(12-05-2020, 02:32 AM)RoyalSpade Wrote: Hello, I'm going to get the Masters in Theology from NationsU. I'm wanting to eventually get a PhD in Biblical exposition from Liberty. I'm wondering if anyone's dealt with NationsU and transferring over to Liberty before, do most of the credits from the NationsU masters degree transfer over to Liberty pretty well? I saw that 50% of credits can be transferred into their PhD program
This was my exact plan as well. First I applied for the MA in History at Liberty and with the military rate it would cost me $5000. But, they would not accept my previous graduate credits from APUS because they were too old. So that jacked the cost up to $7000. Then they wouldn't accept my DD214 (discharge papers) and I had to order a new copy from the government. But, after I requested transcripts from NationsU, NU reached out to me and offered that I could finish the MTS degree in one semester since I had already accumulated all but 9 credits. Liberty will accept a master's degree from an NA school, so it worked out perfectly. I spent the three months at NU while waiting for the documents from the government to arrive.
But, while getting my MTS at NU, the attractiveness of Liberty's degree started waning. There program is really the cheapest around (for RA schools), but the school is swamped in controversy at the moment, appears to be falling to social ideology (like many other seminaries in the US) and there seem to be several artificial barriers put in place to keep students from saving money. I discovered the military rate (at least in my circumstance) doesn't actually save me any money at all. I got the price down to $14k, but to do that I would have to take five courses per semester for a year and then the dissertation the second year.
Thanks to someone on this forum, I opted to do a ThD with Forge Theological Seminary instead. Of course, if you need a degree from an RA school Liberty is really your best choice based on price. If you have the money to spend its better overall to get an RA degree rather than a degree from a non-accredited school. But, that is not the end of the discussion.
I chose FTS for several reasons.
1. It is not compromised by liberal/progressive ideology.
2. It does not restrict the student with artificial roadblocks as it is 100% self-directed (at the doctorate level, the lower degree programs have more structure).
3. It is 100% tuition free, fee free. There so far have been no hidden surprises and no gimmicks like other schools.
4. Because it's genuinely free, it removes the shyster feeling. They are not out for money.
5. Because the ThD program is self-directed, it provides me with a great deal of flexibility so I can pursue my research interests fully rather than being distracted by unnecessary "courses."
6. It is mentor based so my advisor remains available throughout the program to answer questions, etc.
Problems with unaccredited schools.
1. Job prospects in academia are very limited. There is one school I would really like to work for, and a degree from FTS would qualify me to teach there. But, the pay is very little and if they ever get accredited I would no longer be able to teach. But, I have to way that against the genuine prospects of a Liberty (RA) degree as well. For my specific circumstance, I will not be employable in the vast majority of seminaries or schools in the US even with an RA degree simply because I will not willingly agree to socialist ideology. So, there really is no ROI on an RA degree. In the end, I will most likely be unemployable with either degree. But, the FTS degree will still qualify me to teach at a few unaccredited seminaries at least for the near future, and possibly more so if the US government pulls accreditation from Christian schools and seminaries that will not compromise and accept socialist ideology. So with the unaccredited degree there is actually great possibility long-term with a much greater ROI since its 100% free.
2. If the school is unaccredited but has a good reputation in your denomination or church, accreditation does not factor in. There are many people who have degrees from Andersonville and MIUD and CES who got pastor jobs or chaplain positions - so they are marketable in the right contexts. I have no interest in being a pastor or getting a "clergy" job so it's a non-issue for me. But if you want to be a part of academia, be accepted in academia, at least for the foreseeable future, you have to have an RA degree. Granted, the RA degree in no way guarantees you will be accepted in academia. In fact, you likely won't with a degree from Liberty. You will simply be one of the countless PhD graduates who have to get a job in another field because there are simply no openings. If you want to teach part time, that might be an option, but there are no guarantees. For me, personally, I weighed the costs vs the risks and the risks were WAY too great and I could tell there was little chance I would be offered a teaching job at any established RA school in the future.
Just because it's Regionally Accredited doesn't mean its a guarantee.
(12-05-2020, 02:32 AM)RoyalSpade Wrote: Hello, I'm going to get the Masters in Theology from NationsU. I'm wanting to eventually get a PhD in Biblical exposition from Liberty. I'm wondering if anyone's dealt with NationsU and transferring over to Liberty before, do most of the credits from the NationsU masters degree transfer over to Liberty pretty well? I saw that 50% of credits can be transferred into their PhD program
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Also, it's not 50% of a Master's degree credits that transfer into the PhD program at Liberty. It's 50% of doctorate level credits that transfer in. Liberty offers the option to transfer and apply 12 credits from your master's degree toward your PhD reducing your overall requirement from 60 credits to 48. But, unless you have doctorate level courses completed at a RA or NA school, 12 is all you get.
Liberty, in my experience, seems very willing to transfer credit from NationsU even beyond their 10 year or 7 year limit. They would not transfer graduate credit from APUS due to their age rule, so it's hit or miss. Not sure why NU gets an exception.
Liberty states in their requirements for the PhD program that all you need is a Master's degree from an NU school. But, I never officially applied and so not sure if they would actually accept the degree for that particular program. I emailed and asked and they responded with, "We can't tell you that, you need to officially apply." It is possible you might need to do extra courses, etc. I know this has happened to people in the past at Liberty for other degrees. I do know the PhD acceptance requirements are easier than the DMin requirements. For the DMin, you have to have ministry experience and ecclesiastical approval, etc. For the PhD you just have to have an MA, 15 credits of graduate bible courses.
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