University of the Cumberlands Online PhD in Information Technology

A PhD in a stem should be a positive regardless, No ?

 

From a dissertation perspective, there should be plenty of areas within blockchain to get through the program.

If you mean moving beyond the program, I wouldn't get hung up so much on the specialty. Unless I'm mistaken (I guess I'll find out for sure in a week or so), the specialty isn't listed on the diploma. I think having a Ph.D. in IT alone is where the value would be.

 

You'll have plenty of opportunities for research! I would also not sleep on using the PhD to teach, at least part-time, at universities. I finished in May and teach part-time at 2 different universities. It's a great side-hustle with not a ton of time requirements. Highly recommended

 

For those that completed the comp exams, how was that experience? what does it consist of for this particular university?
If anyone can shed some specific light with details on the experience, that would be much appreciated.
I'm set to finish my MBA at GWU in the Spring, already have another MS in infused and am intending to apply here to finish off my academic journey.

 

You'll have 5 questions if I recall correctly, 4 being open-ended questions and 1 being an inferential statistics question. You then need to write X amount of words per question - I believe it was 1000 words but truly I can't remember - about each open-ended question. The questions will be rooted in the objectives from the core classes, so I recommend looking at them and then practice speaking about them to yourself, at length. The stats question will be very direct and you'll just need to provide the answer.

The professor that runs the comps will have a live session that I cannot stress enough to attend. He will give you sample questions, tell you what he expects, etc. Back when I took mine, he said that those who attended his session passed on their first try at far greater numbers than those who skipped it. He will then notify you if you pass/fail.

Overall, they were difficult questions as he writes them uniquely each session but nothing insurmountable.

 

To add on to that, the comps are video/audio proctored and do a fantastic job at weeding out the cheaters. There's a reason you see an enormous uptick in quality from others in the dissertation phase, compared to the...questionable...things you see from classmates in pre-dissertation. AI can't save them from the comps. DSRT 839 (the course you cannot complete without passing comps) is the point where you learn you are in fact in a fully legitimate doctoral program.

 

Comp Exam

"This exam has 25 multiple choice questions worth 4 points each totaling 100 points. The exam is broken into the following categories: 10 questions tied to theory 5 questions tied to APA 5 questions tied to Statistical Reasoning 5 questions tied to Dissertation Research"

 

It depends on the technology, like Software Development/Engineering become declining. Salesforce's CEO just announced there will be zero software engineering positions open in 2025; and reducing the software developer workforce 30%.

I guess I could expand the specialization into Data Science and Artificial Intelligence through Coursera certficiates.

Maybe I should take a look at FinTech and Web 3.0.

I just afraid it is not enough publication for literature reviews. I could not find any peer review article after 2022 along with dissertation.

 

Are there review materials before the comp?

 

Its a prep class that is taught. The class lays everything out for you; plus, you get three attempts over the program and only have to take the portion you failed. The ones that didn't pass mostly use AI for their writing. It's proctored, so there's no faking it.

 

Wow, they changed it to a multiple choice test?! I am not sure how I feel about that to be honest. Having now created exams for graduate level students, I see how obvious (easy/hard) I can make the answer relative to the choices available. I think being able to speak to a subject, at length, really allowed for a student to demonstrate a thorough understanding of a topic. I wonder what made them change their processes.

 

Are you sure about this? I've seen no indication anywhere that the format changed, and the 2024-2025 catalog still reads the same regarding comps. Where that quote come from?

 

This is a misqoute. Its a multiple question not multiple choice

 

So there are 25 questions, but you must choose 5 questions to answer in short essay form?

 

When I took the comps (I think about a year ago, maybe sooner, but I don't feel like digging through my history), there was no option to choose your questions. You got 3 (or 4) program-specific questions, and one statistical question.

There is a one-hour meeting that they recorded that goes over the details you need to know to pass. The comp exam was fully written. A major, major part of the exam is making sure you actually can write at a doctoral level. This is the point where the AI-using cheaters will fail, assuming they even made it far enough to get to the point where they have to take their comps.

 

When you keep mentioning the AI cheaters, can you clarify or expand please?
Are you talking about the students who would use AI to write papers and such? Wouldn't they have Turnitin or whatever other gimmick software to flag it? Although it's been highly controversial because of the false positives that it generates

 

Sure. I'm referring to those who consistently make nonsensical discussion posts that have nothing to do with the topic or their cited references. You'll understand once you see them in the program. There's numerous people in this thread who have made similar observations. Fortunately the dissertation phase saves the day.

 

• Defense Time: 5:30 AM today
• Degrees Earned: PhD
• Program Duration: 367 days from start to finish
• Note: Second master's accepted for specialty requirements

 

Correction. I forget it now 2025 not 2024

Program Duration: 738 days from start to finish