Earning a degree just to satisfy one's curiosity

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by yak342, Aug 26, 2011.

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  1. yak342

    yak342 Member

    Recently, I visited a college's website to get some information about their graduate program in philosophy. I read part of the student handbook and it said that some students complete the M.A. in Philosophy, but not the Ph.D. in Philosophy because they want to teach at the community college level or they just want to satisfy their curiosity. How many people earn a graduate degree just to satisfy their curiosity?
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 26, 2011
  2. mcjon77

    mcjon77 Member

    I would, and so would many others. With all the talk about "will this degree help me change careers/get a promotion/teach as an adjunct/etc" I think that some forget the idea that MANY people go on to get degrees (including graduate degrees) purely for their own personal enrichment and to satisfy their thirst for learning.

    In fact, the Masters in Liberal Arts/Liberal Studies degree programs that exist in hundreds of schools across the country were created expressly for that purpose. Personally, I have been looking at a few master's programs that serve ZERO purpose for me in terms of career advancement, but just look EXTREMELY interesting. For example, Northwestern has a (non-DL) part time MA in Literature. I would love to do that program later in life and concentrate on comparative literature. I have no intention of teaching literature or anything like it, I am just interested in the subject.

    Now, there are those that will say that if you only want the knowledge then just go to the library and read some books. I would like to offer at least 3 reasons why someone would chose a formal degree program:

    1) Some folks (like me) truly enjoy the college experience and the structure of a formalized program.
    2) Many experience a greater depth of learning through interacting with other students, while being guided by an instructor, than they do by simply reading a book on their own.
    3) There is a sense of personal accomplishment from completing a degree program.
     
  3. truckie270

    truckie270 New Member

    One of these days, I think I may use my faculty tuition benefit at APUS to earn an MA in Military History or a few Grad. Certs. in History with absolutely no plans for them whatsoever. I figure that that it makes sense for me for the following reasons: 1) I am a dork, 2) I love history, 3) it is free for me as faculty at APUS, 4) I read history books and watch history shows almost exclusively anyways, 5) it gives me an excuse to add to my book collection, and 6) a little Clausewitz and Sun-Tsu can liven up any conversation.
     
  4. TEKMAN

    TEKMAN Semper Fi!

    As for me, I would not earn a degree to satisfy my curiosity. I only each a degree for career enrichment and credential goals.
     
  5. Messdiener

    Messdiener Active Member

    This is a great topic. Thanks for bringing this up, yak! Personally, as a teacher, I ought to do an M.Ed. or a degree in my field of study (languages) but have been super curious about many of the programs mentioned (the M.S. in Space Studies, for example). It is a shame these things all cost so much money! Though, I can say rather excitedly that the DI community has shown me that education doesn't have to be quite as expensive as I had previously thought! (B&M undergrad bills...ugh!)
     
  6. 03310151

    03310151 Active Member

    When I was a student at AMU I remember being jealous of the course offerings for the MA in History. Who would not enjoy getting a Cert in Asymetrical Warfare with classes like these:

    Seminar in Asymmetrical Warfare
    Special Opertaions in National Policy
    Special Operations Forces Application
    Insurgency and Revolution
    Studies in Future War

    I could go for the Air War studies too.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 26, 2011
  7. 03310151

    03310151 Active Member

    I would never take courses for a degree just to learn something (unless they were free-even that would be a stretch). There are so many more enjoyable learning options out there than following a restricted syllabus, writing answers to questions that someone else picked (I might be interested in another aspect), being graded on assignments for something other than it's actual content, etc.

    There are free courses, books - so many great books to learn from and most can be checked out from a decent library close to home. There are even TV series and documentaries that you can learn a great deal from. Podcasts, audio books, and just plain talkin' to other people (real life, not loll'ing each other to death on Facebook or Twitter).

    If you are turly learning for your "own personal enrichment and to satisfy a thirst for learning" why would you need any form of external motivation/validation? Who cares what some crusty old prof thinks about my ideas, they are mine. Why would you care about a piece of sheepskin with fancy writing on it? Why subject yourself to the subjective judgement of people who are not your friends? For a letter grade?

    My .02 cents. (Keep the change)
     
  8. perrymk

    perrymk Member

    I understand your point and agree to a degree (no pun intended). However, if one does not know about the subject and wished to learn from an authoritative, hopefully reliable source in a structured manner, then taking a class and pursuing a degree or certificate might be an option.

    I earned a graduate certificate through distance learning for largely this reason. The field of study was peripherally related to my job, which happens to interest me (lucky me!). Since taking the classes I have pursued more individual study through books and even took one onsite weeklong class.
     
  9. mdwolfsong

    mdwolfsong New Member

    I agree with you. My husband is a linguist from Europe and he has a different concept of why a person would get a grad degree; it is more in alignment with your concept. He has always dreamed of completing a doctoral degree, but he doesn't want it for career purposes. He wants to do a PhD in the Classics. He always says it is something he will take on when he is in his 40's or 50's for his own enjoyment, but he doesn't think of it as adding to his daily bread and butter.
     
  10. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    I am right there with you. I have considered a history degree just for the pure interest. Anything I learn moving forward would be for fun and enjoyment. I no longer have any plans of earning any degrees/certificates that are work related.
     
  11. UnixGuy

    UnixGuy New Member

    I would, I love philosophy, and I've read many books philosophy related, one day I'm gonna do BA in Philosophy if I find the right program :) Who knows, it might add to my career somehow, but that's not the goal.
     
  12. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    It all depends on whether you enjoy learning and writing. If you don't enjoy it, then you will probably just get a degree to meet your financial needs and stop there; nothing wrong with that. If you love to learn, then you would get a degree for curiosity. I'm in the second group.
     
  13. cdhale

    cdhale Member

    I have some time. I get the benefit of the Hazlewood Act (a veteran's benefit with free tuition/fees in Texas). I love History. I am working on the MA in History from Sam Houston, just because I want to. I am finishing up my first class this semester. Already signed up for the second one next semester.
     
  14. bazonkers

    bazonkers New Member

    I'm finishing up a MA in History at AMU for fun. I'd like to use my degree to teach online sometime in the future since I'll have it, however, it wasn't the driving reason behind why I chose to pursue this degree.
     
  15. ryoder

    ryoder New Member

    AMU does have many interesting degree programs. A masters in Space Studies sounds cool. Or how about a certificate in Air Warfare? Kick ass :)
    I know if I had no job and could stay at home and qualify for the government to pay my bills with other people's money, I would consider taking on some of these degrees.
    But then again, they are only 10K per masters degree so its a pretty good value even if I spent my own money to pursue them.
     
  16. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    Today I started to seriously think about whether or not my next language should be Swahili, Russian or Arabic (and which of the zillions of Arabic dialects I should chose :saeek:). Lately, too, I've been considering joining memory athletic competition, honing my mental mathematics skills, borrowing a big-honking-huge world history text book from the library, tinkering with different meters in my poetry, finally fixing my geography deficiency, reading great works of literature (or just finishing my current overdue novel from the library), going through MIT's Linguistics opencourseware, taking up calligraphy and learning to play the harmonica. This of course, while I anxiously await being able to restart an Itunes U course on Game Theory because I seriously don't have the time to do it while I'm stuck finishing this degree that is holding me back from doing everything else that I want to study out of curiosity.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 14, 2011
  17. UnixGuy

    UnixGuy New Member


    You have to start with formal 'Arabic' (the one that's used in text books), but for accents, I think there's no official way to learn it, it's best learned when you live in Arabic speaking country (like me)
     
  18. UnixGuy

    UnixGuy New Member

    I agree. Some people get degrees and certifications just to collect them, this is wrong and a waste. But for if it's just a desire for learning, then I'd go for it
     
  19. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    We had a member here awhile ago who had something like 18 degrees, all regionally accredited, from the Bachelor's, Master's, professional (J.D.) and doctoral levels. Quite an accomplishment, but it also landed him in some hot water over student loans (no surprise).

    All my degrees serve (or will serve) a purpose, and if something interests me on a personal level, I'm reminded of the saying in one of the BG books...."You can get a world class education from a shelf of books 12 feet long".

    I'm fascinated by military history, so I read books and watch the Military History Channel. I don't need a degree to validate what I can learn on my own.
     
  20. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    If Arabic is what I choose, then I would definitely start with Modern Standard Arabic, and once I started finding myself understanding Al Jazeera, I would branch off and work on Egyptian Arabic, since all sources say that it is the most widely understood dialect. If I decide on Arabic, I may have to just make it my final language (group) and learn a couple of the dialects instead of learning yet another language. It would be a lifetime effort, but one that would be worth it for the cognitive and character-building benefits even if I never speak a word of it to anyone else.
     

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