TTU PhD Program (Least Expensive?)

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Garp, Sep 8, 2010.

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  1. Dave Wagner

    Dave Wagner Active Member

    Refreshing, huh?
     
  2. cravenco

    cravenco New Member

    Makes one more comfortable in that environment. I know it would make me comfortable, and cause me to work harder at my educational goal.
     
  3. Landmark

    Landmark New Member

    I am currently a student at TTU's PhD program. I might preface my comments by explaining that I obtained my B.S. in Business at Colorado Christian University and my Master of Arts in Theological Studies at Liberty University. However, I also have finished two degrees at California community colleges, so I have been in both secular and religious collegiate environments.

    There are aspects of the program that demand some theological framework. The course "Aspects of Leadership" requires that the student think about a modern leader with the Good Book on Leadership in view. This is a book about biblical leaders co-authored by Danny Lovett, the president of the school and former dean at Liberty Seminary. That being said, framing secular concepts with a theological view is extremely challenging to the mind, and does not seem to hinder critical thinking. It might be valuable to realize when one studies leadership that leadership is many times a religious and philosophical interchange. Leaders from Rudolph Giuliani to Joe Lieberman can best be understood when the theological foundations from which they operated are properly studied.

    Ultimately, it is a PhD program. Each student is slogging through the dissertation alone. It is not a situation in which the school is forcing a student to endure countless hours of religious discourse. Most of the texts that are chosen for coursework come from prestigious leadership programs. These texts are the foundations from which students will build a dissertation. The bulk of the research in each class comes from the initiative of the student and will be related to the student's chosen dissertation. The week spent in Chattanooga is hardly religious at all, with more religion being discussed by the students than the faculty. The lectures during the required week include research design and area leaders (some religious and some secular) describing which leadership styles proved effective.

    With all of that in view, this program is new to TTU and has its own issues. The school is old and now oversized, with many vacant buildings. It is in an older part of town that is one of the most dilapidated in Chattanooga. The school itself is building the framework for the program as she goes, so classes are being added and taken away as the faculty sees need. Sometimes, there are syllabus changes after the course commences. It is doable, and I forgive the school since it is still a relatively new program. It may even be that new students in the program will not face these same challenges.

    Just wanted to give some inside info.
     
  4. ELIAS

    ELIAS New Member

    I agree with you on this sir. If Liberty U offered a PHD or Ed.D. in leadership I would immediately start that program no ?'s asked... So how do you like the program so far?

    I start my MBA next week, will graduate this friday with MAML so I wanted to continue my studies and decided might as well finish the MBA...
     
  5. ELIAS

    ELIAS New Member

    Garp,
    So true, I agree with the fact that the school has a solid history.
     
  6. Anthony Pina

    Anthony Pina Active Member

    TRACS is definitely worth something in the Evangelical Christian world, but, unfortunately a TRACS Ph.D. would have far less value in the rest of the regionally accredited world. This is not a slight against TRACS ot TTU, only an observation of acceptance into the RA "club".
     
  7. StefanM

    StefanM New Member

    I'm not so sure it has much value in evangelical Christian academia.

    I have been affiliated with four evangelical Christian institutions of higher learning, and a TRACS credential would not be recognized in any of them.
     
  8. Splas

    Splas New Member

    Most certainly, particularly regarding political views.
     

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