Hi!

Discussion in 'Introductions' started by jps4soc, May 12, 2009.

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  1. jps4soc

    jps4soc New Member

    I just wanted to introduce myself and state my interest in participating in your forums.

    I am a full-time temporary professor of Sociology at MTSU in Murfreesboro, TN. For the last few semesters I have instructed RODP and distance learning courses such as Social Problems, Introduction to Sociology, Marriage and Family, Deviance, and Sociology of Childhood. I really enjoy teaching online, but because I do not have a PhD, I can't become a permanent employee of the university. Thus, I will probably be one of the first to go when the state starts slashing funds.

    I want to get a PhD online, but the only school that offers one in my discipline is MUST, which I have read is a complete scam. I thought maybe if I reached out to this community I might find some alternatives...

    In Tennessee, the only two schools that offer a PhD in Sociology are UT Knoxville and Vanderbilt in Nashville. UT is out for me because I can't relocate and Vanderbilt is pretty much out because I doubt I will be accepted into their program unless I first publish some articles and retake the GRE. Even then, I don't know if they would give me a fellowship, which I would need because the tuition is very high at Vanderbilt. So, really, online learning is my only option at this point.

    If no schools offer Sociology doctorates, how hard would it be to change disciplines? Would I need to start all the way over from scratch or could I go straight into a PhD program (say, in psychology)?

    Any advice you could give me would be greatly appreciated!
     
  2. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

  3. Griffin

    Griffin Crazy About Psychology

    I'm sure that you have good reasons why you want to stay in Tennessee, but I would still recommend looking outside of TN for a doctoral program if you're coming up empty.
     
  4. jps4soc

    jps4soc New Member

    It's really because of my husband's job why we can't relocate. It took a long time for him to find a good job that he likes and I would never make him start looking for one all over again, particularly since the economy is in a sad state for job hunters.

    Plus we are in a huge mess of debt, own our house, have 3 kids, 4 dogs, 3 cats, and a guniea pig. You can imagine how hard it would be to pick up and move...
     
  5. jps4soc

    jps4soc New Member

    Thanks for the links. I have bookmarked and will research those options. I will also speak with my departmental chair about whether or not a degree earned from a foreign university would be acceptable for a tenure-track position, if I earned one and a position came open.
     
  6. jps4soc

    jps4soc New Member

    Oh, sorry to keep posting, but does anyone have any thoughts on my last question about switching disciplines?
     
  7. Griffin

    Griffin Crazy About Psychology

    Sorry for the delayed reply! Depending on what discipline you would be moving to, you could probably just go straight into a doctoral program without having to take additional classes.

    If you wanted to move to Psychology for your doctorate, would you want to practice? If that's a possibility, then you will want to check out this page from the University of Puget Sound that talks about common license factors. Even if you attended a school that was non-APA, you could get licensed in over half the states. I can't find the exact number, but Saybrook has PhD grads licensed in 28 states.

    Of course, if you aren't necessarily concerned with licensing most of those issues will be out of the picture.

    Definitely ask your departmental chair to see what your options are. A research-based PhD could be done mostly distance, but it may not be in Sociology. International programs could also have a major distance-learning component (not to mention affordable), but only your chair would be able to tell you whether or not it would be considered acceptable within your school. I don't see why a degree from (say) Western Australia, UK or South Africa wouldn't be allowed though.
     
  8. jps4soc

    jps4soc New Member

    Thanks for your reply.

    I am not sure if I would want to practice or not if I went into psychology.

    I probably would teach since that is what I already do.

    I looked at the programs overseas and it looks like they would allow me to do a dissertation-only PhD from here, but the main factor is that I don't know how I would pay for it since I don't have any extra money laying around. Also there was one school that specifically stated I would have to travel to Australia at least twice during my program (which is out of the question because I have too many responsibilities here). I don't know for sure about all the other schools I looked at. Some were kind of vague about their international doctoral programs. I would probably have to contact each school directly for clarification.

    Does anyone know...can I use U.S. student loan or financial aid money to pay for a school overseas?
     
  9. Griffin

    Griffin Crazy About Psychology

    Some overseas programs award Title IV funds, but I can't name any off the top of my head. There may not be any DL PhD programs that will do Stafford Loans, but they may have another loan program that you may qualify for. Some private US-based loans cover school overseas as well.

    And while UK or Aus programs could get extremely cost-prohibitive, South African doctorates are pretty inexpensive. You'll probably have to go for residencies (some are weekends, some are

    In the US, Saybrook has a pretty good psychology curriculum (but can be rather expensive). I'd recommend applying and doing the FAFSA and exploring their grant programs if you're interested. They do require residencies, but they are fairly short weekend residencies. 2-4 per year. If you went for their PhD program, tuition alone would be $19'900 for a full-time student. There's 76 credits required for it and the tuition includes 32cr per year (taking about 3-4 years with a normal work schedule).

    I would also recommend asking around on the main part of the forum, to get more opinions. :)
     

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