Teaching subject with related master's and unrelated doctorate

Have y'all seen anyone teach in a position that requires a doctorate, but the doctorate is unrelated while the master's is related? For example, someone teaching computer science with a PhD in counseling and a master's in computer science. I'm talking about something that isn't generic because I've seen plenty of people with EdDs and leadership and public administration doctorates teach a subject based on their master's.

 

Not an answer, but I had a similar question. I was wondering if I pursued an EdD, as you mention, if it would still benefit me in my preferred area of teaching, IT, and specifically if my dissertation was related to my field if that made a difference. It’s interesting you have seen the EdD in use for other subjects. I also enjoy Org Leadership etc, so I would find that major beneficial for teaching or the corporate world. The answer, as it often is, will likely be it depends on the hiring manager.

 

I'm not thinking of an unambiguous example offhand… but my bar for whether one subject is related to another is generous. If I'd seen an MSCS, DMin teaching in a computer science department, for instance, I'd think, what a distinctive resource to the department on the ethics, humanities, and social context of computing. But your mileage could well vary.

When my dad was in high school he aspired to become a philosophy professor.

Doing his BA in Philosophy (Bishop's) while working as a cub reporter, his interests crystallized in applied political philosophy. He continued to do applied philosophy within political science, in an MA in Political Economy (which the University of Toronto called their political science program at the time), and a PhD in Political Science (LSE).

His first job post PhD was in line with his training, a tenure-track political philosopher in a research university political science department (Buffalo).

After he lost his first tenure determination, he reinvented himself in an adjacent field that was hiring. He taught himself statistics and economics and became a tenure-track economist in the economics and government unit of a research university business school (Manitoba). His specialty was government regulation of business.

After he lost his second tenure determination, he pivoted to government staff economist where he made the rest of his career.

My father did tell me he supposed the title of his master's, in Political Economy, could well have helped him transition to economics!

It really was a political science program, and it wasn't progressive to Marxy in the sense "political economy" is also often used. It was heavily informed by the classic Canadian political economy tradition Harold Innis exemplified.

There's a low-res EdD in Computer Science Ed from the University of Florida. The low-res EdD in Ed Leadership from the College of Saint Scholastica has an elective stream which can consist of a certificate in Computer Science, or in Applied Data Analytics. @chrisjm18 has highlighted doctorates in education with a data bent from Tennessee Tech and from CapTech. Plus of course there's ed tech and instructional design.

 

The Cumberlands EdD and PhD in Leadership also offer 18 sh content area options in IT or IS.

 

Thanks for the links. I’ll check them out!

 

See, I don't think political science to economics and statistics is a stretch. Political science and economics are both social sciences with overlap, and social scientists often teach statistics.

I've seen combinations like this.

PhD in Public Policy - Master's in International Relations or National Security

PhD in Public Administration - Master's in Criminal Justice

DBA - MS in IT

All of these combinations make sense. I've also seen generic doctorates paired with fields that have few doctoral programs. For example, someone with an EdD teaching safety or forensic science based on their master's degree. Education and leadership doctorates seem to be the go-to generic doctorates to be paired with other subjects.

What I haven't seen is someone with a PhD in psychology teaching chemistry or a PhD in emergency management teaching software engineering.

 

General Chemistry I and II at Harvard Extension and Summer Schools have been team taught for years by Gregg Tucci and Justin McCarty.

Dr. Tucci is senior lecturer and director of undergraduate chemistry at Harvard College and has a PhD in chemistry from Harvard.

Justin's degrees are a BA in chemistry from Harvard and… a Master of Music from Boston Conservatory. He plays classical double bass. He's a very rare case today of an exceptional teaching fellow rehired for many years and ultimately titled instructor. 19th-century energy happening there.

Both are superb and both were clearly the most popular basic science faculty when I was there.

 

Thanks, but his position doesn't require a doctorate. It sounds like it doesn't even require a master's degree.

 

Better example, gang?

 

@siersema : Another way to get an EdD in leadership with IT attached would be to take Drexel's EdD in Educational Leadership and Management and add a graduate minor in your choice of IT-related subject such as Computer Science or Business Analytics.

Abstracting out a little, another option would be an EdD with a STEM or STEAM title attached, such as from ACE.