New here, seeking help selecting a doctorate.

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by lykke, Nov 25, 2012.

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  1. lykke

    lykke New Member

    Hello,

    I'm nervous about the responses to my post - please go easy on me as a first time poster if possible. I would really appreciate constructive, positive advice.

    I'm new to the community, and I'm hoping that someone here might be able to help me brainstorm some options for completing a doctoral degree from a distance. I'm a married stay at home mom in my 30's.

    Here is a bit about my background:

    Undergraduate degree in area studies from a top 20 liberal arts school, 3.4 GPA
    One failed master's attempt in a language from a state university over 10 years ago - bad GPA
    One distance master's in education from a brick-and-mortar private university - 3.95 GPA
    One residential master's from a state university - 3.8+ GPA
    One residential master's at a private university - 4.0 GPA
    One year of doc study in the same field at the same university - 3.9+ GPA

    I left the doctoral program for personal reasons (academically I was in very good standing) almost three years ago. I would prefer not to elaborate so as to maintain my anonymity. I will say that there was no academic or personal wrongdoing or poor academic conduct on my part at all, and my former adviser is willing to write me a recommendation for future endeavors.

    All universities that I have attended have been in the US and are "real," brick-and-mortar institutions. Not Phoenix, Walden, Capella, Kaplan, etc. Aside from that one bad year back in the early 2000's where I found out that the language master's wasn't for me, I've always done pretty well GPA-wise.

    At this point, I'm spending at least the next 5 years out of the workforce, so pursuing a doctorate is more a matter of personal enrichment for me than anything else. If it leads to a career down the road, that's great, but I am license-eligible in my most recent field of study and am not too worried about employment prospects. Although I have worked as an adjunct lecturer in the past, I do know that I am not interested in university teaching and research as a career. I might be interested in working in a university office (academic advising, etc), however.

    My areas of interest include cultural studies, international studies, psychology/counseling (not interested in clinical psych), education, international education and study abroad, student affairs/higher education, and educational counseling.

    I am not interested in online-only universities or universities outside of the US (except maybe in the UK). I'm not terribly concerned with prestige or rankings as long as it's a university most people have actually heard of. Short residencies are okay. International residencies would be fantastic! Emphasis on qualitative vs. quantitative methodology is a plus. I would prefer a highly structured program, such as a cohort model, with a high completion rate and LOTS of dissertation assistance. Shorter completion times are a plus.

    I don't think I would qualify for an "executive" Ed.D program because I'm not currently employed outside of the home.

    I'm open to other suggestions as well. At this point, I have plenty of time to decide what I want to do and where. You might be thinking that I'm not focused enough or interested enough in research to pursue a doctorate at all, and you're probably right. It's just a lifelong goal of mine, and yes, I've questioned all the reasons I want to do it. I just want to find a program with interesting coursework that will offer me lots of structure and dissertation support.

    Thanks so much for reading and for any constructive feedback you can send my way. Specific program suggestions are especially welcome!
     

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