Hi All, I have been looking at a few options as I try to narrow down which Master's program will be suit my lifestyle and goals. One option is the Southern New Hampshire University online Master of Arts in English program. They are regionally accredited, a B&M school if you live in New Hampshire, offer a thesis option, and from the people I have contacted in the program - they all seem very satisfied with the program. I am wondering if any has been successful moving from an online Master's degree to a traditional PhD program. I know most traditional programs look down on online programs so I imagine it will reduce my chances of getting into a traditional program to some degree. but with good grades, entrance test scores, writing samples, references, and professional experience, I would hope I have a decent shot getting in to a reputable PhD program. Any experience or thoughts on this issue? Thanks!
I think that if you do well in your Masters program you should have a solid shot at a doctoral program.
YMMV. I would contact PhD programs now, and then ask them. Don't ask the university admissions people, you will get a canned answer. Contact the graduate adviser in the department you will be doing your work. They may recommend you not do a masters at all, and to apply straight into their doctorate program.
My wife did her MA totally by distance learning (Cal State Dominguez Hills). When she applied to five traditional residential PhD programs, two had no problem with it (Harvard, Princeton); one just wasn't sure (Pittsburgh), and two (Loyola and the one she chose, Vanderbilt) said that they would wait to see how she did in the first year -- how well trained she was -- and would then decide whether to accept it retroactively (which is what happened). I have no idea how common this approach is, but it seems logical. When we surveyed 50 major US universities on behalf of the online MBA of Edinburgh Business School to see if they would accept it for their doctoral program, the majority said yes, but a surprisingly large (to me) subset said that they regard the MBA as a terminal degree, and that no MBA meets their Master's requirement for PhD admissions. Hard to imagine that an MA in English would have this problem.
John implies here something he's said explicitly over the years: ask. You'd be surprised what you can work out beyond what you read in a school's literature. (He's also suggested in the past that many things are negotiable in graduate education. I agree.) Regarding the MBA, I think the resistance comes from some very deep roots. The MBA is, at its heart and in its use, a practitioner's degree. (Hence its status as a "terminal" degree--and the subsequent rise of a plethora of DBA programs to give room to continue.) The Ph.D., on the other hand, has been (traditionally, anyway) a research/academic degree. I think the thinking used to be that the MBA didn't move you along the academic discipline like an M.A. or M.S. would, so you'd be at the same level scholastically with bachelor's degree holders, even though you had an MBA. But with so many Ph.D. programs now making room for practitioners, the MBA seems to be more acceptable as a lead-in to the Ph.D., especially with programs targeting mid-career practitioners. In other words, the distinctions might have broken down a bit here.
Thank you so much for the thorough and thoughtful replies! I did email two schools but haven't heard back yet. With the popularity of online learning, and most reputable schools jumping on board and offering at least some form of online learning, hopefully I won't face too many hurdles. I just need to make sure everything else in my application is rock solid. Such an exciting and terrifying process! lol
Let me give you my perspective at a particular school. I finished my MBA at NCU and have completed 10 PhD level courses and will get a certificate soon. After that I don't know if I will continue. I am also attending USF working on a grad cert in Web Design with the school of education, instructional technology department. Now I have contacts in the department and have an email thread going about my future plans. The PhD's who are in charge of the certificate, the EdS program, and the PhD program all know my name and are recommending that I choose the PhD program. I am 99% sure that my online, for profit MBA plays no part in their enthusiasm toward me. I am going to have a choice to make at some point but I may become one of those who went from an MBA to a PhD at a brick and mortar school in my town. The instructional technology people are VERY progressive when it comes to distance learning though. Most of the course work is to help people prepare instructional content for online delivery so it makes sense that they wouldn't bash this mode of delivery.
Though I have never had any interest in a "traditional" Ph.D. program, I have often wondered if I would have had any trouble getting in. I believe I would do well on the GRE, and I know that would be one consideration. My Master's Degree was by Distance learning but they would never know that, unless they thought to ask, since it is also a traditional school and I don't think too many would have really looked too far into why the school was in Detroit when I lived in PA. Most of my BS was by distance learning too, but it was a SUNY school. Having connections can also help. I never had connections in the past, but I now have a daughter who graduated from Princeton and another who has a Ph.D. from Virginia Tech, and works at MIT. I'm not sure how I would use those bits of information to my advantage, but I believe my connections would help, especially with Princeton because I know they give family preference, even though it might be unusual for a parent to get the preference after the child went there. My daughters got into prestigious schools with mostly just their brains. I would like to think I could do the same, but who knows?
suelaine: "I'm not sure how I would use those bits of information to my advantage" At the doctoral level, admissions decisions are either made, or strongly influenced, at the departmental level (rather than the college or the registrar). And departments often pay attention to individual faculty, especially power-possessing ones. If your daughter has faculty who would remember and respect her, a letter can't hurt. And there is the tried and true approach of doing research on the faculty, finding one(s) who have written things of interest to you, and then writing the "Dear Professor So-and-so -- I read your paper on [whatever] and [comment/suggestion]." Some people say that the initial letter shouldn't mention interest in attending; others disagree. Either way, letter 1 or 2 says, "I have been considering doing my PhD program at [school] and [etc etc]."
This is all just something I am curious about, and makes an interesting discussion. I already earned my Ph.D. in exactly the way I wanted to. If I actually wanted to get into a program at a prestigious traditional university, I would most certainly figure out what they would be expecting regarding research and experience before I would apply. My hunch is that if everything else was what they expected, the fact that my undergrad and Master's degrees were done by distance learning would have little to no bearing.
