Harvard Doctor of Liberal Arts?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Sam-I-Am, Feb 9, 2006.

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  1. Sam-I-Am

    Sam-I-Am New Member

    Saw a rumor on this board about a Harvard ALD (doctor of liberal atrs) that's supposedly being bounced around and proposed by the admin and faculty at the Big H. Can this be true? Anyone know anything about such a thing?

    Also, does anyone have any info on the Georgetown Doctor of Liberal Studies program? Are any of the courses available in the Summer, or is it a pure evening Fall and Spring semester thing? Details are sketchy, even on Georgetown's website.

    Thanks.
     
    Sam-I-Am, Feb 9, 2006
    #1
  2. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Sam,

    I think everything known about Georgetown's program was on the thread where you heard about it in the first place. Are you local to the area? If so, check this thread out.

    As for the Harvard thing, while it's an intriguing rumor, it shows up on the Internet merely as speculation on one page of a forum. From that I'd guess it's unlikely there's anything to it. However, since inquiring minds want to know (including mine!), I've emailed Harvard's PR contact asking them to confirm or deny that we may see an ALD from them. I'll post any response here on this thread.

    -=Steve=-
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 9, 2006
    SteveFoerster, Feb 9, 2006
    #2
  3. Sam-I-Am

    Sam-I-Am New Member

    Thanks. No, not local to DC. Just potentially having Summers available and wondering if they offer any of the courses in the Summer months.

    As for Harvard, thanks for the info. You're probably right, most likely just idle chatter overheard by the friend of a friend of an insider who mentioned it on that other site, but intriguing anyway. But they wouldn't exactly have to go to great lengths to make such a program fly. They already have the MLA, they could just require a Masters or law degree for admission (like G-Town), and require pretty much the same courses required for the 40 cr hr for the MLA plus a couple extra stats courses and then have a 12 credit full scale dissertation for a total of about 60 credits. Kind of like an MLA on steroids. Would seem like everything's already pretty much in place for such a program. Anyway, we can always dream. If a world-class outfit like G-Town can do it, why not Harvard?
     
    Sam-I-Am, Feb 9, 2006
    #3
  4. Sam-I-Am

    Sam-I-Am New Member

    Oh, and one thing: that poster on the other forum is dead wrong about this: there ain't NO WAY NO HOW that Harvard would ever allow a liberal-artsy doctorate from the Extension to be called a "PhD".

    Harvard faculty are about as likely to allow an Extension "PhD" as GWB is to announce that he knew all along there were no WMD--but just wanted a war out of sheer bloodlust. Not likely!
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 9, 2006
    Sam-I-Am, Feb 9, 2006
    #4
  5. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Rumor denied!

    So folks, there you have it. Denied! Guess we can all stop scouring the classifieds for apartments in Boston. ;)

    Kinda reminds me of all the Internet rumors about what's going to happen in the last Harry Potter book. Series author J.K. Rowling quashes them mercilessly on her web site.

    Also reminds me of the joke that we used to think that if an infinite number of monkeys typed endlessly that eventually one of them would produce Hamlet, but now we have the Internet and know it's not true.

    -=Steve=-
     
    SteveFoerster, Feb 9, 2006
    #5
  6. Tim D

    Tim D Member

    Re: Rumor denied!

    The rent for apartments in Boston or Cambridge would be a sticker shock all on it's own for most people!
     
    Tim D, Feb 9, 2006
    #6
  7. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Re: Re: Rumor denied!

    All us Harvard ALD'ers could have split a place. ;)

    -=Steve=-
     
    SteveFoerster, Feb 9, 2006
    #7
  8. TCord1964

    TCord1964 New Member

    I think political comments should be reserved for the "Off Topic" section of this board.
     
    TCord1964, Feb 9, 2006
    #8
  9. Tim D

    Tim D Member

    Re: Re: Re: Rumor denied!

    I see a money making opportunity I could rent out my house :D
     
    Tim D, Feb 9, 2006
    #9
  10. Sam-I-Am

    Sam-I-Am New Member

    I can see how you might get that notion. But it wasn't a political comment per se. It was merely a commentary on how UNLIKELY it would be for Harvard to add a PhD to its extension offerings. It is about as likely as GWB saying "My fellow Americans, it was sheer bloodlust." Whether you believe it was or wasn't bloodlust (for the record, I do not. I'm a good red-blooded Republican) you gotta admit, it's extremely unlikely that he'd make such a pronouncement.
    :)
     
    Sam-I-Am, Feb 10, 2006
    #10
  11. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Two observations

    First, I think you all mean the "Political Discussions" forum, not the "Off Topic" forum.

    Second, anything mentioning Mr. Bush is likely to be perceived as a political comment whether it strictly speaking is one or not. It's probably best to err on the side of caution, yes? Surely we can think of other examples of improbability. :)

    -=Steve=-
     
    SteveFoerster, Feb 10, 2006
    #11
  12. Sam-I-Am

    Sam-I-Am New Member

    Re: Two observations

    Yes, but not very many examples as provocative as that one. ;)
     
    Sam-I-Am, Feb 10, 2006
    #12

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