Western Institute for Social Research

Apologies if the queries below have been covered in other threads.

I have become somewhat intrigued by the above mentioned institution, and have a number of questions. I understand David Yamada is enrolled so he will probably have the answers.

1. A Google search also reveals an establishment of the same name which appears to be part of the RA Western Washington University. Have a look at: http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~wisry2k/
I assume David Y's institution (also mentioned in Bear's book) at http://www.california.com/wisr/ and the above are completely separate, or is there a connection? If there is no connection, how do they get away with the same name?

2. Concentrating on the Californian WISR, the web page certainly is fairly low key and quite different from most: legitimate, mill or otherwise. Almost quaint, but still with a fair degree of info and certainly not "high pressure sell". Not polished, would be my description as illustrated by the request to "leave a message for a return call".

The above is not a criticism, more an observation. Is WISR geared to take non-US students? What are the costs? Any other info? Even Rich Douglas says "David Yamada's choice is a good one, too" so there must be more to this than the usual non-RA place.


Thank you in advance.

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Peter Tucker
Australia

 

Yes, WISR in California (the school I'm enrolled in) and the WISR in Washington are completely separate institutions. I'll speak to the WISR in California . . .

It's very legitimate, almost in an old-fashioned learning guild kind of manner, but it's also unaccredited. (The regional accreditor will not consider schools of under 100 students, and WISR has typically enrolled about 30-50 students at any given time.) I enrolled because I really, really like what the school is about. I don't need the degree credential, however, so my enthusiasm for the school has to be understood in that context.

The catalog gives a pretty fair indication of what WISR graduates have done with their degrees, and the track record is good, especially for those pursuing more alternative, politically left-leaning and social service endeavors.

To me, WISR is a perfect example of how the accreditors need to be a bit more flexible to take into account legitimate schools that currently have only the California approval process to validate them. The teachers and students are intellectually thoughtful, socially conscious individuals who happen to be nice people. A drawback for me has been the DL relationship, as most WISR students live in Calif. and can participate in some of the school's residential activities, inc. some terrific discussion seminars.

I certainly agree with many on this board that any non-RA school should be considered very, very carefully, and that for a vast majority of potential students, a non-RA option may not be advisable. That said, I'm very pleased with WISR in view of my own particular circumstances. Though I don't rule out someday pursuing an RA Ph.D. if "credentialing" needs require it, in terms of the creativity and flexibility of the program I'm pursuing at WISR, I'm enjoying it tremendously.

 

hi, i recently inquired re this program.is the dl aspect manageable and how does the price tag compare to ra dl programs.p.s. the program looked anything but ''millish''.

 

I did some preliminary calcs and concluded that WISR is roughly half the cost of the RA Union Institute. (Yearly graduate tuition is around $5,800.) Again, keep in mind that RA makes a big difference. You can do a self-designed program through WISR that is very much like a program you would design through Union, but if you need an RA degree, that is that.

WISR was designed as a quasi-residential school with a lot of independent study, individual meetings with faculty, and small-group seminars. For DL students, it means having to work on your own to a greater degree. It's definitely possible, and WISR has worked with students in Asia and Europe as an example of that.

As a general sense of the workload: In the Ph.D. program, a typical student might write 10-12 project papers of 15-30 pages (each paper subject to comments and a revision), as well as a dissertation, which is flexible in approach and format but goes through several drafts and must be a substantial piece of work.