Would anyone hire a PhD from Capella?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by MichaelOliver, Nov 11, 2009.

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  1. I'm considering starting a doctorate at Capella. My goal is to be able to teach higher Ed. in online, adjunct positions while I continue my current job as a Jr. high teacher. Does anyone have thoughts on the questions below?

    1. Would there be an advantage to getting a PhD over a practitioner doctorate such as a DBA? I'm going for a doctorate in business, or maybe education.

    2. Anyone have any idea of which field of study, business or education, would yield better adjunct teaching opportunities?

    3. To anyone involved in hiring adjuncts: Hypothetically speaking, would you consider hiring Capella grads?

    Many thanks! Mike
     
  2. AV8R

    AV8R Active Member

    There are many Capella grads who are teaching online. If your goal is primarily online adjuncting, a Capella doctorate will be fine.

    Again, if your sole purpose is online adjuncting, it probably doesn't make any difference whether you earn a Ph.D. or DBA.

    I'm not sure what the demand for education adjuncts is but I do know that adjuncts who can teach either accounting, finance or both are in big demand.
     
  3. NGC6205

    NGC6205 New Member

    American Public University system lists 124 faculty members for their business school. The following are Capella grads:

    Dani Babb
    Dallas Cecil
    Keisha Chambers
    Suzanne Minarcine
    Timmothy Posey
    Janette Roy
    Edward P Sakiewicz

    Some of the above are considered full-time faculty. While this is just one school, it appears that Capella grads do not have problems getting adjunct positions.
     
  4. Anthony Pina

    Anthony Pina Active Member

    I'm certain that I do.

    No. Although the DBA in business and the EdD in education were created to be practitoner degrees, the vast majority of these programs are identical to those of the PhD in business and education (I am currently doing research studies on both these degrees).

    Since I am the Academic Dean over a decent-sized e-learning program that employs a number of adjunct faculty, I can tell you what I see:

    For business: people with doctorates emphasizing accounting, marketing, logistics and finance are in demand. There is a glut of candidates with degrees in general business, management and organizational leadership, so there is not much demand in those areas.

    For education: people with doctorates emphasizing special education, teaching English as second language/bilingual education, educational research/assessment/evaluation, or educational/instructional technology would be in greater demand than a doctorate in educational administration, curriculum and instruction or educational psychology.

    We do have Capella grads among our adjuncts. I have also served on Capella dissertation committees, so the answer is "most definitely".

    You are very welcome.
     
  5. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    Why not? I have seen Capella graduates teaching as adjuncts in Institutions as Walden, Devry, TUI University and NCU. It is an accredited doctorate so it satisfies the job requirements of an accredited doctorate.

    The Capella program is very popular among online adjuncts. Many people recommend this program for those interested in online teaching.

    As for the DBA vs PhD thing, it depends a lot on the University. Some online Universities only offer the DBA (Jones International University) while others offer both options (Walden, NCU). For those schools that offer these two options, it seems to me that the DBA is a light version of the PhD as some schools require less credits or no hard core courses (e.g. statistics) for the DBA.

    I finished my DBA in Australia but in my case I was not given an option as the PhD requires a research master's and I have a course based MBA that was only acceptable for DBA admission.

    In summary, it is not about the designation of the degree but about the school's reputation and program.
     
  6. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    How about a PhD in Business Admin / Management with 18 credit in Finance or an MBA in Finance?
     
  7. BlackBird

    BlackBird Member

    I have a doctorate from Capella. Though I got my first adjunct job at a local college with my traditional Masters degree, I know of several fulltime profs with Ph.D.'s at the school who got those from Capella. I also have taught at U of Phoenix and currently am an online adjunct faculty for U. of the Rockies. I know another 2 or 3 others at Rockies with Capella Ph.D.'s
     
  8. mathguy

    mathguy New Member

    Not only is a Capella degree good for adjunct positions, but there are also a number of Capella alumni who have full time tenure track positions.
     
    Todd Pope likes this.
  9. Anthony Pina, could I have more info?

    Hey Anthony, Your input about your view on hiring Capella grads is a "God-send" for me, literally. Thanks so much!

    You warned against getting a PhD in Organization and Management because there are too many of them out there. How about these Capella degrees that are the same except they have specializations in various areas? Does that make them any better, or should I steer clear?

    PhD in Organization and Management - Human Resource Management

    PhD in Organization and Management - Information Technology Management

    PhD in Organization and Management - Leadership

    PhD in Organization and Management - Management Education this one especially

    PhD in Organization and Management - Project Management

    I really appreciate your help! Mike
     
  10. Anthony Pina

    Anthony Pina Active Member

    The U.S. accrediting bodies for business schools (AACSB, IACBE) do not distinguish between the PhD and the DBA. In the accreditation of doctoral programs, they treat them as equal. The U.S. Dept. of Education also recognizes them as equivalent degrees.
     
  11. Anthony Pina

    Anthony Pina Active Member

    That would work. Our faculty qualifications standards from SACS requires (in order of preference):

    1. Doctorate in the teaching discipline OR
    2. Doctorate with a masters in the teaching discipline OR
    3. Masters in the teaching discipline
    4. Masters degree with 18 graduate semester units in the teaching discipline
     
  12. Anthony Pina

    Anthony Pina Active Member

    I cannot speak for the needs of all institutions, but my hiring preferences would definitely be the specializations in Human Resource Management and Information Technology Management, since we have growing graduate programs in those areas. My doctoral degree is in leadership, so I would be going against a lot of people with the same degree. Fortunately for me, I have a pretty good vita :)
     
  13. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator


    I have a MS in ITM and will finish my PhD soon. Maybe we can talk soon :D
     
  14. DoctorBiz

    DoctorBiz New Member

    That is correct! I'm Dr. S. and am a proud Capella Alum who is very actuive in teaching online, on campus and as a practitioner in industry.

    Dr. Ed ;-)

     
  15. RodMoyer

    RodMoyer New Member

    There are Professors at The University of Texas with Capella Doctorate credentials.

    There are Professors at The University of Texas with Capella Doctorate credentials. ...Prominent professors.
     
  16. sideman

    sideman Well Known Member

    Are you talking about the flagship UT-Austin? And if so, would you mind providing a link?
     
  17. Anthony Pina

    Anthony Pina Active Member

    The Ut-Austin undergraduate catalog lists Robert J. Adams, faculty in the School of Business, with a Ph.D. from Capella U. I have quite a few colleagues who work full-time as faculty, administrators or instructional designers at many different institutions with doctorates from Capella. Their degrees have served them well.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 6, 2017
  18. sideman

    sideman Well Known Member

    Thank you for the response. Just curious, because my daughter is a senior at UT-Austin and majoring in Business. She may very well have had this particular professor with a Capella background. Will ask her as soon as she gets back from travelling during Christmas break.
     
  19. FTFaculty

    FTFaculty Well-Known Member

    https://law.utexas.edu/faculty/adamsrj/

    Bachelors from Purdue (elite)
    Masters from Babson (very good)
    PhD from Capella (insert opinion here)
    Senior Lecturer from UT-Austin B-school (elite)

    Fascinating. Was wondering what happened. No knock on Capella necessarily, they fill a niche and are a legitimate RA university, they are not millish in any way to my knowledge, but...they do not seem to hit the sweet spot for a seasoned businessperson who's looking to make the move into academia and has such an excellent academic background. A PhD from UT-Austin or Stanford or Georgia Tech would seem to fit more neatly onto that vita than from Capella.

    Anyway, his CV's great (https://www.mccombs.utexas.edu/~/media/C024EE94CE0E5C0FE9E14F0F73319EDC.ashx), not a ton of academic pubs, but three books published, great consulting experience with F500s, set up a center at McCombs, 3x professor of the year, has taught at universities around the world. The guy's the goods, definitely belongs at an elite b-school, not out of element. But if he was looking to do a business doctorate at a distance and get cred that way in academia, why not Heriot-Watt, Leicester, Florida, Creighton, Kennesaw State, Manchester, Grenoble? Fascinating.
     
  20. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    I think that's a case of someone with extensive experience, who just needed a RA doctorate to teach at a business school, and Capella certainly fills the bill. He might have even been told as much, "Get a doctorate, any doctorate that's legitimate, and come back".

    "Legitimate" being the key word; DI old-timers remember the fiasco with Maggie and her St. George's University International Ed.D. degree at Mercer.
     

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