On line Doctoral Degrees

On line Doctoral Degrees: Who should consider one?

Getting one’s PhD used to be something very few even considered.  This was partly because PhD program availability is so limited.  To consider getting your PhD or doctorate, you had to think about what opportunities were available at colleges and universities in your particular region.  That often came out to few opportunities at all, unless you were willing to relocate.  And by the time you start thinking about doctoral work, you’ve already established a career, maybe a family… but on line doctoral degrees have changed things up some.

On line Doctoral Degrees Make PhDs and Doctorates More Available

That’s a good thing.  But then again, even as things stand only 15-20% of doctoral candidates finish their degrees.  Does more availability mean more viable candidates?  Probably.  But it also means more people applying in general, many of whom wouldn’t have previously considered it–so more failures too.

So who should think about getting an online doctorate?  It depends.  You need a ton of motivation.  Intellect.  Ambition.  Experience.  Education.  And that’s just to get started. Unfortunately, because on line doctoral degrees promise convenience (and they do, in a way) a lot of potential students take that to mean that they’re easy, or at least easier, than on campus programs.  That is usually not the case at all.

In fact, thanks to academic prejudice against on line doctoral degrees when they first appeared, colleges and universities with online graduate departments go out of their way to make sure those programs meet very rigorous standards.  You won’t catch any breaks going through an online program, in terms of being more leniently graded.

But you will be more likely to find the right program for you, online.  Having access to hundreds of different colleges to choose from rather than just the few in your immediate area helps.