdD with many specializations to choose from. The total cost of the program, providing you transfer in 30 credits from your master's degree, will run a little over your $20K price tag but NCU is RA and their programs don't require any residencies.

Another option is Touro University International. Touro offers a PhD in Educational Leadership with various concentrations to choose from, is RA, and is completely online.

 

$$$$$$

I appreciate your replies but 20k when converted to Canadian funds is still a big hit. Where can I get the best bang (ie. cheapest) for my buck from a credible institution?

 

Donnie
I have looked and looked...I do not think you can find a distance RA school under 20K...I found..and I could be wrong...Liberty and NCU to be the cheapest. I have looked through the same links and lists as you have I am sure.
South African schools are probably your best shot...I almost went that route myself.
I personally decided to scratch the RA doctorate for now and get an unaccredited but legit one for personal satisfaction.
Good luck.
Hope someone knows something I don't!!!!
BrianH

 

Just out of curiosity.... what unaccredited but legitimate institution did you choose for your doctorate. Thanks for your help! I may look at UNISA more closely - are they really as cheap as they seem? Are there any negatives about UNISA I should know about.... I find their website completely confusing and user unfreindly. ..... I'm open to anyone else's input and/or suggestions!

 

"Just out of curiosity" or are you "covertly" considering one? So if you are here is one that you can obtain in one week and cheaper than NCU too! ;-)

http://www.belforduniversity.org/?engine=adwords!4580&keyword=%28instant+degrees%29&match_type=

 

Donnie,

Given the current conversion rate of Canadian to U.S. Dollars, you may want to restrict your search to Canadian schools. I found a very cool degree search engine operated by AUCC (Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada). I ran a quick search and came up with the following schools. Note: You will need to do your homework here, as the site has no option to restrict the search to DL programs:

http://oraweb.aucc.ca/showdcu.html

Here are the results of the search I ran:


University of Alberta PhD in teacher education
University of Alberta PhD in measurement, evaluation, and cognition
University of Alberta EDd Educational Policy Studies
University of Calgary EdD in educational leadership
University of Calgary PhD in educational leadership
University of Calgary PhD in educational technology
University of Calgary EdD in educational technology
The Univ of British Columbia PhD in educational studies
The Univ of British Columbia PhD in measurement, evaluation & research methodology
The Univ of British Columbia EdD in educational leadership and policy
Simon Fraser University EdD in Educational Leadership
University of Victoria PhD in Educational Studies
University of Manitoba PhD in education
University of New Brunswick PhD in Education
Memorial Univ of Newfoundland PhD in education
Brock University PhD in educational studies (joint program)
University of Ottawa PhD in Education
University of Ottawa PhD in Education
University of Toronto EdD in Educational Administration
University of Toronto PhD in Educational Administration
Concordia University PhD in educational technology
University of Regina PhD in education
University of Saskatchewan PhD in educational administration


I checked out one of the schools (the University of Calgary), and they do offer a PhD and an EdD in Education via distance learning, however it will run you $10,000 Canadian's a year! If you live near this school (and you can gain admission), check out the on-campus programs. It looks like it will run you about half the price:

"* In Canadian dollars, and approximately twice the predicted annual program fee for campus-based doctoral students and subject to change."

Source:
http://www.ucalgary.ca/%7Edistdoc/index/pages/fees.htm


Anyway, I hope this helps out a bit.

Good luck!

- Tom

 

Yes.

Yes.

[silence]

Oh... you'd like me to list them. I see. Well... first their web site is completely confusing and user unfrie... oh... wait... I see you already noticed that...

But seriously... UNISA's web site isn't that bad.

[silence... again]

Oh, alright... so maybe it is.

And as long as you're asking for negatives, UNISA's not terrific about responding quickly (or, sometimes, even at all) to prospective students' email inquiries. It is much better about responding, however, once you become a student.

The other irritating thing is how time-consuming and tedious is the application process.

There's no question that, between UNISA's responsiveness (or lack thereof) to prospective students, and the drawn-out application process, getting started there can be a pain in the rear. But once you're up and running with them, it seems everything goes more or less smoothly.

If you decide to go there, as you're enduring the rough startup just recall that $20K+ pricetag for a doctorate virtually anywhere else; and think of it as UNISA paying you for your time, frustration and patience with the huge difference in price!

Good luck!

 

Donnie,

Try the free guide at GetEducated.com located at

http://www.geteducated.com/formreq/bdlgsed.asp

Page 5 or 6 lists the best buys in Education - Most are masters but there are some Doctorates.

 

win some cash$$$$$$$$$$$$

It's been a while... I hope someone is listening.... I'm still trying to get my email replied to and phoning them (UNISA) hasn't been good with the time difference so can anyone out there anwer my question $10000000000000000000000000 to the winner!!!

"Exactly what is the minumum number of times I need to travel to South Africa to complete the DEd degree!" ...help help help


ps. reward for winner is paid at $1 per year til the end of time or the winner can opt out for the mystery prize!!!

thanks for all your help folks .... you've been great!

 

A PhD or EdD in education at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln should cost $13,345 in tuition ($297 per DL semester hour, 45 hours required). If you need more classes expect to pay more, but I cannot imagine a cheaper or better regarded credential. Good luck!

 

Re: win some cash$$$$$$$$$$$$

Donnie - No one can answer your question, not even the school. Your requirements regarding trips to the campus will depend on a number of factors including who exactly, your doctoral promoter is and how they feel about your progress from year to year. It is unlikely that you can get anyone to tell you definitively that you will have to make the trip once, or twice or any specific number of times. Even once you've applied, been accepted and enrolled you are unlikely to get any guarantees in writing. Someone who is not even a registered student is unlikely to get a response of any kind (as you've discovered.) Sorry, but that's the way it is.
Jack

 

UNISA

Try contacting UNISA's agent in Canada:

http://www.iaci-canada.com/index.htm

 

Donnie, this is from Michael Esselen, their representative in Canada. I asked him the same question recently:

Dear Gilbert,
For DBL the answer is yes, and I believe is twice but, final confirmation need
to get from the academic faculty.




Best Regards,
Dr. Michael Esselen
IACI-CANADA-USA

Phone: 604 408 2728
Direct Line: 778 999 2728
Fax: 604 408 2764; 604 233 8852, 676 2700
Email: [email protected]; [email protected]
Website: www.iaci-canada.com


As for the reward, please contribute to the charity of your choice

 

Yes, I should have clarified "DL schools," but the tuition is amazing, because it lets out-of-state people take DL courses at significant less cost than the out-of-state B&M students. And I cannot help but suspect that grads will enjoy what I think of as the "public flagship effect"--THE University of {insert state} will always have a certain cache because it is THE University of {someplace big, that I've heard of}. Academics who know the progams and rankings will know what's what, but in general I think public flagship universities have a certain portability simply due to the name.

 

Donniem

I you are a teacher in Canada, you will find very risky to get a degree from a school like NCU as the minister of education of each province has their own list of "accredited" degrees for payment purposes. The best is to contact your human resources department and ask them if the degree you are planning to pursue would be acceptable as you don't want to find any surprises. The fact that the school is US RA doesn't guarantee that will be accepted by your school as many other factors come into place.

Your safest bet is to get a Canadian PhD in Education, Memorial University has a DL PhD in Education. Although the cost might be higher than UNISA, you will get back almost half of the cost of your PhD in tax credits while a DL foreign degree doesn't qualify for this.