Which Doctoral Program Do You Prefer?

Which of the above schools are you partial to, in regards to pursuing a doctoral degree? Personally, I am compelled to pursue a doctorate in education.

Can you provide comments on why you made your poll-selection?

 

Links to these programs:

• Argosy University
• Capella University
• Fielding Graduate School
• Northcentral University (seeking RA status)
• Nova Southeastern University
• Saybrook Graduate School
• Touro University
• Walden University

 

How about none of the above or other?

There are many other possibilities. Also, if you are interested in engineering the closest you would come is UI&U, but that is not really very close.

 

From what I can tell, Nova has a reputation as an education school. I have talked to people from Florida, and searched many faculty lists, and it seems that on this list, Nova is highly regarded.

 

The poll results are interesting. Surprisingly, Touro University is in the lead.

 

My Vote

I voted for Capella because I am in their PhD program Organization and Management with IT specialization. The faculty and the University staff are extremely responsive and helpful.

I didn't vote for Touro because when I applied they didn't have a student handbook, and they sent my postal mail letter of admission in a hand-written envelope. I did like their no residence approach.

My overall favorite in terms of basic philosophy is the Union Institute but 35 days of residency wouldn't work for me.

If NCU were regionally accredited and I had to make my decision again I would attend and vote for them.


Mathguy

 

I agree with you. Touro's Ph.D. program is relatively new compared to other schools in the list nevertheless they worked very hard to come up with a program that is of high caliber, rigorous, and yet enjoyable.

I came to realize that Touro’s Ph.D. degrees meet the highest standards (the same standards as the top universities in the world). In addition, the TUI Ph.D. degree is a true research degree (as opposed to those degrees that do not require a rigorous dissertation).

Lastly, and I said it many times, I am always inclined to study at a not-for-profit academic institution rather then for-profit. True, they might not be as fancy as their for-profit counterparts but to me these matters are cosmetic and of a lesser priority.

BTW, I was admitted at Capella University but chose Touro for the above-mentioned reason.

Eli
ABD, Touro University International

 

Re: My Vote

Mathguy,

I did encounter the same upon enrolling (1999) and was told that info. needed by students is available on-line (which is true).

BTW, following your thread, I did check with them about this issue and was informed that a Student Handbook will be available next week on their new web site!

Eli
ABD, Touro University International

 

I voted for Touro University, as it seems to have the best combination of things I am looking for in a PhD program.

First is the experience and dedication of the faculty. It seems that they hire only strong PhD's with good research and teaching records.

Second, their educational model allows some flexibility but keeps quality of education in mind.

Third, there is truly no residency requirement like some of the other programs seem to have.

Touro appears costly on a per-credit basis, but good students can get financial assistance by helping out as a graduate assistant. This reduces the overall cost a great deal for serious doctoral students.

Glen

 

None whatsoever? Then how can the candidate orally defend their dissertation???

 

Comparing Touro's cost per credit hour with those of other schools doesn't give you the most accurate picture of the total cost of attendance. First, TUI often requires fewer credit hours to graduate from the PhD program. Other programs may cost less per credit hour but usually require more credits to graduate. Second, TUI does not require textbooks. (Although, I've purchased a couple for reference.) This is especially nice if you are only able to receive tuition reimbursement for tuition and not for books and fees.

I, too, was impressed with the caliber of Touro's faculty. I've been pleasantly surprised to find that the faculty listed on the web site are the same ones actually teaching the classes.

 

The poll results are interesting. As of 1/11/03, the top three schools are:

• Capella University, 16%
  (8 respondants)
  
• Nova Southeastern University, 20%
  (10 respondants)
  
• Touro University, 28%
  (14 respondants)

I had no idea that Touro would score so high.

And the bottom three results are:

• Walden University, 2%
  (1 respondant)
  
• Saybrook Graduate School, 4%
  (2 respondants)
  
• Argosy University, 6%
  (3 respondants)

Very informal, but interesting nonetheless.

 

Good question about defending the dissertation. According to the PhD Handbook, this defense is done, depending on the needs and desires of the committee and the student, by some combination of telephone, email, face-to-face, or any other conceivable means. I will cross that bridge when I get there. But in my case, even if defense of the dissertation were required in person (by traveling to California) the day or two that this would take is a far cry from the two or three weeks per year that are required at some of the other universities. Especially for those in the Middle East or other remote places (not to mention employment and business commitments for those in remote areas of the U.S., this travel and time commitment can and does make the difference between being able to get the degree or not.

Touro also has a partly synchronous system called Horizon Live where one person can speak and be heard audibly while the others in the group can type responses and other communications. This system is used a little in some of the classes, and I would have to give it a mixed recommendation. But the point is that this system also could be used for the dissertation defense.

One other thought. Since this and my last two posts probably sound like I am a recruiter for Touro, I feel somewhat obligated to mention one negative aspect at Touro. They do not require the GMAT or GRE as an entrance requirement into their graduate programs. While this in itself is not necessarily bad (these tests are a pain), it seems to me that the lack of requiring the tests might tend to cheapen the University in the eyes of prospective students. To the extent some students are turned off because of this requirement, this seems unfortunate, because it is a good school.

Glen

 

In a nutshell...

I have gotten some strange reactions from people when I told them that I was attending the University of Phoenix. It left an unpleasant taste in my mouth.

 

Vote

My vote is Touro definitely. I guess I could be biased since I am enrolled there but I feel I did quite a bit of research in Ph.D. schools before I enrolled.

 

Good points Glen.. I would like to add the following:

- For the oral defense students can now use Horizon Live with full voice capabilities (i.e. students can talk and defend their dissertation as well). The nice part of Horizon Live is the ability to upload your presentation online and use the board to make illustrations during the defense.

- Oral defense: I know that some students already sat for their proposal defense in person (face to face) and others via Horizon Live. The session is true defense and last anything between one to two hours. Of course the committee members (usually four professors) will be present and all faculty are invited as well. From what I heard, Horizon Live seems to be quite stable during the defense session.

- GRE & GMAT: If Touro decided to pursue AASCB then this will change for sure.

Thanks,

Eli
ABD, Touro University International

 

The Union Institute & University

I think it is the granddaddy of regionally accredited distant learning universities and a pioneer in student centered learning. About a year ago it received another 10 year accreditation from North Central. It bought Vermont College in last 2 years and now offers master degrees besides undergraduate and PhD.

 

As of 1/26/03, the respondants have ranked the highest three universities as:

• Touro #1
• Nova #2
• Capella #3

I'm sure that all of the universities that are in the poll are excellent schools, but it's interesting to note the top three.

 

Mooooo