Fast, Cheap PhD Programs at Southeastern University

[sanantone]

Interesting find...

SEU is kind of like the Pentecostal version of Liberty... for whatever that is worth.

The PhD in education appears to be a 30 hour PhD... THIRTY... (maybe an EdS is a pre-requisite?)

The psych degree is in Christian Counseling, without clinical licensure.

The "psych" and Theology degrees are 36 hours each...  I can see a "light" doctorate in those fields given most MDivs and MSWs are well in excess of 36 credits. Kind of like healthcare doctorates for PAs or NPs.

The Education degree is heavily geared toward K-12 teachers at conservative/religious private schools. 


The theology degree is Pentecostal and the program webpage admits they lack ATS accreditation.

All three appear to be SYNCHRONOUS and cohort based with regular live online classes...  multiple visits to campus are also required.


The tuition page breaks things down by grade level and mode of instruction... Done online, tuition for these three doctorates appears to be 600 USD per credit.
https://seu.edu/admission/financial/tuition-fees/

The school has almost a dozen other doctorates already... but with much more credits required to complete.

It's a research degree in general psychology with the electives stripped out. While I believe that all of their programs are taught with the Christian worldview, this program has no counseling in it. Any program that is not titled Counseling Psychology, School Psychology, Clinical Psychology, or any variation of those titles is normally not intended for licensure. Most sub-fields of psychology are not health service psychology fields, meaning that they do not train students to assess, diagnose, and treat mental health conditions. 

The admissions requirements are listed on the website. A longer master's degree is not required. 

https://seu.edu/admission/admission-requirements/

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The norm is 54 to 60 credits with a master's since 90 credits post-baccalaureate is the standard. So, 30 to 36 credits is highly unusual.

Exactly that’s what I was thinking. So even having a masters degree, graduating with a PHD that consists of only 30 or 36 credits, is that a mistake or will tarnish credibility?

It appears that accreditors recently started approving shorter PhD programs. These 42-credit PhD programs at other universities are also new.

[eLearner]

Little by little, doctorates are getting shorter in the United States. Bachelor's degrees, too. But much of this has been common outside North America for a very long time.

[acamp]

Interesting find...

SEU is kind of like the Pentecostal version of Liberty... for whatever that is worth.

The PhD in education appears to be a 30 hour PhD... THIRTY... (maybe an EdS is a pre-requisite?)

The psych degree is in Christian Counseling, without clinical licensure.

The "psych" and Theology degrees are 36 hours each...  I can see a "light" doctorate in those fields given most MDivs and MSWs are well in excess of 36 credits. Kind of like healthcare doctorates for PAs or NPs.

The Education degree is heavily geared toward K-12 teachers at conservative/religious private schools. 


The theology degree is Pentecostal and the program webpage admits they lack ATS accreditation.

All three appear to be SYNCHRONOUS and cohort based with regular live online classes...  multiple visits to campus are also required.


The tuition page breaks things down by grade level and mode of instruction... Done online, tuition for these three doctorates appears to be 600 USD per credit.
https://seu.edu/admission/financial/tuition-fees/

The school has almost a dozen other doctorates already... but with much more credits required to complete.

It's a research degree in general psychology with the electives stripped out. While I believe that all of their programs are taught with the Christian worldview, this program has no counseling in it. Any program that is not titled Counseling Psychology, School Psychology, Clinical Psychology, or any variation of those titles is normally not intended for licensure. Most sub-fields of psychology are not health service psychology fields, meaning that they do not train students to assess, diagnose, and treat mental health conditions. 

The admissions requirements are listed on the website. A longer master's degree is not required. 

https://seu.edu/admission/admission-requirements/

---

The norm is 54 to 60 credits with a master's since 90 credits post-baccalaureate is the standard. So, 30 to 36 credits is highly unusual.

Exactly that’s what I was thinking. So even having a masters degree, graduating with a PHD that consists of only 30 or 36 credits, is that a mistake or will tarnish credibility?

It appears that accreditors recently started approving shorter PhD programs. These 42-credit PhD programs at other universities are also new.

A 42-credit PhD program maybe you can justify, but a 30 credit PhD? I’m just surprised that’s acceptable. On the website it says 30 credits plus dissertation but I wonder if that means the dissertation courses are not included in the 30 credits ?

[FireMedic_Philosopher]

https://seu.edu/admission/admission-requirements/

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A 42-credit PhD program maybe you can justify, but a 30 credit PhD?  I’m just surprised that’s acceptable.  On the website it says 30 credits plus dissertation but I wonder if that means the dissertation courses are not included in the 30 credits ?

It caught my eye too... which is why I wondered if an "intermediary" degree like an EdS would be a pre-requisite. It would be in keeping with the "light" hours required for the PhD, in the same way a shorter doctorate after a long MDiv or MSW would make sense.

[SteveFoerster]

This is interesting too: https://seu.edu/admission/campaigns/lear...education/

Although like their other doctoral programs, they refer to it being just 30 credits, and don't say whether the dissertation is part of that or not.

[Jonathan Whatley]

This is interesting too: https://seu.edu/admission/campaigns/lear...education/

Although like their other doctoral programs, they refer to it being just 30 credits, and don't say whether the dissertation is part of that or not.

Via the SEU Catalog: Programs, you can see a course list for each program, but the PhD in Classical Education isn’t posted there yet.

[SteveFoerster]

This is interesting too: https://seu.edu/admission/campaigns/lear...education/

Although like their other doctoral programs, they refer to it being just 30 credits, and don't say whether the dissertation is part of that or not.

Via the SEU Catalog: Programs, you can see a course list for each program, but the PhD in Classical Education isn’t posted there yet.

Thanks. Looking there, which is digging pretty deeply, I see different numbers for how many credits are required—numbers more like one would expect for doctoral programs. 

That doesn't speak well of their openness towards what the requirements really are.

[newdegree]

Seems like an interesting program, I might take a stab at it in the future for a PhD at SEU. Tuition is cheap, $500 per credit. Maybe I will pursue a PhD in psychology or one of the education concentrations. I am finishing up my EdS I am almost halfway through with 15 credits, which I will finish in 4 weeks. My next goal was to apply for an EdD program to bridge over my EdS credits, but hey, let's see what the future has in store. ACE DBA doesn't look bad at all, as well if they were to take some transfer credits from my DHA or DSc in Public Safety.

On some of the other education PhDs I found this.

Advanced Standing

Upon evaluation of special circumstances, a student who has been accepted without provisional status and who has an earned EdS or higher degree from a regionally accredited institution may be accepted into the PhD program with an advanced standing (AS) classification. AS students may be eligible for exemption for up to 30 credits. AS students must complete a minimum of 30 hours at SEU (including dissertation) in order to earn the PhD. The transfer credits must comply with the requirements for transfer credits (See Transfer Credit section in the Graduate Catalog).

[FireMedic_Philosopher]

Seems like an interesting program, I might take a stab at it in the future for a PhD at SEU. Tuition is cheap, $500 per credit. Maybe I will pursue a PhD in psychology or one of the education concentrations. I am finishing up my EdS I am almost halfway through with 15 credits, which I will finish in 4 weeks. My next goal was to apply for an EdD program to bridge over my EdS credits, but hey, let's see what the future has in store. ACE DBA doesn't look bad at all, as well if they were to take some transfer credits from my DHA or DSc in Public Safety.

What is the cost of your EdS ? Did they take any credits from your prior degrees ?

[newdegree]

Seems like an interesting program, I might take a stab at it in the future for a PhD at SEU. Tuition is cheap, $500 per credit. Maybe I will pursue a PhD in psychology or one of the education concentrations. I am finishing up my EdS I am almost halfway through with 15 credits, which I will finish in 4 weeks. My next goal was to apply for an EdD program to bridge over my EdS credits, but hey, let's see what the future has in store. ACE DBA doesn't look bad at all, as well if they were to take some transfer credits from my DHA or DSc in Public Safety.

What is the cost of your EdS ? Did they take any credits from your prior degrees ?

No prior credits accepted, $349 per credit. Only 30 credits required. There are cheaper options at ACE, and and if you like CBE for speed, South College would be best for $7000 per semester if you like speed running degrees. I chose to go to a state school since other universities will more than likely accept me for transfer into the EdD program.