Doctor of Liberal Studies or Ph.D in Business?

Hello Everyone,

I am loooking for the option between two of these schools. I need your opinion.....

Northcentral University's Ph.D in Business Administration
Admission: No GRE or GMAT
Requirement: 81 Credits (Without a Master)


Georgetown University's Doctor of Liberal Studies
Admission: No GRE or GMAT
Requirement: 36 plus Oral & Written Exams, and Theis

I want to take the advantage of Post 9/11 G.I Bill plus BAH allowance. This entitlement requires on campus, cannot be done through distance learning. Therefore, I would consider Georgetown University's DLS; however, it doesn't have a major. What I read the curriculum seems to be really cool, such as student can take business or technology courses for electives. And the school is well known.

So, what is your opinion for me?

Thanks.

 

What do you want to do with the degree?

 

Bruce,

As of for now, I just want to work in IT and enjoy going to school; and as the same time milking the GI Bill.

 

Doctor of Liberal Studies sounds weird. You are a specialist of being general...sounds like military intelligence!

 

Regardless of the funny sounding title, it still is a doctorate from Georgetown! Though Randall is right, the danger with these interdisciplinary degrees is they can end up being nondisciplinary. (You just take a bunch of random classes without any real focus.) So you really need to have a clear idea in your head what you want to accomplish before you begin. That's really true for any PhD program.

 

If the cost will be picked up (even partially) by the GI Bill, I would have to go with Georgetown, just for prestige and name recognition.

For better or worse, I think a D.L.S. from Georgetown is probably going to be better perceived than a Ph.D. from Northcentral in almost any situation.

 

Tekman,

consider where you want your life to go and what the purpose of the degree wil be after you complete it.

The GI Bill provides a heck of an incentive to take a look at, and potentially relocate to, Syracuse or Robert Morris or other schools that can provide you a degree more in line with your IT background. While a doctorate from Georgetown is notable, is this particular doctorate worthwhile to you?

While many of us majored in GI Bill, the end result is once the money is gone what do you have left? The first question out of my mouth when someone mentions a doctorate is "Where from?", the second is "In what?" consider these questions and your responses, especially if you intend to use the degree as a practical matter of employment.

To directly answer your question, if only the school and not the subject matter is the deciding factor then Georgetown over Northcentral. If you need a business degree the DLS would be a hard sell.

With your entire future in front of you and the GI Bill as a resource you have many options. Best of luck.

 

At $944 per credit hour Georgetown isn't cheap. Does the GI Bill pick up the whole tab?

 

I think you'd have a hard time getting an academic job with that degree if that's something you are considering. From talking to history professors, even people with a PhD in American Studies (more focused than this degree but not as focused as history) have problems getting jobs. Many schools are looking for specific, focused degrees in one discipline.

That said, I love the idea of this degree! I'd love to take classes in whatever I wanted to without really having a focus. It would be more for personal growth at that point, however.

 

I have seen people teaching Management and IT courses with PhDs in English only because they graduated from a top school but also have MBAs or IT certifications.

I think that a good option would be to do the doctoral program from George town and then invest some money for the Post Doc bridge in Business at the University of Florida. I think this combination can be more cost effective than a PhD from Northcentral but not necessarily easier or faster.

 

All,

Thanks for the replies. After reading all your replies, and I think I would head these ways. If I still live in Northern Virginia area in 2010 - 2012, then I would consider Georgetown University for DLS; which I can complete in 2 years. After 2 years, I would consider DBA at University of Florida or Ph.D at Northcentral University or Dsc at Dakota State University (Information Assurance). The second one if I decide to move to somewhere, I would choose University of Pittsburgh for Ph.D in Telecommunications & Networking.

I just attend Georgetown University for the school name while using GI Bill before it expires.

"At $944 per credit hour Georgetown isn't cheap. Does the GI Bill pick up the whole tab?"

I have done a little search on this, which Georgetown University plans to join the Yellow the Yellow Ribbon Program. ""We find ourselves in somewhat of a collision course as we're determining whether we can participate with those two conflicting policies," said Scott Fleming, an official at Georgetown University in Washington."

"Given your background, I'd also look at George Washington University's doctorate in Engineering Management:

http://www.emse.gwu.edu/grad/grad_dsc.html

It's ten three-credit courses plus a dissertation. Similar local cachet to Georgetown, and much less iffy in terms of relevance."

As far as the program at George Washington University; it is more complicated. I looked at the program before, it requires GRE, qualification exams, and etc. So, I would pass this program; but thanks for recommendation.

 

Here http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=18516 is an old thread on Georgetown's DLS program posted by marilynd.

 

Thanks Mr. Heiks, I am looking for this thread. I knew this degree has been discussed here before, but I couldn't find through the search.

 

As someone in the trenches right now trying to complete a PhD, I strongly advise anyone who is considering it to have it crystal clear in their mind what it is exactly they want to study/research while in the program and why before they apply to any program. "I enjoy going to school" and "milk the GI Bill" are not good reasons.

The PhD is a much different beast than a Masters. Mainly because of:

1) Having to deal with a dissertation committee (can be worse than office politics).
2) Having to pass a qualifying exam (very difficult).
3) The dissertation itself (very very time consuming).

Another Masters degree might better serve your needs.

 

It seems that Tekman is looking for a doctorate "light". As mentioned here many times, if your goal is to teach some gigs on the side with a doctorate to make some extra cash, there are a lot more cost effective ways to make the extra money.

 

But as many that you can do at 2am in your pajamas.

 

You can work as a freelance programmer for about $40-$50 an hour. It is not so difficult to get gigs if you have the experience. You don't need a doctorate and can work at home in your pjs. I have done also technical writing and pays about the same. There are quite of few jobs you can do at home without a doctorate. I have done also technical support but you might need a MCSE certification for this.

 

You need a more inspiring reason to enter and complete a doctoral program.

How about earning another masters degree instead?