AACSB/AACSB/IACBE + CLEPs/DSSTs: Can these two work together?

[sanantone]

Yeah, I know, I can't decide where to go from here really. I would love to put PhD or EdD behind my name but I've either got to find an employer to pay for it, find a fellowship (which I suspect is quite unlikely). or come into some real money first. On one hand I tell myself I need a break form school, on the other I don't know what I will do with my time. These 9-15 credit grad certs would keep me busy without breaking the bank. I should probably concentrate on finding a teaching job (like undergrad emergency management/business continuity), that would put me back in the classroom albeit in a different chair. Perhaps some junior college somewhere would help me find a doctoral program. So many cool things out there!

You can probably find some work teaching business courses. Without the 18 graduate hours in emergency management or a closely related field like homeland security, you'll probably be limited to NA schools and non-credit courses at community colleges. It'd probably be cool to teach in a fire/EMT academy. Even though I don't have any graduate credits in criminal justice, I was able to land a teaching job at an NA school based on my experience working in security and for a law enforcement agency. There are a couple of other instructors in the program who have unrelated degrees or lack the graduate credits, but they qualified to teach based on their experience. Even if your master's is unrelated, it still knocks off the number of years of experience you need.

If I weren't in the program I'm in now, I would have seriously considered Valdosta State University's DPA because it's really cheap. The only problem is that you have to travel to the campus every semester. They will accept up to 15 graduate-level transfer credits as long as they weren't already used for another degree. They will let you design a concentration i.e. criminal justice, homeland security, and social work. Another reasonably priced online doctorate I was looking at was University of Southern Mississippi's PhD in International Development with a concentration in Security Studies. I also looked at Clemson University's PhD in International Family and Community Studies, but they aren't that affordable.

Of course, I tried to find all kinds of ways to avoid a dissertation. I found Nova Southeastern and A.T. Still's doctorates in Health Science. It looks like A.T. Still will take anyone with a healthcare credential on any level. Nova Southeastern requires post-graduate, professional experience. I also found Texas A&M's Executive EdD, but it requires 5 years of teaching experience. The best program I found was Arizona State University's Doctor of Behavioral Health - Management Track which can be completed in 18 months if you take a full-time course load. The downside is that it's $45,000. It would fit in great with your background, though. The core is a lot like a healthcare management degree. You can also take elective courses from the clinical track that are more heavy on psychology and integrative medicine if you're into that.

I've only found two online programs that offer distance assistantships: Texas Tech's PhD in Technical Communication and Rhetoric and Boise State University's EdD in Educational Technology. From what I was told, Texas' public universities are only allowed to waive the extra cost of out-of-state tuition. They aren't allowed to give full waivers. Basically, you're only getting a stipend, but still have to pay for tuition out of pocket or with loans. Boise State's highly competitive graduate assistantship pays a stipend and grants a full tuition waiver. Currently, the American College on Education (for-profit) is offering a $10,000 grant to EdD students. This drops the total cost of the program from $29k to $19k, but they do not participate in Title IV funding. They only offer payment plans. If you're willing to get a PhD on ground, criminal justice programs give excellent stipends. My school pays a $26k stipend, but of course, I'm still responsible for tuition which is about $6k a year. Many other programs offer $18k-22k stipends with full tuition waivers.

Sorry for hijacking the thread; I just had to get all of that out. :p

[OfficerA]

Sorry for the lack of replies as of late; I'm dealing with TESC now, as well as resubbing with InstantCert (as I was only on the monthly plan at first), and didn't want to be back until now.

I don't mind the hijacking of this thread; there's a wealth of knowledge to be spread around, and I'm always down to learn; I don't mind at all.