DBA

[ss20ts]

That journalist who wrote that crappy op ed piece telling Dr. Jill Biden to drop the Dr. from her name has really made me revisit the idea of getting my doctorate. As in I kind of want one now because some bonehead guy was rude to a woman who worked hard for her doctorate.

That article got me quite upset as well and started me on the path of railing against the usurpation of the doctor title from academia and how people now see an MD as superior to a Ph.D. Considering an MD in many countries is a first-professional degree more akin to a JD or OD which is closer to a master's degree than a Ph.D. Yes, some doctors do go on to earn Ph.D.'s or do additional research study work, but that isn't a requirement to earn the title.

So yeah, it annoyed me and still does. It also annoyed my wife, but she wasn't as vocal about it.

In any case, if you want to pursue a doctorate, that's great! However, there are a few things you should consider first...

#1: You don't need a master's degree to apply for a doctoral program. Many programs will accept people with a bachelor's degree and may offer the opportunity to earn a master's degree along the way (or fail out of the Ph.D. into a master's). This is typically more for people pursuing a Ph.D., but there are DBA's with this option as well I believe.

#2: If you want to get into a decent doctoral program, you need to start researching requirements and areas of study before you begin your master's program. You will want one that is in the same field and will be accepted by the school(s) you're applying to. Doctoral programs can be hard to get into, particularly if you're looking for a funded program. The better ones usually have limited open slots each year even if they are not funded. Though this may not be as big of a deal if you're looking at online or part-time programs, as they tend to be less competitive and students will need to self-pay (or apply for loans, etc.)

#3: If you're looking at getting into a competency-based master's degree program for eventual entry into a DBA, you may want to consider completing two master's degrees first. Many schools will accept graduate courses beyond those needed to complete the first degree to waive requirements as part of the doctoral program. The University of the Cumberlands, for example, accepts like 18 transfer credits towards their Ph.D. and DBA programs. Many WGU students who plan to pursue a DBA will complete an MBA and MSML for that reason.

I started looking a bit yesterday at online DBA programs and wow do they vary! Some have dissertations and some don't. There are some with residency requirements such as 4 weekends on campus a term. That doesn't work for me at all. I imagine many people earning an online degree would have issues with residency requirements in another state. I'll be doing the DBA part time as I'll be working.

I plan on getting my MBA and a MA in Organizational Leadership. Debating a MS in Project Management as well since that's the field I'll be going into once I complete my MBA. Not sure about the MS though especially if I'm going to go for the DBA. But looking at the University of the Cumberlands their DBA has a required concentration and Project Management is one of the options so that is an interesting possibility!