On line PhD Programs
Frequently Asked Questions: On line PhD Programs
1. What exactly is a PhD? Is it just like getting your BA or your Masters, but takes longer or is more advanced?
PhD programs vary by both academic field and by educational institution, but regardless, the answer is no. Getting your PhD, whether through one of the available on line PhD programs or through an on-campus program is not just a “more advanced master’s degree.”
2. How is getting your PhD so different from getting your master’s degree?
Both undergraduate degrees and masters degrees are classroom based, and they’re typically centered on teaching you analysis and, of course, information about your field. The analysis you do in undergrad and graduate study is typically work based on other scholar’s work–you don’t conduct primary research yourself, you learn to think critically and discourse intelligently on others work. On line PhD programs, however, like their on-campus counterparts, are based on your learning to conduct, and then conducting, primary research, and then analyzing and presenting that research in a publishable dissertation.
3. What’s the difference between conducting primary research and the research I did as an undergrad and as a graduate student?
Basically, the steps removed from the source material. For example, if you got your master’s in psychology, you doubtless wrote thesis papers, and as your sources you used the case studies and scholarly articles of leaders in your field. If, however, you choose to pursue a higher degree in psychology through on line PhD programs, you’ll be writing your own case studies, and producing a dissertation based on your thesis regarding your own work.
4. But aren’t on line PhD programs a lot easier than on campus PhD programs?
Not real PhD programs that are accredited and respected. To earn accreditation–and provide you with a degree you can be proud of–online programs must challenge you just as much as campus based programs.
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