Purdue University Doctor of Technology Program

[JTP]

**Late recap from fall semester**
-------End of 1st Semester wrap up-------

My final assignment just got graded. I ended up getting A's in all of my courses. Overall I enjoying most of the content in my first 3 core courses. Two of the courses were all 16 weeks of the semester and the third was the first 8 weeks (data analytics course). Because of this format and doing well in the courses next semester I got permission to take an extra course in the spring. Typically the maximum you are allowed to take is 9 credit hours, beyond that you need approval. Thankfully I am doing 2 16-week courses again and the other courses are both 8 weeks and don't overlap.

Final Thoughts on Each Course

Technology Leadership TECH-62700

First of all in later semesters I believe the name is getting changed to Digital Transformation and they are dropping a lot of the Social Media focus it previously had.

This was a good course and the grading was relatively easy/straightforward. Format you paper properly in APA and hit the rubric points

I will note that I didn't pay attention to the syllabus early on and failed to realize the last assignment was a 15-20 page research paper. Note this requirement and during the semester keep track of things you like, find interesting, or realize there is a lot of info on so you can write about it at the end.

Technology research and the use of data analytics

This was my favorite course, granted I find data analysis fascinating. Also note I have no practical experience doing data analytics so don't be too concerned if you are in the same boat

A lot of the course was just recognizing what a good statistic looks like, and how to spot poor examples.

Some of the article reviews got me turned on to topics I wasn't familiar with and now find utterly fascinating.

Data ethics and when is a bias in a data model "good enough" link

You get a lot of prep and reminders of the final data project. It is pretty open so again, if you track the random topics you look into throughout the semester, you can probably note a couple things for the final assignment.

Global Supply Chain

This was my least favorite course. It wasn't any more difficult than the others, it just had things I dislike: group project, exams in a graduate course, and weekly discussion posts.

*Disclaimer* I got full points for each quiz/exam including the final...I just don't like comprehensive exams in a graduate course

The group project wasn't especially difficult and you assume by the last 4th of the semester your teammates are competent and proactive. You each get your own case study to read and answer questions on and then you compile them together and one person submits it. 6 of the 7 case studies were done well ahead of time and then you have one final one that for some reason or another completes it close to the finish line. Your mileage may vary.

Professor Orr is FANTASTIC though. Very responsive, holds weekly office hours where she will answer anything. She is extremely knowledgeable in the topic and clearly love to share her knowledge.



Overall I very happy with the program and look forward to next semester and starting to define a dissertation focus and building my board.

[datby98]

Thanks for sharing, very informative! Good luck in future courses!

[JTP]

-------End of 2nd Semester wrap up-------
This semester was slightly more challenging than the first. Nothing specific to point to, just an overall accumulation of difference in professors, weeks with several assignments due between the 3 courses, and general business of life at times throughout the semester.
Pros
I finished with three A’s this semester, I found a dissertation chair, I had a white paper published in the Journal of Digital Transformation, I also learned while developing my degree plan that by picking one additional course as an elective I would complete an Applied Data Analytics graduate cert.

Not Pros
I still don’t know what I want to do my dissertation on, I’m narrowing in on an area but I’m having trouble deciding. I will need to make a decision by the end of the summer as one of my fall courses has you develop the first 3 chapters.

Final Thoughts on Each Course

Information Technology Business Analysis - CNIT 53000

This was an 8-week course and I ended with an A.
The content was interesting, and I can see the need for Business Analysts working in organizations, HOWEVER I did not enjoy the course.
This course had a midterm and final exam. They were essay questions with no multiple choice.
The course had one use case that carried through most of the homework assignments/projects. The issue I had was that the instructor was not quick with responses to questions or inquiries. All grades for this course were slow to come in and it left some questions and concerns since the content built upon each other in the use case. This instructor also wanted all assignments to be submitted as PDFs which was different, and you needed to have a specific naming convention, or they stated they would not grade them.
In the end any question or concern I had with the instructors communication shortfalls were righted in the last day(s) of the course and all of my grades showed up at one time.

Leadership of Cybersecurity and Cyberforensics – TECH 63000

This course was nice and straightforward. The instructor had a very clean course shell, and grades came out within a day or two of submission almost like clockwork.
There were discussion posts, 3 use cases, and a final paper. I work in cybersecurity and find it interesting so I’m not a good source to determine if others will enjoy the content.
My final paper ended up being a little over 20 pages double spaced, Arial, 11pt font. There were some graphics and tables in there as well.

Global Perspectives on Emerging Technology – Tech 63100

This was my favorite course this semester. That mostly boils down to Dr. Dyrenfurth. He is a very passionate professor and held a course “town hall” every other week for an hour. Here he would go over recent assignments and common pitfalls, aspects of upcoming assignments, and then provide an open forum to ask questions about the course, the program, doctoral studies, etc.
Some complained that his course shell wasn’t arranged by weeks, but instead arranged by concept areas. His response was that everything is laid out in the syllabus (including a calendar of due dates) and this is a Doctorate level course so he expects students to be able to operate at that level.


Overall I still very happy with the program, especially as I pick electives and prepare for dedicated research for a dissertation.
I am taking courses over the summer but spacing them out in separate sessions based on topics I am comfortable with.