I'm a regular contributor to degreeinfo.com and have been finishing my education since I got out of high school over ten years ago. Degreeinfo saved me from the legal-looking St. Regis University back in the early 2000/2001 time frame when it "appeared" to be a legally authorized Liberian degree-granting entity. Whether it was legal or not, is still in dispute as best I know, and you guys saved me from a bad investment. Thanks much... Now, let me tell you where I am in my educational process. Because of DegreeInfo, I found Ashworth College and completed my AS degree. Then I read some reviews on WGU here at DegreeInfo and elected to complete by BS and later my MBA at WGU. I've posted my experiences at Ashworth and WGU many times at a number of distance learning forums including DegreeInfo. I've been a C-level information technology executive for the past seven or eight years and have another ten years worth of foundational experience. I'm looking to further my credentials. I have several problems I'd like everyone's opinion of: 1. First, I get the distinct impression that the MBA while it is a Masters-level degree, isn't as valuable or useful as a MS degree. I got this impression in conversation with family, friends, and coworkers. Is this true? 2. With this in mind, I'm thinking of taking an online MS program. I've looked at Southwestern, Northcentral, and Northwestern (strange, that all these names are rather bland, huh?). Anyway, I'm looking for a reasonably good, cheap, and quick MS from a nationally or regionally accredited university. The fields are Information Technology and/or Information Systems. Can you guys give me any recommendations? 3. On the other hand, should an MBA really be a "true" Masters degree then I'll want a PhD. I'm thinking of Walden or Capella but without the price tags. The field of study will be Organizational Leadership/Management or some other management PhD with high IT overhead (such as JIU's PhD in Project Management). Can you guys give me recommendations for low cost, reasonably good PhDs from regionally or nationally accredited universities? 4. Are DETC schools able to run with PhDs yet? Thanks kindly for your help in advance. Jacob M Metro Coursework Berea College Coursework Jefferson State Community College AS-CIM (Ashworth, GPA 3.9) BS-CIS (WGU, GPA 4.0) MBA-ITM (WGU, GPA 4.0) CMBA, A+, SurfControl STAR, HPAT, TAT, CCT
Welcome back; here are some thoughts: 1. The MBA sometimes lacks an 18 semester unit specialization, which you could achieve with a graduate certificate in information technology, etc. To teach adjunct with an MBA you usually need 18 units in a discipline. Whether the MS, which includes a specialization, is more "valuable" depends on the job for which you are competing. The MS in a particular business discipline is sometimes less understood and may not be perceived as thorough preparation to become a departmental manager. However, there are many exceptions, such as an MSEE I knew who was generally gifted at anything he set his mind to. 2. There is a group on this board devoted to IT degrees. 3. Why do you want to earn a Ph.D.? Do you need one to teach full time or research in your discipline? You said you wanted an MS in IT or IS but you are willing to pursue a doctorate in organizational leadership. Which discipline is most important? Why the difference in interest? You'll need to refine your interest to make this important decision. Unless you have a compelling reason to pursue a doctorate, you might consider a second masters degree to increase your employability. 4. DETC seems poised to accredit first professional degrees, such as the DBA, which are not the same as the research-based Ph.D. degree. Dave
The DBA is not a first professional degree as the MD or DDS but also considered a research degree. However, some DL schools seem to use the DBA as a "light" version of the PhD. There are a lot of threads that cover DBA vs PhD discussion. However, the main difference is not really the degree name but the school granting it. Harvard started business doctoral degrees as DBA and also other schools as Indiana, but as the PhD is becoming more known some schools have renamed their degrees to be PhDs instead of DBAs (e.g. Indiana). I wouldn't sweet it for the degree name but more about the source of the degree. Any DETC DBA would have little use for teaching purposes. The same can be said for most of the online schools. So if you need a PhD for tenure tracks at B&M institutions, you should look at schools with academic reputation. Many schools in the UK with good reputation offer doctoral level degrees that can be done externally. External degrees are not the same as online degrees, external means that you don't have to complete on campus residencies but the same requirements as the on campus degrees need to be met. As many of these degree don't require course work, the research can be easily be completed as independent external work.
Not quite. The point is/was that DBA is increasingly not strictly a research-focused degree in the USA, which is a reversal of the historical trend; and possibly the reason why it is a good fit for some DETC schools. The DBA seems headed to become a "practitioner" degree, so the Ph.D. will most likely become the premium academic designation in the future. It is hard to imagine licensure for "business doctors" but I suppose it is possible in some disciplines, such as accounting or finance. My opinion though about the future. Dave
MBA v. MS My MBA is from an AACSB institution, and I am earning a Ph.D. from a for-profit institution. As far as your goals go, it depends on what you want to do. I personally believe that an MBA and an MS are perceived as roughly equivalent degrees; however, the MBA is more broad based, while the MS is more specialized. I teach at a small community college and in that aspect, the MBA provided more utility for me because my courses had more of the business spread (Marketing, Mangagement, Finance, Accounting) than the MS in Management would have provided me. That being said, looking back at my doctoral experience, the MS would have provided more in depth experience for my core courses in the doctoral program. Others on this board have asked what you want to do with the PhD - and I concur. If teaching is what you want, I agree that an RA doctorate is the way to go over DETC. Additionally, while I don't believe that I will teach at Harvard, I do believe that my Ph.D. from Capella will be accepted in many academic circles - provided that I show the ability to contribute to the academy by publishing and presenting. Best of luck in your decision. Shawn
I think that the difference of the two degrees seem to be defined correctly by this site: "The DBA and PhD degrees are very similar in other respects. The DBA and PhD are "academically equivalent." Both entail rigorous courses of study with a heavy emphasis on research. Students must write and defend a doctoral dissertation, in addition to taking a comprehensive exam The DBA and PhD are generally designed to prepare students for academic careers, either in teaching or research or both. There is no hard and fast rule about which degree you need in order to be hired by a university, but there are some basic trends: In some parts of the country, schools are now requiring that faculty members entering tenure track positions hold a terminal degree (i.e.: a doctorate) in business. A DBA or PhD satisfies this requirement, while a doctorate in education (EdD) does not. Accreditation matters. AACSB-accredited schools generally-though not universally-hire individuals with doctorates from other AACSB-accredited schools. In those cases where an AACSB-accredited school hires someone with a DBA from a regionally-accredited institution, the quality of the research the individual has published is often the deciding factor. " http://www.allbusinessschools.com/faqs/dba-phd.php
There is some evidence of a Capella being useful for tenure tracks, here a positive review http://chronicle.com/forums/index.php?topic=26595.15 There are also negative, as one interview from a Capella PhD that was not able to land a tenure track as indicated in this article http://chronicle.com/jobs/2003/08/2003080601c.htm I wonder if there is any serious study about the usability of PhDs from for profit schools for tenure tracks.
Coverage seems complete except the point that the trend is away from offering the DBA as the full research degree and toward the Ph.D. Moreover, I'll bet the Ed.D. will suffice for tenure in many situations though because it is typically a full research degree. Dave
Thanks kindly for all your advice... Thanks to all who responded to my thread. I appreciate it. Here's what I've taken away from the discussion to this point: It looks like most contributors recognize the core difference between a MS and a MBA as being the 18 credit hour specialization. In my case my MBA took 45 credit hours and included a specialization in Information Technology Management. Other than that, if there is a difference it should be in my favor. Yes, the additional educational consideration is purely credentialism at its finest. I'm simply looking to make myself more employable. Yes, eventually I MAY want to teach college. But my purpose in gathering these credentials is to make my consulting business more marketable. A lively debate about the distinctions between the PhD and the DBA ensued, leading to theories that the DBA might eventually become a "weaker" or practitioner degree rather than a full research PhD. Since my purpose is purely credentialism, I can foresee that the PhD might be more respected than the DBA. Thanks kindly for your help. I'll talk to the IT folks about degrees in Information Technology. Jacob M Metro, MBA Coursework Berea College Coursework Jefferson State Community College AS-CIM (Ashworth, GPA 3.9) BS-CIS (WGU, GPA 4.0) MBA-ITM (WGU, GPA 4.0) CMBA, A+, SurfControl STAR, HPAT, TAT, CCT
This might be true but I see it more on the online schools that offer the DBA as a "weaker" alternative to the PhD. However, in the business field, rather than the degree name, the most important is the AACSB accreditation. A DBA from a AACSB accredited school will have more use for teaching positions than a PhD without it. If teaching is your goal, I would look for schools with AACSB accreditation.
A DBA from an AACSB school is most likely a research degree equivalent to the Ph.D. Are there any distance learning doctorates from North American AACSB schools? Dave
Unless you plan to teach full time or learn how to be a scholar in your discipline, earning the Ph.D. could be a waste of your time. It's too difficult and expensive, unless teaching and research (i.e., science) is in your blood. Pumping up your consulting credentials doesn't seem like a big enough goal. Dave
I agree, the PhD mainly trains you to become a researcher and how to publish rather than consulting. As for AACSB DL PhD or DBA programs, there are non in the US but many options are available in the UK.
RF I think it would be a great idea to have a study You are correct, there will be some negatives for the online degree - but I believe as time passes and online ed becomes more acceptable that more schools will hire faculty with online credentials. In addition, those of us who will have doctorates from online schools MUST prove our meddle to the academy by publishing, presenting, and being excellent teachers. Shawn
