Doctorate to help advance career...

After completing my MBA I fell into a position in student services at a university and really enjoy it. I know in order to advance to the highest positions in higher education it certainly helps to have a doctorate (though from what I have witnessed it doesn't really matter what the doctorate is in, just as long as you have one). I'm just looking for some ideas here as it will be at least two years before I begin pursuing a doctorate. Harvard allows admitted employees to pursue the Ed.M-Higher Ed degree part-time and I would like to complete that and possibly the degree I began at HES before chasing the doctorate.

I know that I would like to continue working while pursuing the doctorate and have identified three potential programs through reading on this board as well as my own research.

Programs I am considering:

1. Northeastern Univ: Doctorate in Law and Policy
http://www.cps.neu.edu/law/Admission/

2. University of Florida: Ed.D-Higher Ed Admin
http://www.distancelearning.ufl.edu/program.aspx?p=99

3. George Washington University: Ed.D-Educational Administration and Policy Studies
http://nearyou.gwu.edu/ea-edd/index1.html

Any thoughts on these programs? Other programs you would recommend? I would prefer RA B&M schools, mainly because the types of institutions I am interested in working inside seem to prefer them.

 

http://www.learn.colostate.edu/degrees/education-leadership-phd/

Seems right up your alley!

 

That looks really good. I'll add it to the list. Thanks for the lead.

 

There are a couple of programs at Walden that might work for you:

http://www.waldenu.edu/Degree-Programs.htm

 

I actually visit DC quite often (several friends from my time at Auburn live there now) so the visits to DC would be welcomed. The program with George Washington would require monthly visits to the metro area as well.
My application to UPenn's Ed.M program was rejected so I'm not sure of my chances but the program looks appealing.
If I stay in with my current institution I can only expect an annual benefit of about $5k for courses taken at other universities. This would likely deter me from the Penn program as well as George Washington, though I have heard of special cases where employees can exceed the threshold.
Thank you for the recommendation. I'll add it to my list.

 

I know this will be painful but take a look at the University of Alabama offerings:

Alabama Distance Learning

Most of the EdD programs have limited residencies but if you are still around the state they may work.

Do you want a higher ranked school or will any top 100 work?

 

Hahaha. It would hurt, but I could suffer through it. I actually live in New England now, but I know plenty of people in that area that I could potentially stay with during the residencies.

In regards to school ranking, I would like something in the top 50, or at the very least a large state school who's name would be immediately recognizable anywhere I decided to pursue employment.

 

Have you checked the stickies? Plenty of options in those.

 

EDIT: After some further research, the University of Florida program is substantially less money, doesn't require as many residencies and the degree would be from a higher ranking school in this discipline. As much as it pains me to say it, seeing as I am such a huge Crimson Tide fan, the University of Alabama has been dropped from consideration.

 

I have browsed some of the stickies. That is how I found the program at Northeastern. As I mentioned in my original post it doesn't seem to matter what the doctorate is in as long as you have one so I am looking at higher education as well as other policy related programs, which makes my search exponentially larger.

 

I came across this program in Technical Communications and Rhetoric at Texas Tech.

http://www.depts.ttu.edu/distancelearning/doctoral/technical-communication.php

The program will be about $2000 less than the program at UF, which had previously been the least expensive I had found that fit my criteria.

As I mentioned, I just want the doctorate to have the ability to advance up the food chain inside a university. The program looks interesting though I'm not sure it would have the same utility the UF degree would. Any thoughts?

I appreciate all the recommendations and help members of this community have provided thus far. Thank you to everyone that has responded.

 

How about this DPA from Valdosta?
http://www.valdosta.edu/pa/dpa/handbook/DPA_Handbook.pdf

 

The TT program has a definite market outside of academia. This degree would work well for someone consulting to businesses, especially small businesses, who would assist in responding to RFQs, Business Proposals, Grants, etc... I'm not sure if it would help in academia as it is very specialized and wouldn't really be that beneficial for your goals. If I read your posts correctly I would think that the policy and or administration degrees you were looking for would be more beneficial. You might want to send Dr. Anthony Pina a PM and seek a response as he works in higher education. I did check into this program a couple of years ago since it could be considered for a tuition reduction based upon the SREB guidelines. (But the specialized nature kept me away.) But since you have moved I don't believe where you are currently living is a member of the SREB.

In the long run the Florida program would serve you better and be well worth the extra money.

 

how about Syracuse PhD or DPS:

Doctorate of Professional Studies

 

Thanks for the link to the program. It looks interesting, but would cost nearly $60,000 - far more than the UF or CSU programs - and probably has less utility.

 

I am pursuing a Doctorate of Professional studies at the Middlesex University in UK, if interested you may want to have a look at the link in my signature.

 

FWIW, I have a friend doing the UF Ed.D. program now (on-campus). She really likes the program.

 

I have a good friend in the Ed.S program at UF, doing it via distance from her home in Atlanta. She speaks highly of it, that's how I discovered UF's programs.