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

Not in mine.

When you're a traditional grad student, you're teaching classes, doing research under professors' supervision, attending colloquia, and lots more, all of which contribute to your future candidacy within academia. Nine days, all of which will be focused on your learning, is a drop in the bucket and really inconsequential regarding this question.

This has nothing to do with Regent in particular, but rather in nontraditional approaches to the doctorate in general.

I did this twice and in neither instance did I ever feel a part of the university writ large. But, again, your mileage may vary.

 

I have not done a doctorate but as most folks on the forum, I have done a couple of degree programs via distance learning.

In one program, it was 100% asynchronous and was essentially self taught with the direction of the Professor for the course material. I enjoyed the program and it helped me achieve what I hoped it would.

In my 2nd program, it was some asynchronous recorded lectures by the professors with live session courses every Saturday. There was a ton of team projects and overall, the cohort communicated on a daily basis with one another whether it be about school work, professional work, or fun things such as basketball, football, vacations, etc.

From my 1st program, I stay in touch with three people. From this 2nd program, we have developed deeper relationships and I have no doubt that we will be communicating often and with most folks.

So, in essence, distance learning will not provide the 100% similar experience as on-campus and in-person. However, universities and individual programs can certainly decide how much they want their distance learning students to feel apart of the school/university as a whole and therefore, if Regent does that…then pursue it.

I do recommend attending a program that fits your budget but also fits your needs and desires.

 

Thank you all for your pieces of advice. I certainly believed that on-campus experience is always different from online but on the practical side of things, it’s an opportunity for professionals to further their education without jeopardizing their careers/jobs. Hopefully, I’m making the right decision lol