Northeastern University's EdD

Your situation with the Ed.D. appears to be the rule, rather than the exeception. Arizona State, Utah State, BYU and others have also converted Ed.D. degrees to Ph.D.s without a change in the curriculum. I completed most of the coursework towards a Ph.D. at one institution and received a job transfer to another state, where I completed an Ed.D. (the university did not award a Ph.D. in my field). The dissertation requirements were the same at both institutions. Over the years, I have collected viturally every published study comparing the Ed.D. to the Ph.D. in education and no one has been able to identify significant differences between the two.

 

Ed.D.s are available in many areas and are, in the vast majority of cases, identical to the Ph.D. in education. The number of professors at research institutions with Ed.D.s debunks the myth that one degree prepares practitioners, while the other prepares scholars. That it the way it should be; however, if you examine the courses required, the research sequence and the dissertation requirements, it is hard to find much of a difference. At least studies to date have not found any (other than peoples' perceptions/opinions regarding the two degrees). In this way, it is much like the DL vs. face-to-face debate. People are unaware of (or ignore) the research and continue with their opinions.

 

The University's online portal is named NEU, check it out here:

http://myneu.neu.edu/cp/home/displaylogin

 

A couple of questions

A couple of questions, any answers are greatly appreciated.

I've been working as an executive dirctor for information technology at a small (~2k students) private residential University for the past 5 years. I have a BS in Computer Science and a MBA. I'm interested in pursuing an EdD to further increase my carear opportunities. The program at Northeastern looks very promising. I recently applied to the EdD program an Lincoln-Nebrask and wasn't accepted.

1) Does anyone have a sense as to what the major decision factors are for the admissions decision at Northeastern? I see they don't require GRE scores.

2) As near as I can tell the tuition is $485/credit hour. Does this seem accurate? No fees on top of that?

3) Any tips for boosting my chances of being admitted? I have recommendation letters being submitted by a former Finance professor, the dean of our school of education, and by my supervisor (Provost).

Any answers, are again appreciated.

Thanks!

 

A couple of questions

Anyone able/willing to answer some/all of the questions would be greatly appreciated.

I've been working at a small (~2k students) private University for 10 years, 5 years as the executive director for IT. I'd like to pursue an Edd for career advancement opportunities. I have a BS in Computer Science and a MBA.

Northeastern's program looks solid, and I've begun the application process.

A couple of questions:

1) Does anyone know what criteria are most important for admission? I see they don't require GRE scores. Is it primarily one's experience/education? Letters of reference (I have letters beings submitted from a former MBA professor, Dean of our School of Education, and the Provost who is my supervisor)? Anything else?

2) As near as I can tell the cost is $485/credit hour. Is this accurate? Any other fees?

3) Any other advice for getting accepted to this program?

Thanks, all thoughts/comments are welcome.

 

That's just because the NU.edu address has long since been claimed by another school.

 

Just got accepted into this degree program today and I am so excited. I will start on July. 6th, 2010.

 

Congratulations! Get ready to work yourself silly...and like it!

 

I almost went with a DBA program and I'm wondering about the true differences. Is it true that the dissertation for an EDD or DBA focuses on secondary research and the dissertation for a PhD focuses on primary research? Does that vary by the university offering the program?

 

From what I understand, the most important criteria considered for admission is the amount of time you have worked in the education field, your LOR's (one being from your current employer) and your statement of purpose letter.

The only other fees are the cost of your textbooks and the travel and living expenses for the two required residencies in Boston.

Hope this helps.

 

Thanks, I have been waiting a long time to get admitted to this program and am so ready to work hard.

 

Congratulations! When you go to the graduation ceremony you should plan to stay long enough to take in a Red Sox game. If you can't get tickets (a perrenial problem) there's a million things to do in that city. Here's something I once posted about Boston. It's essential learning for that city.

Welcome to Bawstin! ( Boston )

For those of you who have never been to "Bawstin", this is a good guideline. I hope you will consider coming to "Beantown" in the near future. For those who call New England home, this is just plain great!
Information on Boston and the surrounding area:

There's no school on School Street , no court on Court Street, no dock on Dock Square , no water on Water Street . Back Bay streets are in alphabetical "oddah": Arlington , Berkeley , Clarendon, Dartmouth , etc. So are South Boston streets: A, B, C, D, etc. If the streets are named after trees ( e.g. Walnut, Chestnut, Cedar), you're on Beacon Hill . If they're named after poets, you're in Wellesley .
Massachusetts Ave is Mass Ave ; Commonwealth Ave is Comm Ave ; South Boston is Southie. The South End is the South End. Don't get em mixed up.
East Boston is Eastie. The North End is east of the former West End . The West End and Scollay Square are no more; a guy named Rappaport got rid of them one night. Roxbury is The Burry, Jamaica Plain is J.P.

How to say these Massachusetts city names correctly:?
**Say it wrong, be shunned**
Worcester : Wuhsta (or Wistah)
Gloucester : Glawsta
Leicester Lesta
Woburn : Wooban
Dedham : Dead-um
Revere : Re-vee-ah
Quincy : Quinzee
Tewksbury : Tooks berry
Leominster : Lemin-sta?
Peabody : Pee-ba-dee
Waltham : Walth-ham
Chatham : Chaddum
Samoset: Sam-oh-set or Sum-aw-set but nevah Summerset!
Definitions:
Frappes have ice cream, milkshakes don't.
If it is fizzy and flavored, it's tonic.
Soda is CLUB SODA.
"Pop" is Dad.
When we want Tonic WATER, we will ask for Tonic WATER.
The smallest beer is a pint.
Scrod is whatever they tell you it is, usually fish. If you paid more than $6 per pound, you got scrod.
It's not a water fountain; it's a bubblah.
It's not a trashcan; it's a barrel.
It's not a spucky, a hero or grinder,... it's a sub.
It's not a shopping cart; it's a carriage.
It's not a purse; it's a pockabook.
They're not franks; they're haht dahgs; Franks are money in Switzahland.

Police don't drive patrol units or black and whites they drive a "crooza". If you take the bus, your on the "looza crooza". It's not a rubber band, it's an elastic. It's not a traffic circle, it's a rotary. "Going to the islands" means Martha's Vineyard & Nantucket.

The Sox = The Red Sox
The C's = The Celtics
The B's = The Bruins
Things not to do:

Don't pahk your cah in Hahvid Yahd .. they'll tow it to Meffa ( Medford ) or Summahville (Somerville).?
Don't sleep on the Common. ( Boston Common)
Don't wear Orange in Southie on St. Patrick's Day.
?
Things you should know:

There are two State Houses, two City Halls, two courthouses, two Hancock buildings (one old, one new for each).?

The colored lights on top the old Hancock tell the weatha':
"Solid blue, clear view...."
"Flashing blue, clouds due...."
"Solid red, rain ahead...."
"Flashing red, snow instead...." - (except in summer; flashing red means the Red Sox game was rained out)?

Route 128 is also I-95 south. It's also I-93 north.
Most people live here all their life and still don't know what the hell is going on with this one.

The underground train is not a subway. It's the "T", and it doesn't run all night (fah chrysakes, this ain't Noo Yawk).?
Order the "cold tea" in China Town after 2:00 am you'll get a kettle full of beer.

Bostonians.... think that it's their God-given right to cut off someone in traffic.
Bostonians...think that there are only 25 letters in the alphabet
(no R's -except in "idea").
Bostonians...think that three straight days of 90+ temperatures is a heat wave.
Bostonians...refer to six inches of snow as a "dusting."
Bostonians...always "bang a left" as soon as the light turns green, and oncoming traffic always expects it.
Bostonians...believe that using your turn signal is a sign of weakness.
Bostonians...think that 63-degree ocean water is warm.
Bostonians...think Rhode Island accents are annoying.

 

NEU Admissions

1. I am about 3/4 finished with my second semester in the EdD program at Northeastern. My background is not related to education at all. If it wouldn't have been for years as an instructor in the military, and a few years as an online instructor, I wouldn't have even been considered. I had to connect my current education and experience with the EdD using the statement of purpose. I actually had to really sell myself to get in. They even had an admissions rep call me in an attempt to (in my opinion) dissud me from applying because the program didn't seem to be a fit for me. Anyway, they initially told me that I wasn't going to make the cut. But, I went ahead and applied anyway since I had already done all the work. I just waited for my denial letter in the mail. I was pretty surprised to get the acceptance letter. This should be quite a bit easier for you given your background. Your sources for references look good.

2. The costs you listed are correct (with the exception of the two required residencies that NyRican mentioned). You may have noticed that the costs of this program are significantly lower than other programs in the school, which is pretty spectacular if you ask me.

3. Advice: I would definitely quadruple check that statement of purpose.

4. Be ready to work. Also, I really had to learn to start assignments way ahead of time so I could proofread them and check them again before submission. Many of the instructors are from the Boston area, and they went to Boston University and Harvard. Apparently, they just didn't want to leave the area, so it seemst that they all migrated to Northeastern. Anyway, the quality of my work increased substantially, which is a good thing.

5. Start thinking about the area that you want to write your disseration in. The cool thing about Northeastern is that most of the instructors allow you to gear your papers toward subjects that you are interested in. Basically, you will be writing papers that are partially related to the class, but through the lens of whatever area you want to write about (if that makes any sense). My point is that you can basically start working on your dissertation from your first course by gearing your papers toward an area that you want to write your dissertation on. That will also give you exposure to the body of work in your area so you will get better idea of past work and what you could possibly do a dissertation on.

Any more specific questions? I know I had a bunch.

 

These are very helpful tips!

 

I grew up in the NE (NY & NJ) and visited Boston. Few more things to do - see the USS Constitution, waste your day going to Salem for the witches, Quincy Market, see ChinaTown, go to Cheers (if it is still these), and get a MAP!

By the way, I drove a lot in NYC (I was a field service engineer for NYC and the Bronx) and these are univeral and I still swear by them:
... think that it's their God-given right to cut off someone in traffic.
...always "bang a left" as soon as the light turns green, and oncoming traffic always expects it.
...believe that using your turn signal is a sign of weakness.

When we lived in Queens, I used to tell my wife, "You gotta' love NY, it is the only place where the people with the green light can't go because the people with the red light won't let them!" Of course, at the time I said it with a strong accent.

 

Thanks a lot for these tips and guidelines. I agree with Arch23, these are great tips and I think they will really help me out as I get started in the program. I already have an idea of what I will research for the dissertation project and will start to relate this subject right away to my written assignments.

I agree about the Statement of Purpose, it can make or break you when it comes to admission. I revised mine around four times, had lots of people review and critique it and researched this subject on many sites.

The most important thing that I can say about the statement is to keep it completely original and write it in the form of a personal story, after all that is what a personal statement should be all about. Also, for this type of degree program, don't use any type of creative writing tips as it will make your statement sound false.

 

Thanks Kismet, for this wonderful Introduction to Boston. I have never visited this city and am looking forward to attending my first residency there during the summer of 2011. I think all of this inside information will help me to fit in with the Boston Natives.

 

It's a great place. If you can find the time to explore a bit I think you'll build some good memories.

 

Hi All,

I'm very interested in the Ed.D. program, however I'm concerned by the admission requirements. I don't have any teaching experience that they seem to require, do not possess any educational degrees, and my profession couldn't be any further from education.

I have a BS in information systems and an MBA in information systems, both from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. I've been working in the IT field for the past 10 years holding various senior software engineer positions. I'm currently the Chief Technology Officer for a $100m company that has about 60 employees, more than half of which are under my managerial control. I enjoy what I do.

Despite this, a terminal degree has been a long standing goal of mine as I would ultimately prefer to hold a faculty position a bit later in life. My father is an alumnus of Northeastern and holds it in the highest regard, which makes it even more enticing. Do I have a shot at acceptance despite a non-existent background in education?

Best of luck to those of you who are already accepted or in the process of applying. It all starts with a single step.

Cheers,
Brian