Regent U - PhD in Government (online w/residencies) $60K

Searched the board but didn't find any posts about this program: https://www.regent.edu/program/phd-in-government/

A 9 day residency is required each year until you've defended your dissertation proposal.

4 concentrations:

• American Politics
• Comparative Politics
• International Relations
• Policy Analysis

2 recommendations, one should be academic and the other can be clergy or professional. A 5 page writing sample is also required.

$900 per credit hour, estimated to be 67 credit hours ($60,300)

NASPAA-accredited which is nice. This would have been on my short list had I not applied to UC.

 

Yay, residencies! I feel you can do a legitimate doctorate without them--after all, the research is the key. But for DL students, a few residencies help keep you connected to the university, the staff, the faculty, your peers, and to the gestalt of being a doctoral student.

At Leicester, the only time a doctoral student of any type is required to be on campus is for the viva voce (dissertation/thesis defense). But, even though I did my degree from the U.S., I traveled to the campus at Leicester 6 times during the course of my degree.

At Union, we had several residency requirements:

• A 10-day Entry Colloquium. This is where you got together with other entering learners and many faculty members. You learned about person-centered doctoral learning, the degree process, the Learning Agreement, the Project Demonstrating Excellence, etc. You began to flesh out your ideas for research, begun meeting faculty members and peers who might serve on your committee (your choice), and what the rest of your committee would look like.
• 3 5-day seminars held by Union at locations around the globe. You could select them based on topic--whether or not it was directly related to your degree studies--or by location or date or any other criteria. Held monthly, you had quite a few to choose from.
• 10 1-day Peer Days, where learners would get together and do a self-designed and self-led day of learning. It had to be structured and approved by your core faculty advisor.
• Although they weren't "residencies" per se, you had to convene your committee (made up of two core faculty members--one of whom did not attend and who was the quality control for the committee--two adjunct faculty from outside Union who were subject-matter experts in your field, and two peers (Union learners or recent graduates) twice in your program. The first meeting--no earlier than 6 months into the program--was to approve your Learning Agreement. The second--a Pre-Graduation meeting--was to approve the completion of your learning agreement and PDE (dissertation, for most). (The two documents still had to go through the Dean's office for review and revision, and that was daunting.)

Getting a PhD at Union was a laborious, time-consuming process. I'm very proud of just how unique a Union degree was. (Was.)

Now, excuse me, I have to book a few flights to Aukland.

 

Just like McDonalds takes the heat for Burger King, so does Liberty for Regent.

 

I did not know you had started your PhD at UC, Dustin. Congratulations on starting towards a monumental academic achievement!

 

Thanks so much! My first course is in July and I'm very excited. I wouldn't have known about UC (or Eastern, or Quantic!) without this board. I owe you all.

 

Where did you see that? They are a member of NASPAA, but I don't see any accredited program. Furthermore, NASPAA only applies to master's-level programs.

https://www.naspaa.org/membership/list-naspaa-members

 

I wanted the residency experience for all the reasons you mentioned. However, the week I was supposed to attend residency 1 of 3 at Saint Leo University, I was starting my new job as a high school teacher. I knew getting time off in my first week of work would not be feasible. Hence, I deferred to the spring term. I was eager to start my doctoral studies, so I reluctantly applied to Liberty University. The rest is history.

Residencies can be good if you work remotely or don't have a lot of commitment at home. If I were to go to school now while working remotely, I would certainly want to take one or two courses on campus and the rest online.

Let me be nosey. Is this for leisure or education?

I just learned that New Zealand is not a part of the seven continents. My goal is to visit all except Antarctica by the end of 2024. Australia (country and continent) is the last destination on my tentative schedule.

 

My mistake. Saw the logo and jumped to conclusions.

 

Sorta. Depends on who you ask.

For most of my life, Australia was considered a continent. New Zealand was an outlier, and the tiny Pacific nations weren't independent yet. But with the emergence of Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands, Micronesia, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Tuvalu, Papua New Guinea, and Vanuatu (did I get 'em all?), a new continent of Oceania is now often bandied about. These micronations (Papua New Guinea isn't small, but the rest are tiny), combined with Australia and New Zealand, make it up.

So, for example, the part of the island of New Guinea that is in Indonesia is in Asia, while the other half--Papua New Guinea is in Oceania. And so it goes.

 

Yes, it depends on who you ask. Some will say there are five continents, while others will even say four.

 

I’m interested in this program because I have been looking for a PhD in International Relations for a long time. My question Dustin do you think a PhD from Regent will be recognized or legit?

 

Of course. They're an accredited school around for 5 decades. You should be comfortable with the idea of attending a school known on the Christian Right in the US, but I'm not concerned about the quality of the education.

 

If it helps: "Regent University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award associate, baccalaureate, masters, educational specialist, and doctorate degrees."

Says so right here: https://www.regent.edu/academic-degrees/accreditation/#:~:text=Regent%20University%20is%20accredited%20by,educational%20specialist%2C%20and%20doctorate%20degrees.

 

Thank you both. That comfort me because International relations/Government online PhD is rare and I like the idea of the 9 days residency requirement.

 

By whom? That matters.

 

Like in acade

Like in academia or in the professional realm

 

Thanks. My take:

The assertions that Regent is an accredited school with substantive programs is right; no argument there.

The assessment that Regent's strong religious bent might be an issue in some situations is real, but that's a highly personal perspective. Each person will be impacted differently, or not at all.

When it comes to professional pursuits, Regent may have a network of graduates--even informally--that you might be able to tap into. But that would be for those who fully buy into the school's unique ethos. Otherwise, most employers would see that you have a degree from a school they've never heard of. Some will check and find that the school is real and accredited; others will not bother. I doubt many would be put off specifically by Regent's religious philosophy.

Academia raises another set of challenges (in addition to the above), and that has to do with the process of earning a doctorate nontraditionally. When doing so, you're really outside of academia during your studies. I think this will hinder--not prevent--your opportunities to gain a traditional academic position. But, as another poster (Chris) has clearly and repeatedly shown, it can be, and is, done. The bottom line to that is if a school wants you, this degree probably won't hold you back.

 

Thank you. Since it’s a new program we have to wait to have a better insight of the content but I really like the idea of a 9 days residency which in my view is very substantial for networking and for Students-Professors relationship. Will apply and see and hopefully it will be a good experience.

Thanks again!