Nova Southeastern University Delivery Method?

You got that right!

 

SECONDED!!

This program has shot up to number 1 in terms of tech doctoral programs for me (although, there is a social science PhD that I am considering as well). I figure that I have about 4 years before I apply for the program, so now it is just a process of making myself as attractive a candidate as possible.

 

That's probably about the same time frame for me too...see you in class

-Mark

 

If Columbia is your dream then don't let the GRE deter you. If it's required, study your ass off for it a d get the score you need. Worst case, you don't get the score you need for Columbia and you go with your backup. You're only out $250. We miss 100% of the shots we don't take, nothing ventured nothing gained and all that jazz.

 

^^^ I've actually heard that GRE is one of the least considered aspects of an application. As long as you don't completely bomb it, other parts of your application can always compensate for a less-than-stellar GRE score.

I scheduled a GRE for the last Friday in July because after August 1 they're changing the test completely...I figured why not give it a shot when we know so much about this current test. It was only $160, though...if it was $250 I doubt I would have gone.

-Mark

 

That's not true. The program is a short-residency program. You have to attend four quarterly clusters per year that are held in Lauderdale over extended weekends.

Here's the info about the program.

I am an alumnus.

 

The program at Columbia University requires GRE exam just as the same as Master program admission. The residency requires for defense your compressive exam and dissertation.

I'll try to take the GRE exam, otherwise Nova is my backup.

 

TEKMAN,

The GRE will open a lot more doors for you anyway. It's nothing to be afraid of...high school algebra, some vocabulary, reading & an essay. If you think about it, people who want to go to grad school for things like art history or Eastern European Literature/Languages have to take the same GRE...so seeing as how you come from a technical background, you'll be fine. It's worth taking for Columbia, for sure.

So there's no required meeting with your adviser on campus? Just the dissertation defense and comprehensive exam? Sounds excellent to me.

-Mark

 

Mark,

Oh, Verbal section is my weakness. I am not too worry about the math portion.

 

Ike,

Would you share your thoughts about the program? I'd be very interested in hearing what you liked/disliked about it.

-Mark

 

For an engineering program, your math score is going to be considered much more than your verbal score. I've seen people on different forums getting into Stanford MS programs with perfect quantitative scores and less-than-stellar verbal scores (in the 600s).

-Mark

 

Mark,

Here is information about the admission.

"APPLYING FOR ADMISSION TO AN MS, PD, or DOCTORAL PROGRAM

CVN - Columbia Video Network

Prospective students interested in earning the MS, PD, or Doctoral
degree from Columbia are required to complete the Columbia University
application package.

CVN students are eligible to transfer up to a maximum of six credits
earned from an external institution prior to enrolling at Columbia. This
transfer credit request must be made during the degree application
process.

All MS applicants must take the GRE general exam. The GRE general exam
is required of all masters and doctoral applicants. GRE scores are
valid for five years. See GRE for more details.

The TOEFL exam is required of all applicants who have earned an
undergraduate degree in a country where English is not the official and
spoken language. TOEFL scores are valid for two years. Visit
TOEFL: Home for more details.

Information on the GRE and TOEFL exams is available from Educational
Testing Services at www.ets.org."

 

I wonder if those 6 credits that can be transferred in are on top of the 30 credits from the Masters that are transferred in when applying for the doctorate.

 

The SCIS program may not be the best program out there but it is definitely good. SCIS professors partake actively in the type scholarly activities that one often sees in a traditional university. The professors are required to conduct research and publish their studies in peer-reviewed journals. Professors at online universities hardly engage in any kind of scholarly activity. This is not the case with Nova SCIS. Also, one thing that I want to point out is that Nova Southeastern University is for the most part a traditional university that offers distance education. Majority of the students are on-campus students. Some NSU schools don’t offer distance education. Examples of programs that don’t offer distance education include Pharm.D, JD, OD, DMD, DO, Psy.D/PhD in Psychology, etc. These are fulltime campus-based programs.

The program takes between four and ten years to complete. Completing the course work is not a big deal. Most students complete the course work in 24 months. However, working on the dissertation can be a nightmare, especially if you have an unresponsive advisor or an advisor who doesn’t explicitly tell you what he or she wants. Although no face-to-face is required when you are working on your dissertation, you might have to visit Fort Lauderdale at least once to have face-to-face meeting you’re your dissertation chair. I did it because I chose to do it. This is completely different from the mandatory face-to-face meeting that is required when you are still taking doctoral courses. When I was at SCIS, dissertation defense was not mandatory for all students. Only a few students were invited for defense. It has changed and I believe that it takes place in Fort Lauderdale.

My dissertation chair, who is now an emeritus professor, is a very good man but he made sure that I labored very hard for my dissertation. I was able to complete my dissertation in about 30 months. Most of the professors will guide you on how to create one or two publications from your dissertation.

Overall, my experience at Nova SCIS was a good one. My Ph.D. has served me well and it is still serving me well. However, when I chose the program, there was no other program out there that could work for me. Today, there are better programs. Examples include the following:

1. Columbia University (You already know about this). When I chose Nova, the highest degree that was offered by Columbia Video network was (Professional Degree or P.D. Today, the highest degree from CVN is Doctor of Engineering Science. This will be a very good choice but it is very expensive.

2. New Jersey Institute of Technology (Co-operative Education)
NJIT: Career Development Services: Co-Op
NJIT: Co-op Registration (this Web form shows that PhD is an option)

3. Stevens Institute of Technology (Web Campus)
Stevens WebCampus | Register Now for Summer Session!
http://www.stevens.edu/sit/graduate/enroll/upload/Graduate_Enrollment.pdf (this form shows that PhD is an option)

Like Nova Southeastern University, the above programs are short-residency programs. I don’t know what their residency requirements are but obtaining a computer science doctoral degree from these schools through short-residence will be amazingly awesome.

The only thing that I don't like about the program is that it is ranked very high. However, it is ranked higher than many of the online colleges that are often mentioned here. It is not in the same league with many online schools.

 

Dr. Okonkwo,

Thanks you for your input about the programs. I think the price tag between Columbia and Nova Southeastern are the same...'cause Nova requires 64 credits vs 42 credits at Columbia. Besides, Nova requires 4 travels per year (travel expenses). It is possible the program at Nova costs more...

Columbia: $4,500.00 per course x 14 = $63,000.00 plus travel for dissertation defense
Nova: $3,300.00 per course x 16 = $52,800.00 plus travels (4 per year) and fees

 

Ike,

Thank you so much for all of the information. I found it to be very helpful. It looks like a lot of great programs are being developed and in a few years we could have even more options to choose from. Congratulations on your PhD and thanks again for the info.

-Mark

 

Mark and All,

I just found out more detail about the program at Columbia University. The information that I posted on the other day was might not accurate because I got from someone at the CVN, but not the advisor. I spoke with AL (Academic Advisor), which I was transferred today. We chatted about 30 minutes about the Doctorate program.

He stated that most of the students admitted to the Doctorate program through Professional Degree. Which the Professional Degree does not require GRE exam scores. Once you complete the Professional Degree, you might petition into the Doctorate route. This is much easier for most of students because the School department do not admit the prospective students into the program without primary faculty approval. So, it is extremely hard to develop the relationship with a particular faculty without taking any courses with him.

So, here is the specification of the credits to Doctorate degree, which are 62 credits above the Baccalaureate:

Master: 30 credits
Professional: 30 credits
Researches: 12 credits
-----------------------
Doctorate: 62 credits
So, technically...if you decide not go for the Doctorate route later, you can opt out with a Professional Degree.
Residences: The residence for researches depend on the Department and Faculty Advisor, but not the entire 12 credits researches require to be on campus.
In my own opinion, that is great because I can have a feel that the program is not entirely distance learning.

For the costs, I have made a little comparison between Nova Southeastern and Columbia: It is almost the same.
If you do not want to go with the Professional Degree route, you have to submit GRE scores. Besides, that you have to contact one of the Faculty Advisor from the departmental recommendation list. Then you have to introduce yourself to the point that you win him/her into your side for the recommendation/approval.

Columbia: $4,500.00 per course x 14 = $63,000.00 plus travel for dissertation defense
Nova: $3,300.00 per course x 16 = $52,800.00 plus travels (4 per year) and fees
Comparison Programs:
Columbia University:
Pro: School Reputation, Computer Science with specific specialization, Video lectures
Con: Doctor of Engineering Science (Professional Doctorate)

Nova Southeastern University:
Pro: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) (Academia degree)
Con: Computer Science program is too general, Delivery method via WebCT with too much useless discussion

 

Tekman, is the Columbia degree programming-specific? Will there be many courses and/or focus on programming or is it more CS theory based? thanks.

 

You can focus on specific area in the program Columbia. For example, Computer Science requires 9 credits...and the rest from specific area such as software programming.

Frankly I like Columbia over NSU because of video lectures. No matter how you read, but still need lectures.

 

TEKMAN,

Awesome information! So if you're in the P.D. program & at the end of it decide to apply to the doctoral program, will *all* of your P.D. credits transfer in? Or will they only accept a certain amount? So it sounds to me like the P.D. is something of a shortcut into the doctoral program. This definitely sounds interesting.

-Mark