Terminal Degrees

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Guest, Jan 18, 2004.

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  1. tolstoy

    tolstoy New Member

    I agree. Some of my best professors had real world experience. Some of my most miserable experiences in the classroom dealt with professors that only taught under theoretical conditions and had very little practical applications.

    I'm sure there are many academic settings where it is better to have someone that has been out there on the front lines dealing with what they teach.

    There's always been a schism between reseach and teaching and how that affects the educational experience. I truly think there are many fields where people shouldn't be allowed to teach until they've worked first.
     
  2. Anthony Pina

    Anthony Pina Active Member

    Re: All Washed Up

    Actually, a terminal degree is the degree level that is recognized (either formally or informally) as the degree required to operate in a given field or discipline. For a business professional, the MBA is the accepted terminal degree, since one would not be expected to obtain a PhD/DBA unless she or he was going to go into university teaching or research.

    For example, the A.A./A.S./A.A.S. is the accepted terminal degree for many vocational areas (e.g. air conditioning/refrigeration).

    With regard to the masters degree, the M.A. vs. M.S. desingation above is not accurate for the vast majority of fields (although it might be true in certain areas of the "hard sciences"). For example, there tends to be no difference between an M.A. and an M.S. in education (or, for that matter, an M.Ed.).

    Tony Piña
    Faculty, Cal State U. San Bernardino
     
  3. Anthony Pina

    Anthony Pina Active Member

    Re: All Washed Up

    Actually, a terminal degree is the degree level that is recognized (either formally or informally) as required to operate in a given field or discipline. For example, the A.A./A.S./A.A.S. is the accepted terminal degree for many vocational areas (e.g. air conditioning/refrigeration). An M.F.T. is the terminal degree for physical therapists. For a business professional, the MBA is the accepted terminal degree, since one would not be expected to obtain a PhD/DBA, unless she or he was going to go into university teaching or research. An practicing attorney would be expected to obtain a JD, but would not necessarily be expected to go the extra mile for the LL.M. or Ph.D.

    Although the Ph.D., Ed.D., DBA, etc. are typically thought of as required for full-time university teaching, many with MFA (fine arts), MSW (social work), MLS (library science), and MSN (Nursing) degrees are employed as full-time tenure-track faculty at universities.

    With regard to the masters degree, the M.A. vs. M.S. explanation above may be true for certain programs in the "hard sciences", but is not accurate for the vast majority of disciplines. For example, there tends to be no difference between an M.A. and an M.S. in education (or, for that matter, an M.Ed.).

    Tony Piña
    Faculty, Cal State U. San Bernardino
     

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