dharma realm

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by EllisZ, Jan 23, 2002.

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  1. EllisZ

    EllisZ Member

    I've noticed Dharma Realm Buddhist Association mentioned here a few times in the past few days. I know little about this institution.

    I've checked their web-page, however I cannot find where they talk about distance programs vs. their on-Sangha programs.

    Just to satisfy my curiousity ... does anyone know what programs they have that are available by distance?
     
  2. Tom Head

    Tom Head New Member

    I believe they offered M.A. programs in Buddhist studies and Buddhist translation studies.


    Cheers,

    ------------------
    Tom Head
    www.tomhead.net

    co-author, Bears' Guide to the Best Education Degrees by Distance Learning (Ten Speed Press)
    co-author, Get Your IT Degree and Get Ahead (Osborne/McGraw-Hill)
     
  3. EllisZ

    EllisZ Member

    Tom,

    Hi! I saw both of those programs on their web-site, but there is no mention that they are offered by distance.

    I guess I'll try to e-mail them in the next day or so and see what they have. (Just a curiousity at this point.)

    Take care,
    Ellis
     
  4. BillDayson

    BillDayson New Member

    That was me that mentioned it.

    It doesn't offer any distance education degrees that I'm aware of. I just used it as an example of a CA-approved university that I like and which seems to have some credibility, at least in a certain religious community where its degrees may have some use. I consider it to be kind of a reverse Bob Jones, doing much the same thing from the opposite direction.

    I have also mentioned the SF Law School in the same context, as a CA-approved school that has earned some credibility through the success of its graduates, and which serves a function in preparing students for the CA bar exam. But it doesn't offer any DL programs either, that I know of.

    My point in raising these examples was to rebut the suggestion that non-accredited schools are uniformly worthless and that it is always a mistake to enroll in one. But I also wanted to suggest that if a program doesn't have the wider recognition afforded by accreditation, it will probably be most successful if it either serves a community that's predisposed to accept its degrees (such as a religious community: Dharma Realm), or has some other means of demonstrating its legitimacy (such as success on the bar exam: SF Law).

    Bottom line is that I think that the non-accredited question is more subtle than a simple "yes-no" answer can capture. There are nuances. Nevertheless, they are probably poor choices for most students and need to be treated with great caution.

    By the way, if you are interested in CA-approved Buddhist studies, the Institute of Buddhist Studies in Mountain View is pretty cool. They are Japanese Shin rather than Chinese Cha'an, and are CA-approved to offer their own masters degrees, but I believe that this program of theirs is no longer active. More recently they have joined the Graduate Theological Union family, and now offer courses towards RA GTU MA's in Buddhist Studies. Their courses are listed on the GTU on-line course catalog. Unfortunately, they don't offer any DL programs either.

    But they do illustrate another non-traditional path that a non-accredited school can take towards demonstrating its legitimacy: teaming with an RA school (in this case a rather prestigious one) that actually grants the degree. This is the way that Trinity College and Seminary should have done it. GTU doesn't "accredit" the Institute of Buddhist Studies, it actually grants the degrees. And WASC oversees the whole arrangement. In this case, I'm not even sure if you should call IBS a CA-approved school any longer.

    Outside LA, the huge and ornate Hsi Lai temple (famous for Al Gore's fundraising embarrasment) runs the CA-approved Hsi Lai University. It's pretty well funded with Taiwanese money and has its own little campus and everything. I am not very well acquainted with it, but friends have told me that its courses are pretty decent. They draw faculty from surrounding RA schools. No DL at the present time, though.

    Finally, if one simply must have a CA-approved DL doctorate in a Buddhist subject, check out the CA-approved San Diego University for Integrative Studies. They offer a Ph.D. in transpersonal psychology with a Tibetan Buddhist psychology emphasis. Not something that you see every day. I'm not really sure how credible it is though, and wouldn't really recommend it to anyone except those studying only for their own avocational benefit. (Like me.)
    . http://www.sduis.edu
     
  5. Tom Head

    Tom Head New Member

    I looked at it a year or two ago, back when I thought I might end up doing a book on DL religion degrees; it was called the Dharma Realm Buddhist Academy at the time, and I'm thinking the two programs were both advertised as correspondence programs, but it's possible I misunderstood. Wishful thinking, possibly, since a correspondence-based M.A. in Buddhist translation studies would be a happy thing indeed.


    Cheers,

    ------------------
    Tom Head
    www.tomhead.net

    co-author, Bears' Guide to the Best Education Degrees by Distance Learning (Ten Speed Press)
    co-author, Get Your IT Degree and Get Ahead (Osborne/McGraw-Hill)
     
  6. BillDayson

    BillDayson New Member

    I was just looking at Hsi Lai University's website, and I have to admit that I'm impressed by their religious studies faculty. Not only is it not half bad, it's actually good.
    .
    http://www.hlu.edu/faculty_rel.htm

    A CA-approved degree may not be everyone's cup of tea, but if you don't need the credential and are just looking for some education, I can think of worse places to study.
     

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