Harrison Middleton University's Doctor of Arts Revisited

Where are the graduates and soon-to-be graduates of this program? Through some clever interweb searches I've looked at LinkedIn, various job sites, and .edu's and came up with maybe a dozen people.

I've had a love-hate relationship with the very idea of this university but I'm starting to lean towards the positive. Of course that means being a skeptic jerk.

For those graduates or soon-to-be graduates of HMU's DA program: What have you done or what do you plan to do with your Doctor of Arts?

Here's an interesting site I found:

Travis » Page 4 of 5

This guy has a master of architecture and is in the DA program. His hobbies include "BMWs, Range Rovers, and Corvettes" and in his free time his building a tower on to his house in between jetting around the world to exotic locations. He's doing quite well for himself as an assistant professor at Western Kentucky University. :suspect:

 

I don't know.... do you think there's anything suspect about that?

 

Nope.

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First I'd like to emphasize that one can be a skeptic without being a jerk.

Then I'd hasten to point out that If I was in your place I'd be skeptical too. I'm willing to bet that the program is OK (just OK). In my mind (not to be confused with reality) I equate this program with a doctoral degree fron Union Institute. They're both so general that they depend entirely on the design of your program and the strength of the faculty that are guiding your studies. I also wonder exactly what such a degree would do to enhance a career. Partly because it's a DA degree (no one knows what that is) and partly because it's a DETC doctoral degree (and no one knows how useful that might be). My best advice is to be sure that you know why you would earn such a degree and what you're hoping it will do for you. If that all checks out then then it's all good.

 

Skeptics are generally perceived as party-pooping jerks. It is a role I gladly take on. Otherwise, you're right on all counts.

Anyone check out HMU's spiffy new web site? They even fixed the spelling errors. They are certainly starting to LOOK more legitimate. That coupled with the fact that people who go there seem to be relatively positive about it, is a good sign. I'd like to see an alumni association pop up. HMU has this link to the Great Books Foundation that I don't think it is exploiting enough to create a sense of culture. I think they have great potential to create a vibrant community but it has yet to materialize. Maybe they need someone like me to swing his boot around and start making things happen.

 

Some people love skeptics

Skeptic » Home » The Skeptics Society & Skeptic magazine

 

I agree. I think that is one interesting guy. Liking nice cars and having travelled are not bad things are they? I have mirrored many of the things this guy states, except for building a sweet tower onto my house. I am going to add on to the living room and make it huge, though. Nothing near that cool stuff this HMU guy does.

God bless America!!!!!!!!!!

Abner

 

I subscribe to the Point of Inquiry podcast. I'm "in".

 

I think you mean, "God bless inheritance/trust funds". In my case, there is no god...

 

For me, being a jerk is half the fun.

I agree pretty emphatically with that.

My outsider's impression is that a H-M DA might find its greatest utility as an upgrade degree for community college instructors. CC instructors probably wouldn't be competing with graduates of more prominent PhD programs and they wouldn't need to be high-powered researchers. A Doctor of Arts degree is at least theoretically an undergraduate professor's doctorate, which might look good to employers and it might earn somebody a pay increase or a permanent faculty slot.

 

I think you're right in your assessment, maybe it could be called a "cherry on top" degree. It probably isn't necessary but it looks nice and who doesn't like cherries? It could be that little extra career push but even if it isn't, it sounds like the HMU process would be personally very rewarding.