Does one ever need more than one doctorate?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by humbug101, Aug 24, 2007.

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  1. humbug101

    humbug101 New Member

  2. cookderosa

    cookderosa Resident Chef

  3. mathguy

    mathguy New Member

    I have a PhD in IT management. I am currently completing my second PhD in psychology. I am doing it for my own amazement.
     
  4. dlady

    dlady Active Member

    I’ve never heard of a PhD in IT management, am I just not plugged in?
     
  5. JonHanson

    JonHanson Member

    One doctorate to learn what you need to know. And one from an Ivy league executive program (2yr-Columbia or Penn) to build your contacts list. That could be the most efficent (except for the money). :)
     
  6. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    One does not even "need" one doctorate. More than one is pure indulgence.
     
  7. alarmingidea

    alarmingidea New Member

    Oh for the love of...I suppose that on a forum like this where adjunct community college teaching (18 credits!) is a lofty ambition and the doctorate is presumed to exist in the world solely as resume fodder (which DBA is just as prestigious as Wharton but only costs $12 and can be done in a week via DL and will accept my transfer credits from pastry chef school in Montana?) or perhaps as a credential for upping the prestige of one's navel-gazing arguments about accreditation, then yes, more than one doctorate would be indulgent or excessive or a product of fear. (That last one was my favorite. I'm having it done up in needlepoint to hang on my bedroom wall.)

    But in a life where people are driven by curiosity and passion, where knowledge is valued for its own sake, where despite the dull death grip of focus there still exist polymaths, and where utility (economic term! extra credit!) for some is measured in terms other than financial ROI, there are any number of reasons that people might pursue multiple doctoral degrees. I study and work with some of them and despite assertions that they are single, indulgent, afraid, and whatever else people want to fling at them, the world is far better off because of their contributions than it would be if they'd lived as some cybergolem amalgam of the nonsense that flies about this forum.

    Lord this place drives me insane.
     
  8. warguns

    warguns Member

    I immediately thought that maybe the other doctorate was a degree-mill product. Note that the article doesn't state where it's from. That's often a clue.

    I was wrong. A little web research shows:

    Bachelor’s degrees in psychology, secondary education and business administration from the University of Windsor; a master’s degree in information systems from Wayne State University; a master’s degree in elementary education from Claremont Graduate school; a doctorate in executive management from Claremont Graduate University and a doctorate in K-1 2 instructional leadership from Cal State Fullerton and UC Irvine.

    http://epaper.ocregister.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=T3JhbmdlLzIwMDcvMDcvMDMjQXIwMTkwMQ
     
  9. Steve Levicoff

    Steve Levicoff Well-Known Member

    Well, for the long-timers here and from the old AED days, one only has to think of Dennis Huber, whose resume was up to 12 degrees last I checked. This included several bachelor's (including accounting, anthropology, and theology), several master's (including at least one M.A., an M.Div., and a Th.M.), and two doctorates (J.D. and D.B.A.). As I recall, every one of them is RA and several have more than one DoEd/CHEA-approved accreditation behind them. Dennis has been "retired" from posting on the boards for a few years now (and I can certainly understand why) but still teaches in several programs.

    For students of apologetics, one can also think of John Warwick Montgomery, one of the leading evidentialists of the 20th century (who, unfortunately, ended up wasting his talents with Trinity of Newburgh), who also has degrees out the gazoo. At 11 degrees (according to his Wikipedia bio), his doctorates include a Ph.D. from U. Chicago and a Th.D. from U. Strasbourg.

    So, instead of asking why one would want to have more than one doctorate, perhaps the question should be, "Why not?" :D

    Disclaimer:Huber has been a friend of mine for many years, and I'm happy to report that he's alive and well. I took a Jurisprudence course at SGSL with Montgomery, with whom many students have had a love-hate relationship over the years (including me). One of my other profs once said, "Montgomery's problem is that he's as brilliant as he thinks he is. Which he is." That always seemed an accurate evaluation to me.
     
  10. eric.brown

    eric.brown New Member

    FYI

    Capella has a PhD in Information Technology Management under their Organization and Management doctorate division. Many other schools have PhD's in Management with an IT/IS specialization or PhD's in IS from the business schools.

    Not sure if any of these are what mathguy was referring to though.
     
  11. dlady

    dlady Active Member

    I have seen a lot of IT specializations, sure, but a PhD specifically in IT would be interesting..
     
  12. BillDayson

    BillDayson New Member

    There are a handful of combinations that make sense. One sees MD/PhDs employed in medical research. A number of the more research intensive medical schools actually offer dual-doctoral programs in medicine and a bio-medical science. JD/PhDs aren't uncommon either.

    My worry about multiple unrelated degrees is that they could suggest a lack of focus and perhaps an inability to make use of education outside of school. A more impressive progression would be to earn whatever degree is appropriate for a career path, then continuing on successfully down that path.

    A scholar with one doctorate plus a strong professional accomplishments cv impresses me far more than somebody with multiple distantly related doctorates but few accomplishments.
     
  13. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

  14. warguns

    warguns Member

    re: many degrees

    Honeydews

    "Honey do this". "Honey do that."
     
  15. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    It mainly qualifies you to teach MIS courses at the MBA or undergrad. However, not very useful for industry jobs or consulting. In IT management, vendor or IT certifications have a much higher ROI than the PhD. Microsoft, Oracle or SAP consultants can charge 1K per day for training or consulting contrary to the 2K that you get paid for teaching a 3 credit course at the college or university level. As an IT consultant, most companies get to you by the keywords on your certifications rather than the graduate degree, this might not be the case for other fields as Engineering where the high level degree might give you some consulting work.
     
  16. cookderosa

    cookderosa Resident Chef

    >>

    I don't know, but I have a few theories about why a man with two doctorates and 5 other degrees might be unmarried.
     
  17. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    And what are those theories?
     
  18. Bruboy

    Bruboy New Member

    Two professors that I've had possessed two doctorates. A Dr. Murphy at Hofstra University was a practicing cardiologist (MD) and had a PhD in Electrical Engineering. Another professor at Fairleigh Dickinson had PhD's in Physics and Clinical Psychology.

    I've also met a friend of a relative that did two concurrent PhD's, one in Physical Chemistry at MIT and one in Math at Colombia. He was quite interesting, worked for a government think tank and stuttered quite a bit.

    Being exposed to these people made me think of a line from the movie Real Genius when Professor Hathaway told one of his students "compared to you most people have the intelligence of a carrot". By now I've figured out that I'm a carrot.
     
  19. cookderosa

    cookderosa Resident Chef

    >>

    That such a person doesn't bring as much to the table as he takes.
     
  20. Dave C.

    Dave C. New Member

    This gave me a rare moment of levity in my (supposed) end of year MBA exam studies! Thanks alarmingidea...:)
     

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