Another DI'er at Dakota State

As of today, I am officially a student in the Doctor of Science in Information Systems program at Dakota State. I'd like to thank PhD2B for the pointer to the program and for answering my questions over the last few months.

As some of you may know, I started a doctoral program at NCU and withdrew after 2 courses...the NCU program was pretty good but it just didn't hit my 'sweet spot'. After leaving NCU, I spent the last 6 to 8 months looking at other schools and even enrolling in CTU (and very quickly withdrawing) and finally came to the conclusion that Dakota State had the best program for me.

Reasons for my choice:

• It's a public university
• It's a Brick & Mortar school
• There are some prof's at the school who share my interests in IT & Technology Management
• Interesting electives (fuzzy systems, neural networks, etc)
• Interesting specialization areas
• It's a public university

As you can tell, the 'public university' piece was a strong seller for me.


For those that are interested, I looked very closely at the following schools during my search...all have great programs and should be considered by anyone else looking for an IT/Technology type of program:

• Univ of Alabama @ Huntsville - PhD in Engineering Management - Little emphasis on business & IT but that may change soon according to the school. Would be a great school for someone from an engineering background and who wants to stay in engineering.
• Indiana State University - PhD in Technology Management - Good program but limited specialization options. I think this program's use of a 'consortium of schools' should be the model for other schools around the country to follow for DL doctorate programs.
• Grenoble - DBA Program - Great program with excellent credentials but just not what I was looking for.
• Walden - PhD in Applied Management & Sciences - Expensive compared to the others + it is a for-profit....but well regarded around the country by people 'in the know'.
• Colorado Tech University - Doctor of Management - Good program but I got the "heeby jeeby" feeling while talking to current and past students. Another for-profit school that has some detractors and some cheerleaders. The lack of a dissertation bothered me...but also intrigued me.
• Ecole Superieure de Commerce de Lille - PhD in Strategy & Project Management. Good program for someone looking to specialize in PM for their career.

There were a few other schools that I ran across, but none that really tweaked my interest like the above schools.

 

Good for you Eric, let us know how it goes.

 

Congratulations Eric!

I look forward to 'seeing' you in class.

 

Congrats!

I can share some of your points!

Anyway, hit hard and don't give up!

Best of luck!

 

Eric,

Sounds like you have found a good program for you! Keep us up to date on how it goes!

Shawn

 

Good news!

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on some of the other schools.

Good luck!

 

Thanks Dave. I see you are in comps phase at NCU...good luck.

 

Absolutely....can't wait!

 

When I was looking at it, it would have been ~$48K for the whole program. Tuition has since been raised and I think it is now at ~$55K.

 

Nova Southeastern is in the game too. They no longer offer IT Management in their business school, but their school of computer and information sciences (www.scis.nova.edu) is going strong.

Regards - Andy

 

Nova is definitely worth considering but the cluster meetings just weren't something I could accommodate.....if I live in Florida, I would have seriously considered this program.

 

I really considered NSU, but the tuition at NSU is much higher than the tuition at DSU ($550 per credit hour as compared to $269.35 per credit hour). The other things I liked better about DSU are that they offer three doctoral specializations (Decision Support, Knowledge and Data Management; Information Assurance and Computer Security; and Healthcare Information Systems) and they offer some interesting elective courses like the one's Eric mentioned above.

 

DSU looked like they had a good program. The fact that it's a state school is a facet that shines some, too. I might have applied for their DSc program but I did not want to get another master's degree and they were not quite sure about what, if any, the residency requirements might be.

If one doesn't already have a master's degree in information systems then one must be obtained while in the program. PhD2B can answer more questions about the program, though. He's gone through a few courses there already.

NCU might not be everyone's cup of tea. For me it works well, is very convenient, and has an applied computer science program. I could only get my company to pick up the tuition along the CS route. They wouldn't pick it up with an IS or IT program. Anyone with an interest in IS can't go wrong with DSU for sure.

Bing

 

This is one major drawback of the program for me. I am not required to earn the MSIS, but, after taking most of the MSIS coursework, I will be 3 credits shy of the MSIS. NSU requires something similar for anyone that wants to earn the PhD in IS, except I believe they make you finish the MSIS while working toward the PhD.

However, I really can't complain. I am interested in IS and this program will definitely give me a lot of knowledge about the field.

 

Congratulations Eric!

That looks like a good choice for you. The other options that you posted are interesting. It's too bad that Dakota State doesn't have a DBA by distance. I don't think I have enough IT background to manage the program that you're in.

I'll look forward to hearing how you like it.

 

Congratulations on being accepted to DSU!! What are the residence requirements? Did you also consider the PhD program at Colorado State University?

 

Residence requirements are still being worked out but there aren't any as of right now but according to the chair of the department, students are 'encouraged' to come to campus whenever they can.

There is 1 course that requires some trips to campus but I'm not sure about the frequency or which course it is.

I did look at Colorado State but not very long since it is more in the operations and industrial engineering fields.