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[itmgeek73]

Greetings!

I am a 34 year old active duty servicemember who wants to complete a PhD.  Due to numerous deployments, I have had to use online education to meet my academic goals (it's almost impossible for us to attend a B&M school these days).  I am currently finishing my M.S. in Information Technology Management from Touro (TUI) University, and have been looking at Northcentral University's PhD in Business Administration program (ACBSP accredited) http://www.ncu.edu/academics/graduate/business_phd.aspx.  Will this PhD be of any value to me, coupled with my military experience?  Where might I get hired with a degree like this (CC, online university, etc.)?  What other alternatives do I have?  Any suggestions?  Thank you for your time and expertise.  Your help is greatly appreciated =)

K

[figee]

Maybe try posting this in one of the other forums: grad school life maybe?  There are certainly people on here who might be able to help, just not necessarily in this folder.

[copper]

Will this PhD be of any value to me, coupled with my military experience? 

Value to you in terms of advancing your military career, or a post-military civilian career?

Oh, I agree with Figee that this might be better asked elsewhere.  I'll ask the mods to consider moving it.

[zharkov]

I'm not familiar with the school, and while online doctorates are generally looked down up, ACBSP accreditation is a plus.  Rather than going the online route, have you considered retiring from the military and attending grad school full time?  (Look for programs that fully fund you, unless your benefits will pay your ticked.  AACSB accreditation is also a strong plus.)

With your background and an online doctorate, you are probably qualified to work in business departments at CCs and no name 4 year schools, but not the upper tier schools, no research university or selective 4 year school will give your application a second glance.

I also may matter a bit about your management background in the military, and how that maps to the private sector.  I knew an AF recruiter who planned to segue into corporate HR, for example.

[itmgeek73]

Thank you for your help!  I still have 9 years left in the Air Force before retirement (I am a currently a full-time Professional Military Instructor in Panama City, FL).  I will finish the M.S. in December of this year.  I looked into Nova Southeastern's DBA program, but I would have to spend one weekend a month in Jacksonville, FL (driving up from Panama City).  Additionally, I found a D.S. in Information Systems program with Dakota State University (DSU) http://www.dsu.edu/doctor-of-science/.  Would this program be a better option for me (it seems like more of a bricks and clicks program...right)?  As always, thank you for your valuable time and input. =)

P.S.  I am looking at starting the PhD next year (before retirement) to enhance post-military opportunities ...thanks!

Best regards,
K

[zharkov]

My personal opinion is that Nova and Union Institute have the best reps among non traditional doctoral programs b/c they have been around the longest and there are a good number of Nova and Union grads in higher ed.  Based on rep alone, I'd rank Nova about Northcentral, but if Northcentral proves itself, that could change in 10 years. (Academia moves slowly.)  Union doesn't have business or IT degrees, as far as I know.

If you want to teach in a business department, then a PhD or DBA or similar doctorate is the way to go.  A DS might make sense if you want to teach in a computer department, but I have no idea how strong that job market is.

[bamabound]

ITMGeek73,

I second all that Zharkov says.  

I would suggest hanging out at degreeinfo http://forums.degreeinfo.com/forumdisplay.php?f=13 where many of the posters are/have been 1) active duty students 2) online learning experts (including John Bear, the original Bear's Guide to Distance Learning author) and/or 3) university instructors-both online and B&M.  Several posters are enrolled in the Dakota State program you reference and several are graduates of Nova.  Many more are graduates of or students at NCU.  

It would make sense to check out NSU more extensively.  Their DBA program is an AACSB candidate and a ruling about that is expected shortly, I've heard.  Spending the extra time to travel there might be worth it, especially since you are only going to do you DBA once, right?  And you do have 9 years.

Just my $0.02 worth.

[zharkov]

Dittos about Bear's Guides.

This may sound petty, but one problem I have with Northcentral is that it is located in AZ.  Nothing wrong with AZ, but calling a school Northcentral that is located there seems pretty flakey.