The value of an Ed.D. degree, as told by a Wall Street consultant

https://fortune.com/education/articles/the-value-of-an-ed-d-degree-as-told-by-a-wall-street-consultant/

"You can’t teach at the university level without a doctorate. You can’t become a tenure track professor—a lecturer or whatnot—without a doctorate."

Total bs.

 

I wonder if this was just a misstatement on behalf of the interviewee. At first she said "You can’t teach at the university level without a doctorate." which is obviously incorrect, but the second part - while muddled - has some validity. "You can’t become a tenure track professor without a doctorate" is accurate. There are few or no TT-faculty without a doctorate. Those that are, have some pre-existing connection to the school and are required to earn the doctorate to get tenure.

I've usually heard Lecturer as a non-TT position, and only Assistant Professor as the first rank on the way to tenure.

 

This is accurate from what I have seen, at least at 4 year institutions. I have not seen community colleges offering tenure but I am also not fully immersed in the academic side of things yet.

 

I appreciate that she:
1. Mentioned her Mentor.
2. Stated her mentor gave her advice, including the thought - She would be affiliated with the University. I would think the potential doctoral student would give due consideration to which institution they'd be affiliated with.
3. Stated that "No one does leadership better than the military.
4. [Though, she did not use the term network] Stated there was value in having executive agency employees and military officers in her cohort.

 

That is also not true. While a doctorate might be a preferred qualification, it is not always required for TT positions at the university level. Here are just a few current CJ examples:

https://www.higheredjobs.com/faculty/details.cfm?JobCode=178174113&Title=Criminal%20Justice%20Faculty%20Member
https://www.higheredjobs.com/faculty/details.cfm?JobCode=178231521&Title=Assistant%20Professor%20%2D%20Criminal%20Justice
https://www.higheredjobs.com/faculty/details.cfm?JobCode=178217138&Title=Assistant%20or%20Associate%20Professor%20of%20Criminal%20Justice
https://www.higheredjobs.com/faculty/details.cfm?JobCode=178132056&Title=Assistant%20Professor%20of%20Criminal%20Justice
https://www.higheredjobs.com/faculty/details.cfm?JobCode=178193916&Title=Open%20Rank%20Professor%20of%20Criminal%20Justice%20and%20Sociology
https://www.higheredjobs.com/faculty/details.cfm?JobCode=178218878&Title=Criminal%20Justice%20Assistant%20or%20Associate%20Professor%20%28Clinical%20or%20Tenure%20Track%29

 

Tenure is very common at community colleges.

A tenure-track job with a Masters
"The most straight-forward advantage of working for a Community College (CC) is that you can get a full-time, tenure-track job, with all the benefits therein, with just a Master’s degree."
https://www.interfolio.com/resources/blog/top-benefits-teaching-community-college/

Who Are Community College Faculty?
"Among the 1,828 community college faculty who responded to our survey, a large majority (84%) are tenured or on the tenure track, with only 16% reporting they have ongoing or temporary/fixed-term appointments; 63% work full time. However, it's important to note that in this area our sample is not representative of the general community college faculty population."
https://www.educause.edu/ecar/research-publications/ecar-study-of-community-college-faculty-and-information-technology/2020/who-are-community-college-faculty

 

Today I learned! Thanks for the info.

 

The best example of a doctorate not being required that I can think of is architecture. For architecture/design/landscape architecture faculty, the masters degree is the typical requirement, though you will find a lot of faculty with tenure in top universities with only a BArch.

USC, widely considered one of the top 10 or so architecture schools in the US, has around 150 faculty members in their architecture school, including textured/tenure track faculty and adjuncts/instructors. Per my count, 24 of them have a doctorate: https://arch.usc.edu/people

 

My take: Doctorates are harder to earn in some fields than others. Architecture must be relatively tough - and the numbers reflect it. I like that.

 

Another possibility is that architecture is an applied field where a doctorate would not normally be functional. This used to be true in Fine Arts (where the MFA was a terminal degree) and, earlier, business. But the advent of professional doctorates have changed things somewhat. But my expertise in this aspect of education isn't exactly strong, so I might be off base.

 

deleted - J.

 

Mmm - it's a persuasive argument, Rich. But there have long been PhD's (Engineering) and Doctorates of Engineering - in many countries, including China, S. Korea, France and "doctorally strict" Germany, so - I'm thinking it's something else rather than the "applied" nature of Architecture, here..

Wiki: "A DEng/EngD is equivalent to a PhD in engineering, but different in that it has a solid industrial base and an additional taught element. The degree is usually aimed toward working professionals.

Wiki: The DEng/EngD along with the PhD represents the highest academic qualification in engineering, and the successful completion of either in engineering is generally required to gain employment as a full-time, tenure-track university professor or postdoctoral researcher in the field. However, due to its nature, a DEng/EngD graduate might be more suitable for the Professor of Practice position. Individuals can use the academic title doctor, which is often represented via the English honorific "Dr”.

DEng/EngD candidates submit a significant project, typically referred to as a thesis or praxis, consisting of a body of applied and practical methods/products with the main goal of solving complex industrial problems. Candidates must defend this work before a panel of expert examiners called a thesis or dissertation committee."

Whole thing, including other countries, here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_of_Engineering#:

 

I first heard of a "Dr. Ing." when I was about seven. A certain "Dr. Ing." had contributed to the Meccano Magazine I was reading. I thought "Ing" was part of his name -- but he didn't look Chinese in the pic. So I asked my Dad. He told me what it meant. IIRC, that Doctor of Engineering's name was of German origin and he was living in South America - Argentina, I think. Many Germans there, long before WW2 and at seven, I read nothing suspicious into that fact, anyway -even though it was 1950.

 

Agreed. As for the program I am presently completing, each class (there are approximately twelve) requires 2500 pp. of assigned reading, about 50 pp. of written assignments, and a week-long seminar from 8-5 PM. Then there is either a dissertation or research project.

 

Good luck Michael!