Capella - DPA Program

Has anyone enrolled or have any experience in Capella's Doctor of Public Administration (DPA) program?

Looking for some feedback, before I enroll.

Is this program good to go?

Thanks

 

For the kind of money that Capella is charging, you can do better. If you are looking for online only, I would recommend Walden over Capella - same price point, but a better name in the public administration community.

You have a lot of distance options - unfortunately most of them require residencies and are competitive (admission windows have already passed for most for the 2011-2012 school year).

Look here for some alternatives:

NASPAA - National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration

Send me a PM and I can give you some more specific info.

 

Truckie270,

I examined Walden's tuition and was very close to Capella.

Walden = $2,350 (average course was 5 credits)

Capella = $2,480 (average course was 4 credits)

Both Universities offer a 10% military discount, which will lower the cost slightly.

How important is NASPAA? I noticed Walden is not located on the list.

Thanks for the info.

 

At the school /masters-level, I believe important; however, technically, “NASPAA does not accredit undergraduate degrees or PhD programs.”

 

Agreed. Programmatic accreditation is more desirable if all things were equal between two choices. Given the choice of one school with a NASPAA PA dept. v. one without even though Doctorate's don't fall within the purview of the accreditation, I would always go with the one with the additional accreditation.

Now, with that being said, NASPAA is not going to matter for the vast majority of those seeking a PA doctorate for professional purposes. It matters much more in academia, but even then not to the degree that AACSB does for business or other accreditation threshold for other fields.

I assumed you were looking for online options given your location, but if you we able to attend residencies at some point your options open up.

Given the choice of Walden v. Capella for public admin/policy, Walden is a better choice in my view. Walden also offers some interesting specializations that are inline with your Masters degree interests as well.

Good luck to you.

 

Other than Valdosta State, I would be interested in knowing the names of Universities offering a low-residency or hybrid DPA/ PhD in PA?

 

I considered and was accepted to University of La Verne. Three weekends per semester (2 per year) on campus.

Doctor of Public Administration, D.P.A. | Degree Programs at La Verne

Tuition is comparable to the schools you have already mentioned above.

 

La Verne is the one I was thinking of as well, but the OP is in the Afghanistan for the time being. They are NASPAA.

 

Truckie270,

What are the reasons of chosing Walden over Capella? Why do you have a preference?

Walden has a PhD in Public Policy and Administration and Capella has a Doctor of Public Administration. In my opinion, the DPA is more practioner based and would be more effective in the public sector. Your thoughts?

FYI - I completed 2 graduate levels classes at Capella for the MPA program. Capella has agreed to transfer the credit to the DPA program. I have enjoyed the Capella experience so far...

I just want to explore Capella's DPA program further to ensure I am making a wise decision, before I commit to the next 3 years of life.

Thanks

 

Would the Northcentral DBA in Public Administration be a viable option? No residency requirement …
Northcentral University | Online Degree Programs | Public Administration

Northcentral PhD in Public Administration:
Northcentral University | Online Degree Programs | Public Administration

UNISA: D.Admn. (in Public Administration) or the DPA
Unisa Online - Postgraduate Courses

Union Institute & University: PhD Interdisciplinary Studies (Public Policy & Social Change concentration)
Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies | Doctoral Degree ? Adult Distance Learning ? Low Residency Ph.D.

 

If you do some searching here, you will find a great deal of discussion on "return on investment" (ROI) regarding online Doctoral degrees. If you have your heart set on an online doctorate, either school should work fine for you. If Capella will transfer in courses, that may tip the scales in their favor. The two schools are very similar and have about the same set of advantages and disadvantages.

If the choice is between the two for you, go with whatever one will cost you less overall. As the holder of a DPA, I have not found nor do I expect to encounter a situation where the the "DPA or PhD" argument will matter in the private sector. It is highly likely that any Doctorate is going to be a rarity in any public org. you happen to end up in. From what I have seen so far in public admin. academia, where you got your degree is far more of a consideration than whether or not it is a PhD or DPA.

I am not sure of what you eventually want to do with this degree, so I am going to guess that you would like to work in the public sector and potentially do some adjunct work on the side? That is what my current situation is - I work for a public safety agency and am a full-time faculty member at an online school. I can tell you that the DPA offers me no advantage whatsoever in the public sector and in my view, may be in fact a liability for me at this time as it is a fairly uncommon credential for public employees outside of the education field. As a higher education faculty member, the DPA provides me with additional pay and faculty rank.

Using the ROI criteria I would not have pursued a Doctorate if I would have had to lay out the tuition charged by the big, online Doctoral-granting institutions. I firmly believe (as do many people), that either of your choices (Walden or Capella) are on the cost-prohibitive side if you are not receiving some sort of financial assistance (G.I. Bill, employer assistance, etc.). The same can and should be said for NCU, TUI, or any other online Doctoral-granting school.

 

Truckie270,

Thank you for the information. Can you provide more details on the liability factor and the uncommon knowledge of the DPA in the public sector? Projecting the next 5 or 10 years, as more people learn about the DPA, do you see the public sector changing?

What is your opinion on possessing a DPA and the ability to get hired for new positions in the public sector?

Can you have too much education and potentially hurt your career in the public sector?

I appreciate the info.