Doctorate in Education

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by blaketots, Jan 14, 2005.

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  1. blaketots

    blaketots New Member

    What types of positions in academia do those with a doctorate in education hold?

    I will graduate in May with an MBA and 18 graduate hours in accounting. I want to be able to teach at four-year universities in addition to community colleges. It seems that most of the four-year shcools require a doctorate.

    I'm still uncertain if I really want to get a PhD in Accounting. I really am more interested in education. If I get a doctorate in education, would it help me any if I want to teach in the business department? Would it help me to become a Dean in a community college business department?
     
  2. roysavia

    roysavia New Member

    I don't know if you will get accepted into a Doctor of Education program without an M.Ed. Unless you have taken a considerable number of graduate level courses in Adult Education, your application could be rejected. Your best bet is to pursue your PhD or DBA in accounting and take a few grad level courses in Education Administration if you wish to pursue a Dean's position.
    These days more colleges are looking for academics who also have certificates or degrees in Adult Education.
     
  3. obecve

    obecve New Member

    Another alternative might be to puruse an Ed.D. in higher education or an Ed.D. in university teaching or and Ed.D. in community college teaching. Typically you can be admitted to these degrees with a master's degree in a most anything. The idea behind these degrees is to prepare you for university or college teaching. Another alternative is to pursue a doctorate in interdisciplinary studies. These are typically offered in Ed.D. or Ph.D..
     
  4. Anthony Pina

    Anthony Pina Active Member

    Carla,

    I have been working in colleges of education for nearly two decades. I have also worked as a community college faculty and am currently an administrator and teacher at the university level. I have been a member of many hiring boards for faculty and administrators in higher education.

    First of all, you do not need an M.Ed. degree to be admitted into a doctoral program (either Ph.D. or Ed.D.) in education. Education doctorates get their bachelors and masters in a myriad of subjects outside of education.

    Many fout-year universities will hire part-time techers with a masters degree, but if you are looking for a full-time, tenure-track position, you will need a doctorate. If you wish to teach business courses at the the community college level or university level, and you are not interested in a business doctorate, then an education doctorate would work fine. You would want to steer your courses and your dissertation into more business-realted topics, as opposed to K-12 school topics. Most good programs will allow you to do this.

    If you are looking to be an administrator at a community college, an MBA with a doctorate in educational leadership or educational administration would be a good route to go. The options outlined by Obecve are also good.

    Don't get too caught up on whether the degree is a Ph.D. or Ed.D. They are essentially the same degree. Some universities will offer one while others will offer the other.

    Tony Pina
    Administrator, Northeastern Illinois University
     
  5. Arch23

    Arch23 New Member

    Hi Carla,

    There are as many concentrations/specializations with a doctorate degree in education as there are degrees. Nowadays, you can even design your own focus under a relatively generic PhD or EdD in education. Pursuing the doctorate is a time-consuming and an arduous process, so it's best to get it in the field that you're really interested in. This doesn't mean you have to choose exclusively between education and accounting because you can actually cover BOTH areas. You can pursue a PhD or EdD in education and designate accounting as your cognate or specialization area, and there's no limit as to the kind of research you can do so long as your imagination or interest permits it. For your dissertation topic, for instance, you can focus on a study deteremining the quality of undergraduate or graduate accounting education in the U.S., or on the educational philosophies behind various schools' accounting programs vis-a-vis their effectiveness; you can also study the psychological factors that affect educational behavior among accounting students, and so on. With such creativity, you can actually link your interests instead of giving up one for the sake of the other. Good luck!
     
  6. obecve

    obecve New Member

    Arch23 and Tony Pina have both given very good advice. An example of this kind of action is my own Ed.D.. I am a rehabilitation counselor and vocational evaluation specialist by my formal training (although currently I am the state Director of DVR). I earned an Ed.D. in Occupational and Adult Education. Along the way I was able to design my coursework so it would support leadership in rehabilitation. My disseration was "Teaching Style and Teaching Philosophy of Rehabilitation Educators." This has served me well in my profession and in academia. I am on the clinical faculty of the medical school and serve as an adjunct at three other schools including serving on doctoral committees. Even though my degree is not a "pure" rehabilitaion, I am regularly offered full-time university positions. Someday I will choose that path---just not yet. Hope this helps. There are many ways to make a doctorate work for you.
     

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