PhD Public Health, Walden University

I am currently enrolled at Walden University, PhD Public Health,specialization in epidemiology. I have my BSN (1993) and MSN (2001) from your traditional university. I know Walden University is a RA school but lack CEPH at the current time. I am worried that my PhD is going to be worthless in the long run ( after 3 years and lots of student loans)

Any help????
Michelle

 

Alot depends upon what you base "worth".

That Walden degree is an RA PhD. Sure, some people will look down their nose at it because it is a DL degree. Far more people won't know or care that it's a DL degree.

Some employers will prefer it be nationally/professionally accredited -- others won't care or know the difference.

Worthless? nah... Equal in prestige to a Johns-Hopkins DPH, nope. It is what it is.

 

I think Walden's lack of Professional Accreditation will hurt you, as with Walden's overall low reputation. I'm curious why you chose Walden. Did you know you were getting a PhD in a school whose program is not professionally accredited ? I'm not trying to be nasty - I'm interested in how these decisions get made and whether students entering professional programs are aware beforehand of the accreditation issue.

 

Re: Re: PhD Public Health, Walden University

Kalos - I'd love to hear why you think Walden has a low reputation. That's actually opposite of everything I've heard.

Is it because Walden provides DL education that you think they have a low reputation?

 

Michelle,

Coach Turner has already covered this, but the "worth" of the Walden PhD is relative.
The PhD program at Walden (or any other DL program) will be measured by some to be "unworthy" while others will not care that the program is DL as long as it is accredited. If your area of study requires accreditation by CEPH to make the PhD 'worthy' than perhaps a CEPH accredited degree is what you need.

What it boils down to is what will you be using the PhD for when complete? Does you the field of Public Health require CEPH accreditation or licensure?

Doing a quick study of the Walden Public Health PhD program finds some very strong names as faculty (Talmage Holmes, PhD for one). That is always a good sign. A quick search on the internet finds PhD graduates of Walden's Public Health program employeed at universities across the country, including schools in Maryland, New York and Texas.

As an example, for my PhD in Technology Management, I chose NCU because I do not plan to move into education as a full-time professor, but want to use my PhD for consulting work. For me, RA accrediation is all that mattered....any other memberships/accreditation (like AACSB, etc).

 

No. It's primarily because Walden is not ranked in the Gourman Report on graduate schools in the Health Professions. Walden does little research - which is normally the hallmark of prestigious schools in the Health Sciences.

There's also Doonsbury...

 

Kalos - Thanks for the response.

Just because Walden (or any other school) isn't listed in Jack Gourman's rankings doesn't mean they are "low quality".

Have you researched Gourman's method of rankings? What are his methods for determining ranks? Personally I don't agree with using Gourman's rankings as a sole method of ranking a university's program(s).

For those that don't know, Gourman uses 10 factors to create his rankings. They are:

BTW - There are quite a few academic's that disagree with Gourman's rankings and ranking methodology...even those that are ranked highly.

Michelle - back to your question...I would strongly suggest you do a Google search (or using any other search engine) and contact some of the Walden Alumni who are working at Duke, NYMC and other well known medical/nursing schools and ask their opinion of the quality and usefullness of their Walden PhD.

 

Yes - I'm aware of the controversy. You're quite right - Gourman's methodology is disputed. I look at it as quibbles among experts about whether a school should be ranked #7 or #27. In Walden's case, the lack of a significant Health Sciences research function is a red flag.

 

Thanks for the replies and info given regarding my post. I teach nursing at a local university where I live. I am working on my PhD in Public Health in order to advance my career down the road.

 

Michelle,

Care to provide some of your thoughts and feedback on your experience at Walden? Are you enjoying the program?

Just curious...I'm sure others here are curious too.

Good luck in the program.

 

Hello everyone,

I have enjoyed reading the various discussion on this forum.

I am currently a Walden PHD student in their Public Policy & Administratiion program.

This is my fourth quarter. I enjoyed the program and the school I plan to use my PHD to secure employment in the federal sector.


I have yet to read or hear of any negative comments concerning Walden University.


Karl

 

Walden also has a B&M presence (mandatory residencies) like Capella, so the Walden PhD can also be seen as a short-residency doctorate. You will get extra points with potential employers if they know that you had some face-to-face interaction with students and instructors.