help me decide something...

I'd take the extra 6 credits to round out 18. Do they have to be from your current school? Who has say a 9 credit certificate you work on while you collect the needed 6?

 

The advantage of using my current school is that it would be on the same transcript, I'm already enrolled (no paperwork), and future verifications would require 1 piece of paper instead of two. I also don't know of another school offering a cert, but it doesn't matter, I'm not really feeling that option.

 

My take is that if you have the 18 hours, don't worry about the prefix, but address the issue in the cover letter in a positive light.

Shawn

 

So you think I do have an issue?? Quick question then, for those of you with master's degrees, were all your courses taught from 1 division/department? Even stats/research?

 

All of my courses were taught from one department, but I only took research methods. Statistics wasn't required or even offered in my master's program. However, the department's intelligence program requires statistics, and that has the same prefix as every other course in the program. I took a graduate level statistics course out of the CJ department to prepare myself for the doctoral program, so that has the same prefix as every other course in the department.

 

Jennifer! I wish I could offer advice, but you'll have to settle for congratulations instead! Good luck!

 

I spent hours and hours and hours today pouring over college job postings. I read every job description from roughly 45 colleges/universities/career colleges today. RA and NA, associate and bachelor, transfer vs applied tech, for profit and not for profit, public and private, CC and Unis; all in North and South Carolina. My conclusion? There is discretion given to the school about instructor credentials. I found no patterns. Masters w/ 18 IN the subject, masters in subject, and masters in related subject + 18 were all inconsistently as likely to be required.
Like the other day, I couldn't find anything on the SACS site either. If there are hard and fast rules, I can't figure them out.

 

Thanks Steve!

 

Again you misunderstand. In order to apply for a professorship, you need EITHER a doctorate in the subject you wish to teach OR a master's in the subject you wish to teach OR a master's with concentration (18 hrs.) in the subject you wish to teach. Having just 18 loose credits isn't going to cut it.

 

There is an old thread (which I just gave the bumpity) entitled "CSUDH MA in Humanities and Teaching" that is essentially a cautionary tale with regards to course prefixes and the 18 hr. rule.

 

Obviously there are gate-keepers who misunderstand the 18-hr. rule because the regs say master's with concentration (18 hrs.), not 18 loose credits.

 

Steve already explained it. These are guidelines, not rules. Schools can and often do justify that a person is qualified to teach a subject. Take photography, for example. How many people have degrees in photography or courses with photography prefixes? This is a case where someone with the proper professional background and a general art degree can be hired.

None of my security studies professors had an issue with prefixes. A doctoral degree and even a master's degree in security studies are extremely rare. Additionally, those with sociology degrees have no problem with teaching criminal justice courses without one graduate credit in criminal justice or criminology.

 

All of the credits in my masters degree (public management) were from the same department and had the same prefix. My wife is earning a MS in Health Science from the same institution's school of health and rehabilitation sciences. Her degree has included courses on related topics from the schools of nursing and public health.

 

Can you elucidate on the highlighted? What type of security are you referring to? Would you reference your source?

Thanks.

 

Security studies, national security, and international security are sub-fields of international relations. There are not many of these standalone programs. They are usual concentrations in political science programs.

 

Quick -thanks! So more on the political security, not physical or IT.

 

Yep, they just study the causes of terrorism and war and explore the various theories behind the approaches to diplomacy and international relations. These aren't applied fields like criminal justice and homeland security and have very little to do with IT security.