New D.Eng. degree at PSWC

[Alpha]

For some, the D. Eng. might be more attractive than a PhD
https://www.psu.edu/news/world-campus/st...l-program/

[ifomonay]

I saw this. It's intriguing because they say it has the equivalent rigor as a Ph.D. But then I wonder why don't they just call it a Ph.D.? I'm assuming it's because they don't want to annoy the on-campus Ph.D. students.

[MNomadic]

I saw this. It's intriguing because they say it has the equivalent rigor as a Ph.D. But then I wonder why don't they just call it a Ph.D.? I'm assuming it's because they don't want to annoy the on-campus Ph.D. students.

It seems to be a similar structure to other D.Eng programs I looked into through George Washington University. I think the key differentiator between it and a PhD is it's more focused on practical application in industry rather than theoretical research in academia. That's my take on it, anyway.

[Alpha]

I've imagined that the D. Eng vs. PhD is similar to the DBA vs. PhD.  It's a professional degree, not a research degree.

[sialiblo]

I saw this. It's intriguing because they say it has the equivalent rigor as a Ph.D. But then I wonder why don't they just call it a Ph.D.? I'm assuming it's because they don't want to annoy the on-campus Ph.D. students.

It seems to be a similar structure to other D.Eng programs I looked into through George Washington University. I think the key differentiator between it and a PhD is it's more focused on practical application in industry rather than theoretical research in academia. That's my take on it, anyway.

Also similar to D.Tech from Purdue, but this PSU require much less credits, 45 credits vs. Purdue 90 credits (60 for MS transfer).

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I've imagined that the D. Eng vs. PhD is similar to the DBA vs. PhD.  It's a professional degree, not a research degree.

I believe both are research oriented degrees, but PhD tackles more fundamental/theoretical problems that might have no practical values for a long time, while D.Eng/D.Tech tackles applied problems and has immediate practical values today.

In Ph.D program someone might produced dissertation that no one read or care about and completely useless as of now, but someone else might found its practical values someday, maybe decades later. On the other hand, D.Eng/D.Tech program is designed to produce dissertation that has immediate practical values and useful right now, not decades later.

[ifomonay]

I saw this. It's intriguing because they say it has the equivalent rigor as a Ph.D. But then I wonder why don't they just call it a Ph.D.? I'm assuming it's because they don't want to annoy the on-campus Ph.D. students.

It seems to be a similar structure to other D.Eng programs I looked into through George Washington University. I think the key differentiator between it and a PhD is it's more focused on practical application in industry rather than theoretical research in academia. That's my take on it, anyway.

Also similar to D.Tech from Purdue, but this PSU require much less credits, 45 credits vs. Purdue 90 credits (60 for MS transfer).

---

I've imagined that the D. Eng vs. PhD is similar to the DBA vs. PhD.  It's a professional degree, not a research degree.

I believe both are research oriented degrees, but PhD tackles more fundamental/theoretical problems that might have no practical values for a long time, while D.Eng/D.Tech tackles applied problems and has immediate practical values today.

In Ph.D program someone might produced dissertation that no one read or care about and completely useless as of now, but someone else might found its practical values someday, maybe decades later. On the other hand, D.Eng/D.Tech program is designed to produce dissertation that has immediate practical values and useful right now, not decades later.

See, that's the danger in getting a D.Eng instead of a Ph.D. Most people believe that D.Eng is a professional degree, when in fact it is a research degree. If you look at other universities (including this one at Penn State), the requirements for a D.Eng is exactly the same as getting a Ph.D. But the perception is that D.Eng. is like a PhD-lite, which it isn't. I would rather not have to explain to every prospective employer that a D.Eng is a research degree like a Ph.D. I would rather just get a Ph.D. to avoid all that/

[Silvious]

The Professional degree version would be the Degree of XXX Engineer. It's 2 years after my master, and only a handful of institutes offer this option and are major-specific (ex Stanford, Steven, ...). I think that the D.Eng is still a generic doctorate and not an actual Engineer degree.
Ph.D. also requires novelty and the research incorporates some new factors toward public knowledge. D.Eng's research topic is more practical and doesn't go through the same scrutinize for the major.

[life_learner]

There are a few flavors of DBA programs: same as PhD, research light, non research.
As a current DBA student in a R1 university and an AACSB accredited business school, the difference between PhD and DBA comes down to the reading list for each course is shorter and the dissertation is shorter, even though it's still research focused (curriculum consists of research methods and research seminars). Since this is a part time program and all the students have full time job, the program has to be research light.
If I recall correctly, some universities just have full time DBA program, not PhD program. In that case, the requirement is probably the same as the requirement for PhD program.
A lot of DBA programs are not research focused. One can figure that out by looking at the curriculum (overview of this and overview of that, and a capstone/project instead of dissertation)

[sanantone]

Just because a program isn't a PhD doesn't mean it isn't research-oriented. A PhD's dissertation is supposed to focus on theory and adding new knowledge to the literature. If a doctoral program isn't doing that, then a name other than "Doctor of Philosophy" is more appropriate.