next »

[msparticularity]

An EdS is an Education Specialist degree.  It is a terminal degree (like an MFA in many fields) and is NOT a doctorate.  It is a degree for education practitioners mostly at the K-12 level.  At some universities you are not allowed to do an EdD or PhD if you have the EdS.

I would not go for the Specialist degree.  Let your hubby get his DBA, while you get experience in the field.  In the education field, it is very common for PhD students to be older since working in the field is a great advantage.  

A CAGS (Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies) is similar to an Ed.S., more common in some states, and typically entails 10 to 15 post-masters courses.  Such programs are mostly for K12 licensure as curriculum directors, principals, and superintendents.  Not sure if I would consider an Ed.S. a terminal degree, since doctoral programs often take some Ed.S. or CAGS courses toward completion of doctoral requirements.  (Since they are post-masters programs.)   I am shocked to hear that some universities would refuse admission to a doctoral program if one held an Ed.S., since the situation is almost the opposite in my area. (Applying post-masters work Ed.S. or CAGS to a doctorate.)
    

My experience suggests that it is not so much that a university would refuse to admit someone with the EdS or CAGS, but that these certidications would in no way be more helpful than just a master's degree. It certainly might be necessary, though, for someone with an EdS to persuade a doctoral institution that they want to shift gears and focus upon a research trajectory--to demonstrate that they understand the difference between their prior studies and what they now propose to do.

And very frankly, ability to read and write critically and elegantly would certainly differentiate between the two trajectories. An active research career demands very different skills than one focused solely upon practice. Critically to this discussion, an EdS would typically do very little to improve these skills in preparation for admission to a PhD.

[aristotlex]

I'm not sure how best to put it, but the quality of writing (from someone with English teaching credentials, among others) behooves me to think that maybe the adviser's suggestion is well-intended. Probably a PhD is not for everyone.

Are you talking about my post? I wrote it is very quickly between classes. I didn't realize that I had to write with absolutely accuracy on a message board on the Internet. Your comment seems a little arrogant.

[aristotlex]

I'm not sure how best to put it, but the quality of writing (from someone with English teaching credentials, among others) behooves me to think that maybe the adviser's suggestion is well-intended. Probably a PhD is not for everyone.

Are you talking about my post? I wrote it is very quickly between classes. I didn't realize that I had to write with absolute accuracy on an Internet message board. Your comment seems a little arrogant.

[daniel_von_flanagan]

Here are my thoughts.[...]My defense and dissertation examination will be exactly like those getting the PhD. Is my degree inferior? Is it a lesser doctorate? I don't think so. This type of discussion is stupid, and to some degree ignorant, in my opinion.[...]If the university you are applying for is made of such shallow and arrogant faculty that they discriminate against you because you degree says EdD instead of PhD without a deeper examination of what work was actually done, then it is an institution you really want to work at? I wouldn't.

Good luck with that.

OP: If you really have your heart set on becoming an administrator on the academic side of a university, then forget Education altogether and get your PhD in Astronomy. - DvF