Aspen master to phd?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by gmohdez, Apr 6, 2007.

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  1. gmohdez

    gmohdez New Member

    I had posted I had decided on WGU, but the $3,000 option is very appealing.
    I have a reason other than employment for both the master and the eventual PhD. (I work for a school district in Texas, where most of the districts pay the princely sum of $500/year additional for master's and $1,000/year for doctorate)
    With that in mind, I basically would like to spend as little as possible, especially since I expect to study on my own what I need to learn.
    Of these two (Aspen and WGU) after finishing a master's, what are the advantages or disadvantages in the future regarding a doctorate?
    Does anybody have experiences, good or bad, trying to enroll for a doctorate after an Aspen master's?

    Thank you.
     
  2. Dave Wagner

    Dave Wagner Active Member

    No personal experience here but some thoughts... An Aspen MBA should put you in the running to earn a DETC doctorate, but not an RA doctorate. I'm guessing that an outstanding student might parlay a DETC masters degree into entrance in some foreign doctoral program but that is pure speculation.

    Dave
     
  3. Pugman

    Pugman New Member

    I think Dave's correct in that if you are interested in a doctorate, WGU is the better choice.

    That's not to say you can't get into a doctoral program with a DETC masters (e.g. NCU comes to mind and I'm sure there are many more) - it's just that it's the more limiting option of the two (IMO).

    Greg
     
  4. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    You should try with the online for profit schools like NCU, Touro, Walden, Capella etc. I'm sure that options will be given to you.
     
  5. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Some online schools will accept a degree from a DETC-accredited school, others will not.

    This thread once again demonstrates that such degrees are useful to some people sometimes, but they do not have the flexibility and utility of RA degrees.

    Proceed with caution.
     
  6. Dave Wagner

    Dave Wagner Active Member

    Touro University International is non-profit.

    Dave
     
  7. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Sort of, but it's a wholly-owned subsidiary of Touro College, and it's for sale. Assuming a for-profit ends up buying it, its claim to non-profit status will be over.

    -=Steve=-
     
  8. siersema

    siersema Active Member

    Try thinking about where you may want to take a PhD at and see what will work for you. Some schools will take a DETC masters, and others seem to be more concerned with where your undergraduate degree is from. If you want the most options the way to go is with an RA institution.
     
  9. Dave Wagner

    Dave Wagner Active Member

    Hi. TC is non-profit and therefore TUI is non-profit. The verb is is present tense. Until the legal status of the entity changes, presuming that it might ever change, those statements are correct.

    Dave
     
  10. PaulC

    PaulC Member

    If the $1k additional salary is the primary motivator, you will lose a lot of money on that deal after paying for a for profit PhD.
     
  11. Dave Wagner

    Dave Wagner Active Member

    Yes, but I'm planning to teach and live until I'm at least 100 years old, so over the next 54 years I should experience a gross profit of over $10,000. That's almost $200 per year not adjusted for inflation and not including the opportunity cost of doing something else with the time. Who said that earning a Ph.D. wasn't a great business and career move?

    Dave
     
  12. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member


    You would have no problem entering a PhD program at NCU with an Aspen U MBA. There are some other RA schools as well, but I can't think of them off the top of my head.

    Abner
     
  13. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    I'd like to add one more thought. An Aspen MBA should also get you into a GAAP non-US doctoral degree program, especially if that GAAP university is also on the list of DETC accredited schools. There are a growing number of these and some are very well known and respected around the world. There are three or four in Australia alone. If academia is a goal you might actually be better served by going for that non-US doctorate than for a US-DETC doctorate.
     
  14. pugbelly

    pugbelly New Member



    Liberty University would accept a DETC Masters.

    Pug
     
  15. gmohdez

    gmohdez New Member

    As I mentioned in my original post, there are other reasons, at $80 or so dollars per month in salary increase it would be like working for a few pennies per hour during the time it will take me to earn a master's and a PhD.

    I appreciate all the replies and I will stick with my first decision because I do intend to go on to a doctorate after I earn my master's.

    Just like Dave, I am planning on living to at least 100 years old, so it may pay for itself in the very long run anyway.
     
  16. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    I hope that you will let us know when you turn 100. I will gladly come to your party, or at least make a toast in your name.
     
  17. gmohdez

    gmohdez New Member

    I certainly will, many of you will still be here as I am half way there :p
     
  18. Dave Wagner

    Dave Wagner Active Member

    A friend noticed a bulletin in a nearby school district office about a principal being hired for one of the schools. The salary range was 97K to 107K per year. Add $2,300 per year for a doctorate. The minimum education would be a teaching credential, administrative credential, and a Masters degree, or some combination thereof. Scale these numbers down a bit for other parts of the USA.

    In sum, the mid-life doctorate is not a road to prosperity; if you can break even on the venture, you have done well. Still, I'm looking for the doctoral unicorn who earns a doctorate mid-life, publishes, gets tenure at a college, and enjoys a modicum of prosperity; they rarely appear (like bigfoot) but that doesn't mean they don't exist. Right?

    Dave
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 7, 2007
  19. me again

    me again Well-Known Member

    I will unequivocally recoup the financial expenditure that was spent for a doctoral degree within the first year of graduation.
     
  20. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    I think the another issue is the fact that adjunct positions are becoming more competitive and the doctorate is becoming a norm nowadays even for part time positions. So even if you are not able to get the return of investment in terms of time (opportunity cost) and tuition, you are remaining competitive for future years. How long will it take before you cannot longer get adjunct offers with a master's degree alone? As the number of PhDs increases, the RA or GAAP PhD would help you to be employed and to have more options open for the future.

    I agree with David that given the saturation of PhDs, it is really hard for a graduate of a part time or online PhD to compete with people devoting entire lifes to research and teaching.

    A couple of months ago I was asked to review some of the resumes of candidates for a tenure track position, and it was incredible the amount of people with resumes of 12 pages with publications looking for work. How can a graduate of an online PhD with not even one publication compete? I think that it is not realistic to think that there is a short cut for something that takes a life to build.

    I see the part time or DL PhD as a way to remain competitive and to increase employment opportunities but not a way to get a tenure professor position at Harvard University or even at a second tier University.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 7, 2007

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