UNISA- Should I take the plunge?

I have been reading through the posts about UNISA and finally decided to contact them about their program. I contacted Dr. Michael Esselen at IACI-CANADA-USA and he got back to me the same day. I'm a little intimidated by the admissions process because my degrees are from the US and from online schools (NYIT and University of Phoenix). For any of you with UNISA experience, do you think I stand a chance at getting admitted to a research PhD program? My MS in in Gen. Psych and BS in Interdisciplinary Studies, concentrations in Behavioral Science, Humanities and English. I'm just looking to get a sense of whether or not it is a possiblity to even get in. Dr. Esselen replied to my email and said to basically fill out the forms and send them back in.

My other PhD option at this point is the new PhD in Gen Psych with an emphasis in Cognition and Instruction at Grand Canyon University; however, this will cost about $38,000. Hence, the interest in UNISA (that and the fact that I would rather write the dissertation on my own and not have to take anymore classes).

Thanks in advance for the insights. This forum is a really fantastic resource!

 

Did you write a thesis?

 

No, my program did not require a thesis.

 

I think you might run into trouble here. To my knowledge, the vast majority of doctoral programs at UNISA require a research thesis for admission.

 

Thanks for the info and bummer! The low price would have been nice

 

I'm going to disagree with Stephan. Regardless of not having written a thesis I think you stand a most excellent chance of being admitted. UNISA gives people a chance to prove themselves. They will let you in but then you'll have to prove that you deserve to be there. Besides, the admission process is easy and cheap. There's nothing to lose by trying. Be aware that you'll be expected to give a short (1-2 pages) description of your prospective research project as a part of your application. If you're as smart as I think you are you'll go to the faculty section of your departmental webpages and search out the research interests of the current instuctors. If they can't match you up with an advisor they'll turn you down, regardless of your credentials.
Good luck.

 

You stand a better chance of being admitted if your MS degree is in-field (ie, your intended PhD program is in the same field as your MS), and it included at least one Research Methods class, and a culminating Thesis. Also, if your proposed research, which should be part of the application packet, can be matched with areas of specialism of your program's faculty members or instructors, then your chances of being admitted increases. This is not to discourage you from applying. I am just sharing information found on their website, which I have perused extensively. This link provides specific information regarding Postgraduate studies in Psychology at Unisa. You can also get general postgraduate information, including structure of programs and expectations for 2012, by viewing this PDF file. All the best!

 

Thanks Kizmet. You are a mind reader I actually made the list of possible faculty yesterday. I also have about 15 pages of a dissertation proposal prepared, so I hope they will like my idea and at least consider me. I think I should at least try. I will let you all know what happens.

 

Thank you Cyber! I appreciate the links and information

 

Yes but normally research only doctorates require a Candidate to do a M.Phil if the masters is course based only. The M.Phil requires some course work is research methodology. You are not wasting time as the M.Phil research will continue with the PhD.

However, it is up to department to decide if the candidate has enough background or not. Maybe the person in question took research methodology at the master;s level and wrote a final project that is the equivalent of a thesis.

 

I am going to agree with Kizmet AND Stephen -

About six months ago I reached out to UNISA because I had a feeling that I'd need a low cost PhD program if I was going to do one at all. (Long story short, my son's elementary school costs me 20k a year and I need to make choices annually)..

Anyway, I was flat out advised that my MBA from UMass without thesis would only be satisfactory for admission purposes if it contained thesis work. Granted it took them close to four months to reply.

The reason why I'm agreeing with Kismet is because I'm still going to go through the application process. The return is too high to just take an email as a reason not to try.

 

In my experience with UK schools the research proposal is the most important part. Approach the advisor, send him a solid proposal which is highly related to his/her work. After their backing it is much easier to navigate through the admission process.

 

In the non-practical disciplines at least, UNISA expects to see a Masters level thesis on par with what their own students create. I applied to their Doctor of Public Administration since my highest Masters is an MPA. I completed a thesis-like Research paper but was told it was not acceptable since it was not as long as their students complete. My paper was around 40 pages their students write 150-200 page "theses". In their nomenclature a dissertation is done at the Master level and a thesis is done at the Doctoral level. Needless to say I was a bit sad to be rejected. .

Also I had to prod, scream and yell to find out why I got rejected. The first correspondence was simple one-liner. Something like "student not admitted, there is a reference." I was like, whaaaaaat? Dr. Esselen asked on my behalf and BCC'd me on the messages. The tone of their reply to him was like (in my opinion) 'How dare this applicant ask us why'. It left a very bad taste in my mouth.

Good luck to you however. Hope it goes well and in your favor.

 

UNISA now has a MOU with Swiss Management Centre to UNISA’s degree in Europe. You may pay a bit more with SMC but the entrance level may be lower than UNISA.
SBL TO OFFER DOCTOR OF BUSINESS LEADERSHIP IN EUROPE UNISA SBL

 

Has anyone every seen a UNISA diploma?

 

I have searched the UNISA website and I just can't seem to find the cost of tuition anywhere. I noticed that a lot of you guys say it's one of the lowest cost distance learning schools out there, but how low is low ??

 

Page 27 of this PDF file provides an idea of what tuition will cost in South African Rand (their currency), assuming you'll be pursuing a master or doctorate. You can then plug those figures here (or another currency converter that you can find online) to see the total. If Unisa does not work out for you, Malaysian alternatives are also available to explore. Asia e-University and Al-Madinah International University are the two Malaysian schools that are flexible to get into, and they are cheap, also. Goodluck with deciding...

 

The problem or limitation with the Muslim University is that most of the subject matter is geared toward Muslim studies. The site has a wonderful instant chat with a counselor feature. They are not flexible about what can be studied there. If I recall business was fine and if you love Islamic studies there were a number of interesting PhD programs. It was affordable.

 

Ofcourse there is flexibility in what one can study at Al-Madinah, and not everyone has an issue with studying at a muslim university. There are PhD and master options to study ICT, Business, Economics, Education, accounting, in addition to degrees in Islamic studies. I just thought I put it out there in case it works; there is nothing wrong with being aware of the existence of this school.

 

Cyber, You misunderstand. I have nothing against studying at a Muslim University. I certainly am not Muslim and do not believe Islam to be true. However, I have respect for some aspects of their faith (including the fact that long before the current crop of extremist nut wads in and out of government, they were once more tolerant of other faiths than European Christians). Unfortunately, they have managed to almost bury that history and God help us....most Islamic governments are so far behind in thinking and intellectual advancement that it would be scary if they ever gained a foothold. I am not Buddhist but I cringed when the Taliban blew up the ancient statues, never mind the lovely beheadings and handings that are popular entertainment (love them selling cigarettes in Afghanistan while murdering some woman in a stadium).

What I meant was that if you want to study for a PhD in history, philosophy and so on this school has no programs. As I pointed out, if you are a business major...cool and if you have an interest in various aspects of Islamic studies....cool. I am glad you posted it and it was an interesting site.

PS I enjoy Muslim Nasheeds on Youtube

This one by Zain Bhikha is a crack up with a serious message http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KpaL0mW9oI

This one absolutely brought tears to my eyes (beautiful) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLN0FUw4-VE

This one is a Canadian convert. Great voice http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gM9Bdz-R4TI