ABD Completion Recommendations?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Vonnegut, Jun 7, 2022.

Loading...
  1. Vonnegut

    Vonnegut Well-Known Member

    What schools are currently recommended for ABD Completion programs? Have an employee who is ABD from an engineering program at an R1 university, but never finished. Trying to help find ABD completion options.
     
  2. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Vonnegut likes this.
  3. chrisjm18

    chrisjm18 Well-Known Member

  4. TEKMAN

    TEKMAN Semper Fi!

    SteveFoerster likes this.
  5. freeloader

    freeloader Member

    They might also consider a research-oriented doctorate (with little or no coursework) from Capital Technology University or a European university. If the person has some publications, a PhD by publication (Portsmouth University, for instance) could be a great option.
     
    sanantone, JBjunior and SteveFoerster like this.
  6. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Engineering? I doubt you'll find one...in print.

    I talk about this a lot, but it really is relevant. It's time for negotiations. This person should take his/her case to potential schools and make his/her case, even if the school doesn't appear to have a program for ABDs in engineering. It's surprising what can be negotiated with a sufficiently in-depth conversation. Be ready to address issues like:
    • What are your professional goals?
    • Why do you want to finish your degree?
    • What do you wish to research and why?
    • What did you research before, if anything?
    • Why didn't you finish your degree?
    • What is your standing with the original university?
    • What makes you believe you will be successful this time?
    Those come to mind immediately. I'm sure there are many more issues that could be discussed.
     
    RoscoeB, Suss and SteveFoerster like this.
  7. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    There's no need for negotiations. Baker and University of the Potomac will accept just about anyone no matter what their major was. It's all a matter of whether the friend wants a non-engineering degree.

    Capitol Technology University has a PhD in Engineering Management, and they'll accept up to 42 transfer credits. That means only three 6-credit courses will be required to finish if he can finish his dissertation that quickly.
     
  8. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    My post pre-supposed completing the engineering degree.

    What I posted was the difference between reading a few websites and actually getting something like this done.
     
  9. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    The PhD in Systems Engineering at Colorado State University Online will apply 30 credits from a master's degree in engineering, so I'm sure they'll accept 30 doctoral credits in engineering if the friend doesn't have a master's in engineering. 24 credits are required for the dissertation, so 18 credits will be coursework.

    ABD programs provide more dissertation guidance than your typical doctoral program. That, alone, should increase the person's odds of finishing. Since Capitol Technology University only focuses on the dissertation, they also provide more guidance than your typical American doctoral program.
     
    RoscoeB and JoshD like this.
  10. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    This isn't the 1980s. There are some states that have laws limiting how many transfer credits can be accepted. In other cases, the barrier is the accreditor. The doctoral program can't just change its mind one day and decide that they're going to allow a student to transfer in over 75% of the required credits. ABD and dissertation-only programs have received special approval to offer these programs. Capitol Technology University has to get approval from Maryland and the Middle States.
     
    RoscoeB likes this.
  11. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    If your friend timed out of their program, this could complicate things. Most doctoral programs have a seven or 10-year time limit for completion. Some schools won't accept STEM transfer credits that are older than 10 years. Capitol Technology University has a 10-year time limit, even for their non-STEM doctorates. Business and education ABD programs at other schools probably don't have these types of currency requirements.
     
  12. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Then you should tell them it's safe to come out, now. :)
     
  13. TEKMAN

    TEKMAN Semper Fi!

    :D
     
  14. chrisjm18

    chrisjm18 Well-Known Member

    Closets are for clothes :D
     
  15. AsianStew

    AsianStew Moderator Staff Member

    @OP, you should ask your friend a few things and get answers to them. I mean, we should know more info before we can actually provide recommendations. Q's: What is their - Budget, Commitments, Dedicated time to study, Timeline to finish, and if they have tuition assistance/reimbursement? Do they want to continue in Engineering or go into Management? It does matter to know what future goal/aspirations are... many more details if any would help.
     
  16. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Since we don't have any reports of this sort of thing not working, and since asking is free, there's no reason not to give this a try, even if this approach may be less common than it used to be.
     
    RoscoeB and Dustin like this.
  17. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    I am fortunate to have lived and worked in both those times and now.
     
  18. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    I forgot this great part about the CSU Online PhD in Systems Engineering. They'll transfer up to 30 credits from a master's degree in engineering. Additionally, they'll accept up to 10 post-master's credits that have not been applied to a degree. So, it's possible to only need 32 credits. The ABD programs usually require 24 to 28 institutional credits.

    Sure, it doesn't hurt. I would bet money, though, that no school is going to award far more transfer credits than what's stated in their policy. If pursuing an engineering program, credits older than 10 years might not be accepted. I don't think they create these policies just to totally disregard them.
     
  19. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    You previously mentioned experiences from the 1980s. I've contacted many online doctoral programs in the 2010s and 2020s. So, we have old anecdotes, new anecdotes that are specifically for online programs, and we have official policies.
     
  20. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    Northcentral University, which is about to become National University I think, has a new PhD in Technology Management with a specialization in Engineering Management. NCU has an ABD option for almost all of its doctoral programs. I don't think they've updated their ABD page yet, so you might have to ask them if the option is available for the technology management program.

    https://www.ncu.edu/programs-degrees/doctoral/doctor-philosophy-technology-management

    There are not many online doctoral programs in engineering to choose from. Some of them have competitive admissions. If the person couldn't finish their PhD program at one school, they probably won't have the best chance of getting into another competitive school. Most of the engineering programs are in a specific area of engineering, so aerospace engineering credits might not fit well into an electrical engineering program, for example. That further limits the options.

    https://www.geteducated.com/online-degrees/doctorate/engineering/

    https://www.gradschools.com/doctorate/math-science-engineering/online
     

Share This Page