vent- Ashford U

[sanantone]

I would think that, if one wanted more credibility, that person would just get a masters at an accredited school and study other theories of nutrition on the side.

I think this topic is fascinating.

Allow me to throw something in; I think some of you are viewing it through a different lens than the original poster.

IF she is not doing this to appease the state licensors, then... the only opinion that really counts is her peer group. A group that may not be as focused on academic rigidity and custom as they are other points.

My mind is mushy... let me take another run at the last part. I don't know her world. Maybe they all think that the university that is torturing her so is the, ah, Harvard of holistic health. Viewing it through that lens, it makes perfect sense to do what it takes to obtain that credential. It makes no sense to a medical doctor, or an academic - both measuring different metrics.

She needs a credential that enhances her validity in her peer group and among the followers of holistic health. Whatever that might be doesn't necessarily have to pass muster with state officials or people in other disciplines; it just has to work in her field. And, part of that has to be name recognition in the degree. A person might not have a clue what a Master of Interdisciplinary Study might be, but I guarantee you they'll understand Doctor of Wise Traditions Nutrition (I don't, I stole part of that from one of the links).

Now, if she wants to subsequently parlay all that work into something credible to academics or more conventional medical fields... she's going be be SOL, but from reading her posts, I think she's acutely aware of her plight.

Am I reading this right, or am I way off base? I feel like education should track your needs, instead of you being shoehorned into a degree because that's what's available.

I wouldn't know if that school is needed to be seen as credible among her peer group because I don't follow any particular school of thought when it comes to nutrition. I just follow the general alternative/complementary medicine field which has practitioners who are licensed healthcare professionals, people with unrelated degrees, and people with no degree at all who have learned through self-study. It was my understanding that the OP wanted to go to that school because they teach what she believes, not because it would make her more credible than ACHS or HCHS; but, I could be wrong.