I have discovered over the course of the past 18 months that I truly enjoy working in higher education and have developed an interest in continuing education and distance learning. I am currently pursuing an Ed.M in higher education admin and will complete that degree in June '12. At that point I will have roughly 3.5 years experience in higher education. I would eventually like to complete an Ed.D, but feel I need closer to five years experience at a minimum for the programs I am interested in. Someone mentioned the one year fast-track M.Ed in educational technology at the University of Missouri in a previous thread and the price is very attractive. With my interests leaning towards distance education I feel like this would compliment my Ed.M and MBA. I could complete my current degree along with the Mizzou degree right in time to begin submitting applications to the Ed.D degrees I am interested in. On top of that, it would cost very little out of pocket as my employer would cover about 75% of the costs for the Ed tech degree. I also feel like with my MBA and business background this could align me well for a high level position overseeing a distance MBA/graduate level business program. So my question, is it worth the time, effort and roughly $2500 out of pocket to earn the Mizzou degree or should I just take the year off from classes before focusing on applying to the Ed.D programs. I look forward to your feedback.
Having an Ed.M degree from Harvard and an MBA wouldn't be enough?! What would having the additional degree from U of Missouri get you?
Hey AU - Take my advice with a grain of salt because I'm a bit of an educational sadist. I'd take a semester off and preferably go somewhere awesome to recharge the batteries, then dive in to the second masters.. What I find a lot of people outside of academia don't necessarily understand is that competition in academia is pretty stiff. Any edge helps. But those that recommend getting something published aren't too far off either. I shall now go back to figuring out my next masters or doctoral program IT
The sig lines here pale in comparison to those at DegreeForum. However, the ones here typically have a much higher degree per character ratio. Oh, and need I remind you, one degree notwithstanding , whose signature is best?
As I explained, I think it would be a good fit with my MBA and Ed.M if my interests are in distance education. It would also allow me to gain a deeper understanding of delivery methods
Rather than acquiring two Ed.M. degrees why not look for something that will add something completly different to your credentials. There is a lot of work being done on quality assurance in education So why not grab a MSQA (service option) from CSUDH or join the ASQ? Master of Science Quality Assurance Search Results: education
Frankly a third master's degree won't matter and it is not in your best interest. Move on to an Ed.D. and don't waste your time. If you think you need an intermediate degree on the way look into an Ed.S. or S.Ed.. However I would not bother. Just get directly to the doc.
You already have a Ed. M from Harvard - any other Ed. M. will make people go "Huh? What the hell? Why". I'd recommend either a graduate certificate or another Master, but not a Ed. M. Maybe something in I.T. or Digital Media with focus on Distance Learning. I'd suggest you to take a look at Harvard again. One of the tracks of the ALM in IT at Harvard Extension is in Digital Media Arts and Instructional Design - you can tailor this degree towards Digital Media or Educational (some of the acceptable electives are educational courses). And, even though it's a I.T. degree, in this track you don't need any hard programming skills (only basic html and other light scripting in the mandatory two webdesign classes).
I feel like the concentrations between the two masters are distinct enough that it would make sense to earn the two Ed.M degrees. As I mentioned, I won't be ready to start an Ed.D when I am done with my Harvard degree so the one year program at Mizzou isn't going to delay my plans. Seems like the consensus is I shouldn't pursue the second M.Ed.
