doctorate w/o masters

Hi,

Yes, I aware of this phenomenon. Heriot Watt will accept students to their MBA program without a Bachelors degree. I would keep investigating your options with U.S. and U.K. schools.

In addition, you may be interested in looking at the offerings from University of South Africa (UNISA).


Cheers!
Tom

 

I surely will. No, not only for a US DBA, but also taking a look at ones offered in the UK and Australia.

I like the flexibility that NCU offers, in the sense that one can navigate through the program at different speed. The thing is it takes so many courses to finish. So if I take one course at a time, which I intend to do for time and financial resources constrains, it will take me 6 years (if my calculation is correct).

 

Thanks for the feedback. I'm looking at options in Australia as well.

 

Hi Tom,

I have been looking at Heriot Watt (Edenbroug Business School) for a while. It looks interesting but seems that you need to sit for "exams"? I'm not sure I'm willing to do that at a doctoral level.

I have already looked at UNISA and in fact sent them an email yesterday asking for more info. Thanks for you interest.

 

Woah! The University of Phoenix WON'T admit you to their program??? The ultimate for-profit university is rejecting $$$ from a prospective applicant with a respectable master's degree??? This just made my day!

 

I recall reading an RA rule that Ph.D. candidates needed a minimum number of credits (equal to a bachelor degree).

 

I remember an EBS MBA grad a while ago was in a similar situation. She ended up getting a bachelor's after the MBA. Her school (a US school, but I don't remember which one) applied her MBA courses towards some of her undergrad requirements, and then she completed the rest with CLEP and DANTES exams. She was able to get a BS fairly quickly.

 

Bachelor's after Master's ??

To tell you the truth I have thought about doing that. But then I thought to myself "OK that would look weird on my CV: MBA 2009; Bachelor's in BA 2011 !!"

Well, I'm 41 and I think I have reached a matured career by now (corporate director) so I'm not doing this exactly to get a promotion at work or something of that sort. In fact I'm not sure if my company cares that I have a doctorate degree, or even a Master's degree. However, the amount of knowledge that I have gained about management during my MBA is just wonderful. This has triggered me to explore the world of business administration further. Earning a doctorate degree will give great personal satisfaction because it will allow me to learn knew things, and hence will make me a better person, both at the professional and personal levels. Oh and one more thing, I would LOVE to have those 2 letters in front of my first name

 

If you want to teach, having the undergraduate degree in addition to the graduate degree might be a requirement of the school. My sister ran into that issue but has been successful in teaching professional development courses through the same university which turned her down for an adjunct teaching position. However, on an employment c.v. the dates the degrees were/are awarded can be left off.

Learning for personal enrichment and enjoyment is a good way to demonstrate your commitment to life-long learning. I research doctorate degree might be the optimal route to address your interests. If there is a particular area of business administration of interest to you, perhaps earning a BA in that area before undertaking the PhD/DBA would provide a solid grounding for your future dissertation.

 

This is true in theory, however, in this country there are few absolutes. An approach to a uni may lead to good results. You will need to talk to a faculty member, not a uni bureaucrat. The latter just follow the rules as they are set out.

 

I don't plan to teach.

Yes there is. I'm very much interested in organizational leadership. Well, I'm not sure how much a BA would add to me. I'm confident that what I have learned during my MBA and the experience I have under my belt make me a good candidate for doctoral studies. I do not foresee any difficulties in future research or dissertation. I also forgot to mention that I had completed three years in BA (UK Open University) before I was admitted to the MBA. I also have two diplomas in accounting from a community college in Montreal.

Thanks for your interest and feedback.

PS. Jennifer, I apologize for hijacking your topic

 

I have to agree. I fear one day, UoP will have more the appearance of Columbia Pacific rather than Columbia University. Maybe not but a school that is still new in the world of an academia lifespan and exists as a publically traded for profit company, is certainly in unchartered water. And, provided you had sufficient space on your credit card, I am also surprised UoP did not identify a means of admission, even if it was classified as conditional/provisional to monitor your academic capacity (and some would add, your ongoing credit).

 

aldrin & Randy,

Thanks for your support.

 

You might want to consider EBS's DBA, Since they don't require a bachelors for their MBA, I don't see why they would require it of their DBA. Check out http://www.ebsglobal.net/programmes/dba

 

This might be sufficient for a BA via one of the Big Three. I'm not sure how they would accept international credits.

 

I have been looking at EBS's DBA for a while and they are on my list. However, the only thing I'm not comfortable with is that all of their courses are assessed by examinations, a three-hour written exam. Could you please shed some light on this?

Thanks.

 

What do you mean by the "Big Three"?

 

The term "BIG THREE" refers to Excelsoir College, Thomas Edison State College (TESC), and Charter Oaks State College (COSC).

 

Yes, they are proctored closed book, three-hour exams that usually consist of essay questions, case studies, and sometimes a few multiple-choice questions. They are some of the most difficult exams I have ever taken. I felt those exams were a better preparation for my PhD comps than my UF courses!

What I liked about them however was the flexibility. The exams are only given at certain times of the year, but you only sign up for the exam when you are ready to take it. This may not be the case with other programs that have a cohort program, or a set time limit on courses.

TEKMAN pointed out the Big Three. These are universities that will award degrees based on credit earned elsewhere, like other universities or CLEP exams, so they are great for someone who moved around a lot. It might be worth contacting an admisisions counsler from one of these schools (or all to see which would be the quickest) even if it means paying an enrollment fee. It sounds like you have earned enough credits at other places so you can earn a BA. That will "check the box" so to speak and give you more options to apply to other programs.