Is this degree actually useful?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by NMTTD, Dec 22, 2012.

Loading...
  1. NMTTD

    NMTTD Active Member

  2. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    Hmm.......
     
  3. GoodYellowDogs

    GoodYellowDogs New Member

    Very interesting. One of the issues I have with employees these days is that most do not have any critical thinking skills.
     
  4. NMTTD

    NMTTD Active Member

    Well I know the skills are, of course, very useful. But is an ENTIRE degree devoted to them really worth it? I mean, is it a good thing to have so employers can see you are serious about doing your best for them, or will they think "holy crap!! They needed an entire degree to learn what many people can pick up in either real life or a few classes?? hmmmmm...."
     
  5. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    What does one do with that degree?
     
  6. NMTTD

    NMTTD Active Member

    That's what I was wondering, too.
     
  7. Koolcypher

    Koolcypher Member

    You critically ponder the question of where to apply...McDonald's or Burger King? Oh, and how to be creative on your job application.
     
  8. 03310151

    03310151 Active Member

    If you have to ask....you probably already know the answer.
     
  9. NMTTD

    NMTTD Active Member

    I am just surprised that a good school like UMass would offer such a useless degree.
     
  10. NMTTD

    NMTTD Active Member

    Ok, first of all, biggest run on sentence ever: "The rationale for a Master’s program of study in CCT is that an explicit and sustained focus on learning and applying ideas and tools in critical thinking, creative thinking, and reflective practice allows students involved in a wide array of professions and endeavors to develop clarity and confidence to make deep changes in their learning, teaching, work, activism, research, and artistry."

    Second of all, sounds to me like a fancy way of saying they teach you how to think and be creative (and if you need a degree to teach you that, you're already screwed): "By the time CCT students finish their studies they are prepared to teach or guide others in ways that often depart markedly from their previous schooling and experience. In these processes of transformation and transfer, CCT students have to select and adapt the ideas and tools presented by faculty with diverse disciplinary and interdisciplinary concerns. Although each CCT course is self-contained and is open to students from other graduate programs, students matriculated in the Program benefit from extended relationships with core CCT faculty and fellow students that support their processes of learning—experimenting and taking risks in applying what they are learning, reflecting on the outcomes and revising accordingly, and building up a set of tools, practices, and perspectives that work in their specific professional or personal endeavors."

    I think I'll pass, thanks anyway.
     
  11. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    The best humor is based in truth.
     
  12. JBjunior

    JBjunior Active Member

    About as useful as that elusive history degree Ted is always looking for.....


    On a more serious note. For someone in a career field such as mine, the military, I think it might be fun to do.
     
  13. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    It's possible that it's primary purpose is to qualify you for admission into an equally useless PhD program (Philosophy, etc.). I wouldn't criticize UMass too much though. Most state university systems offer such degrees (Art History, Sociology, Philosophy, English Literature, etc.) where it's clear where the employability factor might be found. They are probably all quite interesting and even fun and when you're finished you might go on to work as an elementary school teacher or in a retail shop. Or, you could push on and get your PhD and then continue to work as an elementary teacher or in a retail shop. Personally I think that degrees such as this are great and I'd like to earn one myself. But my situation is different because I wouldn't be relying on the degree for my employment. Typically I just recommend that if you're going for such a degree that you not go into debt in the process.
     
  14. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    Okay......
     
  15. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    Um, frame it and hang it on the wall?
     
  16. cookderosa

    cookderosa Resident Chef

    I've often wondered about the rational/mindset that goes with picking the degree first, and then looking -with fingers crossed- for the career second.

    The (wrong) assumption is that "if a college issues the credential, it MUST BE because there is a demand/place for its use." But this is so misguided. Colleges write degrees to gain enrollment. True, sometimes industry demands come into play (nursing and industrial arts comes to mind) but this is a vanity degree.

    The Dept. of Labor Occupational Handbook is your friend.
     
  17. StefanM

    StefanM New Member

    The crazy thing is that, technically, it's not even a run-on sentence. It's just a very long, very convoluted sentence. The sentence is, however, indicative of how difficult it is to justify such an obviously useless program.
     
  18. StefanM

    StefanM New Member

    I have thought of one use: it can qualify a person to teach at a college level IF the person has 18 graduate hours in another subject.
     
  19. Jonathan Whatley

    Jonathan Whatley Well-Known Member

    Roomful of people with or seeking master's degrees in

    • communication,
    • leadership,
    entrepreneurship,
    • writing, etc.

    say what about spending "an entire degree to learn what many people can pick up in either real life or a few classes" now?

    (I kid because I love you all. :) But think about it?)
     
  20. Jonathan Whatley

    Jonathan Whatley Well-Known Member

    Seriously, thank you for sharing the subject program here NMTTD; it's an interesting find! See also the Grad. Cert. and MS in Creativity from Buffalo State College, where the International Center for Studies in Creativity has been teaching the subject since 1967.

    So I'm looking at the actual course list for this MA in Critical and Creative Thinking from UMass Boston.

    It strikes me that if they titled the exact same program a master's degree in education, applied cognitive psychology, or interdisciplinary studies, there'd likely be little to no beating down on it here.

    I imagine a smart graduate could "sell" this credential about the same way a smart graduate could sell one of those.

    Yes, the CCT degree might suffer from not qualifying the graduate for positions which strictly required, or strongly preferred, a standard title like Education or Psychology. On the other hand, if there were no strict requirement or heavy premium for a standard title, the graduate could sell their CCT degree as a closely related "next degree over" to several fields, and not just the ones above.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 22, 2012

Share This Page