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[averagebear]

While commiserating over beers with a friend about our mutual professional doldrums, I mentioned (okay, whined) that to do what I really want to do, I need a Ph.D. but it's not an option until my kids are out of school.  The nearest place that offers anything even close to my preferred field is a two-hour commute.  Said friend replied, "well, how about doing it online?"

After I cleaned up the beer I spewed all over the table (good thing hu wasn't sitting directly across from me), I responded that Ph.D. programs don't work like that, and explained why as best I knew how.

When I got home, just for yuks, I started surfing to see if any schools really did offer a Ph.D. program online.  No, I'm absolutely not considering it; I'm in engineering and natural science, and for obvious reasons nobody is going to offer an online Ph.D in either.  But as it turns out, a handful of schools actually do offer online programs.  Here's one:

http://www.tui.edu/cohort/curriculum.asp

Disclaimer #2:  I know nothing about this particular school - I've never heard of it and only found this program by googling.  It does not appear to be a diploma mill, but I wouldn't boast of a Ph.D. from it either.

The disadvantages of such a program, to me, are fairly obvious.  The advantages would seem to be superficial.  What could a student possibly gain, and what could a graduate possibly offer?

Please discuss.

[yellowtractor]

Several threads in the recent past have dealt with on-line degrees.  The consensus seemed to be that within academia, for better or for worse, on-line degrees are generally disdained.  A recent poster who had earned an on-line Ph.D. and was having trouble finding an academic job was essentially told to either (a) apply to on-line programs (which would presumably esteem an on-line Ph.D.), (b) build up his publishing vita and professional activity (so that the source of his terminal degree recedes into the professional background), or (c) start over again in a traditional program.

The original poster in that thread seemed a sympathetic sort, but I was astonished throughout that he could have entered and graduated from such an on-line program without having any inkling of its perceived professional value (or lack thereof) among academics at large.

[felix_unger]

The principle of my elementary school got a Ph.D. through a correspondence-learning program (no internet in those days). I did not know or care about the particulars, like where she did it, though there may have been some residency requirement. I do recall that everyone seemed mightily impressed, and I'm sure it helped move her into a higher pay scale.

To a lot of people, a degree is just a piece of paper, and one piece of paper is very much like another. That's not to say that most people advocate doing something shady to get it--I'm sure a lot of the same people who see nothing wrong with an online terminal degree would balk at the idea of buying a "degree" through one of those horrible scam sites. But many folks see it as a transaction: you pay your money, you put in the time and work, and you get your reward.

[hmaria1609]

The consensus seemed to be that within academia, for better or for worse, on-line degrees are generally disdained.

At the small state university (predominantly undergrad and the master's was the highest degree offered) where I received my MLS, a tremendous push was being made to have more of the master's programs offered online. Quite a number of professors teaching both grad and undergrad classes within those subject areas are unhappy about it.

[larryc]

I have been spearheading an effort to offer a history MA online. An online class can be every bit as rigorous and valuable as a classroom course, and mine are.

There is a huge need for graduate education among public school teachers, who in most states have their raises tied to getting a graduate degree. To date the only programs that have made themselves available to working teachers are the education programs. By offering night classes at the school districts, by reaching out to rural areas, and frankly by watering down the degree, MAs in education have become big business in most regions. Our online MA program is going to compete by offering a rigorous content degree in a format that meets the needs of the students.  We started our first cohort of 24 last fall, and already a third have dropped out, so I think we have maintained our rigor!

All that said--I don't think the time has arrived for an online PhD in history. The casual meetings between grad students and faculty, the visiting lectures, the intellectual ferment of a great PhD program are not readily replicable online. Yet.

[goingcrazy]

Online grad programs --- ick!

[larryc]

Online grad programs --- ick!

Now there is a thoughtful and intelligent critique.

[zharkov]

Union's doctoral program has been around for a long time, but it was never an online degree.  That may have changed, however; I knew someone on the faculty there, but he retired a year or two back.  The two older and more respected non traditional doctoral schools, IMHO, are Union Institute and Nova Southeastern.  These programs are mostly beneficial for, also IMHO, in place masters level faculty who want to advance and need a PhD or EdD to do so. Possibly also for a middle aged career changer who has an excellent non academic background, but needs a doctorate for a TT job.

FWIW, you can get an online master's degree at an Ivy:  Columbia has a new 100% online master of arts degree in computers in education.  Talk about a milestone....

[choirguy]

This subject has been batted around numerous times in the fora.  I alway think that there is an important distinction to be made between on-line degrees offered by for-profit or strictly on-line schools and on-line degrees offered by bricks-and-mortar universities. (How many hyphens can I use in one sentence???)

Once the degree is finished no one is going to know whether your PhD from Bricks-and-Mortar U was earned in residence or on-line.

 

[mr_55]

Union Institute and University gets a gold star in my book (as far as correspondence/online programs go). Should I end up having a tenure-track instructor position with only an MA, I though that such a broad, interdisciplinary program would surely accept all-comers. However, their admissions people and academic advisers told me up front that my discipline was too specific for their interdisciplinary program. I was surprised that UIU filtered anyone (knowling how interdisciplinary programs work), but they were very professional and honest about the true goals of their program.

I'm not sure whether the true goals of the program are ever met, but my UIU experience (granted, I never got beyond telephone conversations with them) was ok.

[_touchedbyanoodle_]

My aunt got her Ph.D. through a superb online program that incorporated syncronous video chatting. Granted, she is a speech pathologist, but still, online programs can kick ass. Most don't, however.