Quickest and Cheapest Accredited PhD

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by egam, Sep 20, 2009.

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  1. egam

    egam New Member

    I am looking for a PhD program that will allow me to finish as quickly as possible, at a very reasonable cost, and with no lengthy residency requirements.

    My BA and MA are both in economics. The doctorate doesn’t necessarily have to be in economics. It could be in international development, political science, or perhaps another field within the social sciences. Because of family and work commitments, as well as a desire to enjoy my life, I don’t want to invest more than 5 years studying for a PhD. This time line would include any type of coursework that needs to be taken in preparation for the PhD dissertation.

    I am currently at looking at UNISA, largely because of the low cost. However, I would have a preference for a U.S. or European degree. Anyone know of any universities or programs that might fit the bill?
     
  2. mbaonline

    mbaonline New Member

    Oxymoron?

    Egam,

    If quick and cheap (with little/no residencies) were possible, I'd be there now...as would a lot of us.

    But there are some. This thread has a good list of UK degrees. Some info is there, other info would require digging. http://www.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?t=27181

    Aberdeen looks like a nice program, relatively cheap. 4-6 years part-time/distance. There are two yearly required residencies (4-5 days) in the first two years. (How about a family trip to Scotland?) http://www.rgu.ac.uk/abs/postgraduate/page.cfm?pge=31192

    Valdosta State DPA is discussed a lot here. Cheap but with twice-yearly residencies of 3-4 days.

    Several folks here have had good luck with Pretoria for theology. Not sure if they'd be as user-friendly for Business/Economics. Dissertation defense has been virtual/conference call style.

    Whatever you decide on, please report back so that others can benefit.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 20, 2009
  3. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    How much time do you want to invest for a PhD? If you don't want to make the committment, maybe it is not for you.
     
  4. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    I don't think that 5 years is out of the question for a South African PhD and, you're certainly right when you say that the price is right. We've had some word that there are universities in places like the Netherlands that are open to the prospect of a low residency PhD. It seems that the costs are low enough so that even if you had to travel there two or three times it would still be relatively inexpensive. Other wise you wind up looking at other open universities like in Malaysia or India. Part of what I'd want to know is how you hope this PhD would work for you. How do you plan to use it? Is is possible that a second Masters degree would work (almost) as well? That would probably increase your options.
     
  5. BryanOats

    BryanOats New Member

    It's not a PhD but California InterContinental University has a Doctorate of Business Administration with an Emphasis in Global Business and Leadership: http://www.caluniversity.edu/doctorate/dba-global-business-and-leadership.html

    Their degrees can be earned fairly quickly according to their home page. It states, "Our accelerated degree programs are both fast and flexible, enabling learners to complete their program in 12 months for a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) or 18 months our Doctorates of Business Administration(DBA)"(http://www.caluniversity.edu/).
     
  6. jackrussell

    jackrussell Member

    IMHO, Malaysia seems to be expensive as those universities there are off campus branches of other universities. India seems cheap my main concerns is competition. They do not lack talents nor students wanting to take PhD. It will depend on what is the quota set for foreigners.

    But South Africa PhD seems to be perfect, I only know of Unisa off hand.

     
  7. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    There are approximately a dozen universities in SA that award doctoral degrees some are more welcoming to distance learning doctorates than others. The list is easy to find via google.
     
  8. egam

    egam New Member

    I work in a private university, so it is expected that I get a PhD at some point. So a second masters degree wouldn't help.
     
  9. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    OK, I get it. Maybe I'm off-base but it sounds like you don't really want one, you're just being told you need one in order to continue with whatever. That's not great motivation.
     
  10. Ian Anderson

    Ian Anderson Active Member

  11. egam

    egam New Member

    Do you know anything about the quality of their program? For example, how rigorous the program is.
     
  12. vadro

    vadro New Member

    D.Prof.

    I am in the D.Prof. program at Middlesex, it is well suited for distance learners however it is not really a "quick" program.
     
  13. JimmySDG

    JimmySDG New Member

    Wow, this looks interesting.

    I was looking around for the PhD that builds on some of my existing work, allow me to elaborate.

    I am in a midst of designing a Specialist Diploma for an institute of higher learning in Singapore. The Specialist Diploma would be in a subspecialty of Health Informatics).
    I will also be authoring a textbook and lecture on the actual Specialist Diploma.

    In Singapore, Diplomas from government institutes of higher learning are 3 yeras full time and this is the minimum entry requirement for Specialist Diploma (which is a year long part time program).

    I will also be working with institutes of higher learning in Australia to develop a Degree and Master Degree ‘upgrade’ program.

    Now I have a Master Degree in computing (and various post graduate qualifications including partially completed masters degree) and will be doing my MBA soon. I do not have a master or phd in the area of health informatics although I am an established regional expert in the disicpline where I am designing my Specialist Diploma.

    A brief review of Middlesex’s work based learning seems to imply that I can utilize the work done (designing the Specialist Diploma, publishing the textbook, lecturing the actual modules and working on upgrade program) towards a doctorate.

    Now taking a step back, I’m sure my scenario is not unique, there must be various individuals here who are industrial experts in emerging fields but do not have the academic qualification (but are good enough to design them), where do these guys get a doctorate for such work done?
     
  14. egam

    egam New Member

    Do you know how well received a D.Prof would be in academia?
     
  15. Dave Wagner

    Dave Wagner Active Member

    Oops. That's a DETC/NA DBA, which is a solution to a problem that doesn't yet exist.
     
  16. Ian Anderson

    Ian Anderson Active Member

    I don't know the answer to your question. But I do recall seeing a faculty member with a DPS from Pace University at one school. You could try asking your question at a local college or university.

    If a UK doctorate is of interest to you check out the Edinburgh Business School DBA
    http://www.ebsglobal.net/programmes/self-study-pathway
     
  17. vadro

    vadro New Member

    There are faculty members with DProf's at Middlesex University:

    http://www.mdx.ac.uk/wbl/staff/index.asp

    I am also aware of US DProf candidates who are lectures in B&M University.

    If you are interested, please find here a link to the Work Based Learning Research Centre publications for further reading about Professional Studies and Work Based Learning.

    http://www.mdx.ac.uk/wbl/research/publications.asp
     
  18. Dave Wagner

    Dave Wagner Active Member

    OK, so you need the Ph.D. to advance your career within the University. At least you have some meaningful motivation.

    A few questions... Do you plan to teach with the Ph.D.? Have you published? Do you want to publish? Do you have a research interest in mind? Is it a research proposal? And, finally, if I may ask, how old are you?

    Have you considered trying to write a book instead of earning a Ph.D.?
     
  19. egam

    egam New Member

    Dave,

    I do plan on teaching at the university level. I have never published, however, I would expect after completing a PhD I would probably publish at least the dissertation. I suspect there is a good chance I will just focus on teaching rather than publish a lot. At the moment I don't have a research proposal ready. I am 37 years old.
     
  20. Dave Wagner

    Dave Wagner Active Member

    Well, you're not too old yet for earning a doctorate to make sense... Hey, you can already teach with a Masters degree, correct? The problem is... what will you do if where you are earning your doctorate develops a culture of prevention and drags the process out for 6, 7 or even 8 years? Do you have sufficient motivation to pretend that it is still interesting and meaningful after all those years? What about the expense?

    How are you with Calculus and Statistics? If you could earn an MS Statistics, which you could do in two to three years part-time, you would be sought after as a co-author on papers. You see, many social sciences disciplines are locked into group-think based on a traditional set of statistical reasoning (or a penchant for fads?) employed within the discipline.
     

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