Walden University MS-Psychology Tempo Learning

[Library2HospitalChaplain]

Another option is here because it will work out well for the professional certification: https://www.uofts.org/degrees but is NOT regionally accredited. 

I am a board certified chaplain and pastoral counselor, and I'm here to say that you should avoid "UOFTS" like the plague, it is nowhere near legitimate, despite the SCA backing. If you are looking into healthcare chaplaincy (as your username implies) you need to get an ATS accredited MDiv, or at least a counseling or religion-related masters accredited by a CHEA recognized accreditor (Walden's tempo MS in Psych might be a good fit, but you would likely need to make up some hours in theology/religion, bringing the total accumulated graduate hours to 72). Then, or concurrently, you need to earn four units of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) accredited by the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE) or the College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy (CPSP), and then earn requisite board certification from either the ACPE cognate Association of Professional Chaplains (APC) or CPSP. Be careful not to wrap more than one unit up in your graduate education (for credit) as it will disqualify you from using those units for board certification purposes with APC/ACPE, though several seminaries will allow you to articulate even four units for credit.

I already know where to get my ACPE units near my residence. 

So you're saying that my first option is still probably the best: New York Theological seminary https://www.nyts.edu/academic-programs/m...-divinity/ because it is on the ATS list. https://www.ats.edu/member-schools/new-y...l-seminary

I'll send you a PM with my other concerns. Thanks!

[Supermind]

Awesome, congrats!

Are you given letter grades for courses and a program GPA, or is this PASS/FAIL like the WGU model?

You are given a letter grade for each course, and a cumulative letter grade as well. However, that part is a little unclear for me. If you failed to address the rubric correctly/satisfactorily, they return your paper for revision. You are given 3 attempts after which, you will automatically be ejected out of the Tempo learning format into the normal learning format. However, if you stuck close to the rubric, and your paper is accepted, you get an A. I came across very few students whose paper was accepted, but they earned a B. I am wondering if the number of attempts makes the difference. Perhaps, if someone’s paper is accepted only on the 3rd attempt, they might get a B. Mine was mostly accepted on the first attempt, except for two competencies, where the professor wanted some minor revisions done, and it was accepted on the second attempt.

[jsd]

Perfect, thanks for the explanation, and congrats again.

I'm in my final term for my Cybersec masters, but somewhere down the road i might be insane enough to go back in for another masters. I haven't seen too many Tempo Learning experiences shared, so this is great. Much appreciated.

[Supermind]

Perfect, thanks for the explanation, and congrats again.

I'm in my final term for my Cybersec masters, but somewhere down the road i might be insane enough to go back in for another masters. I haven't seen too many Tempo Learning experiences shared, so this is great. Much appreciated.

Thanks jsd! All the best for your final term.

[suzycupcake]

Sure. Happy to help. This is a 48 quarter credits program divided into nine 5-credit courses, and one 3-credit course. Each course is further sub-divided into three or four ‘competencies.’ To clear each competency, you must study the learning resources provided, score 80% or above in the module quizzes, and complete the required competency assignment. Most competencies required writing papers ranging from 4-6 pages long to 13-17 pages long. Some competencies require writing extended responses (3-8 paragraphs long) to some questions, while some others required creating narrated PowerPoint presentations. Grading was mostly lenient; however, some professors were quite exacting. If you stuck to the rubric, you will not have problems. There are two Statistics/Research Methods courses. But they were not very difficult. You are not required to memorize statistical formulas; I was fearing that. You use MS-Excel to do all the calculations. However, you must understand the various statistical tests, when to use them, when not to use them etc. Only then can you select among the various options on Excel. The final Capstone felt quite straightforward. However, I found the last two courses before the Capstone very intense. I hope these details help?

Yes, thank you!  Did you do this as a full time student? 

It's those darn papers that were scaring me away and then now the statistics, ugh. I dont know if I have it in me. This would all be for personal enrichment as my job wouldn't require a Masters. It would just feel so nice to be able to say I have a Masters, you know?

[Supermind]

I am self-employed, and can afford to be flexible with time. While I allocated more time to completing this degree, I know batchmates who managed to complete it in 2 terms while also having a full time job.
Reg the Stats., it is quite straightforward. If you have taken a Stats. course as part of your undergrad degree work, then you will have a solid foundation. Even if you haven’t, the Stats. modules at Walden might not be as difficult as you imagine. I found them quite interesting.

[suzycupcake]

I am self-employed, and can afford to be flexible with time. While I allocated more time to completing this degree, I know batchmates who managed to complete it in 2 terms while also having a full time job.
Reg the Stats., it is quite straightforward. If you have taken a Stats. course as part of your undergrad degree work, then you will have a solid foundation. Even if you haven’t, the Stats. modules at Walden might not be as difficult as you imagine. I found them quite interesting.

Thanks for the encouragement!!!

[Merlin]

I still haven't figured out what I want to do now that my first master's degree is complete. But going back to get another graduate degree is still on my list. I'm pretty sure that in the time it will take me to complete a Ph.D. I could earn two more master's degrees elsewhere. So I might just end up going down that path since the Ph.D. would be nice, I am really just getting it for the doctor title and bragging rights. The option to teach is a nice side benefit when I decide I'm done with the 9-5 grind, but it isn't a necessity since I can already teach as an adjunct now. I doubt I'd be able to land a tenured position at this point, even if I had a Ph.D. today.

That said if I can find the right Ph.D. program (ideally a funded slot, or I can find someone willing to help pay for it) then going for a Ph.D. is still in the cards. Getting a second master's would help that process though since I might be able to transfer some of the excess courses into a compatible Ph.D. program in business or whatever the second degree is in.

I'm quite interested in psychology (almost all of my elective and GenEd credits in undergrad were psychology courses) so going back for a master's degree in Psychology is something that is appealing to me, so I've been watching these tempo learning threads with some earnest.

Great job Supermind.

[Supermind]

Thanks Merlin. Could you tell me more about transferring excess graduate courses into a Ph.D. program? I didn’t know that could be done.

[Merlin]

Thanks Merlin. Could you tell me more about transferring excess graduate courses into a Ph.D. program? I didn’t know that could be done.

Well, it all depends on the policies at the grad school you're looking at pursuing your Ph.D. (or additional master's degree) with, but this is a pretty common policy among grad schools in general. The basic idea is that once you have completed a master's degree (doesn't have to be the first one, but will often be the one used to qualify for admission), any additional graduate courses that you have taken (whether they are used in another degree or not) may be accepted in transfer to waive equivalent courses required in the new degree program.

For example, at the University of the Cumberlands, they will accept up to 18 semester hours earned beyond the master's degree used for admission. People who have completed an MBA and MSML at WGU have been able to transfer in a ton of credits towards a Ph.D. in Leadership or Management, or a DBA at UotC.

This is so common that one of the graduate admissions advisors I spoke with asked me what my second master's degree was in without even missing a beat. So it is common enough that it is practically expected, at least at some schools.