doctoral studies

[johnlopez2000]

Colleagues,

I am looking into doctoral programs related to IT, engineeirng, and business. I can do some on-campus seminar type excursions, but really need to do it online if possible.

Any suggestions (am looking into UOP currently)

thanks!

John Lopez
Enterprise PDM Architect
john.l.lopez@goodrich.com

 

[willir]

An OnLine PhD program?

From my experience, a BA and BSc type of programs involve a lot of processes that can be quantified into a OnLine system. This is information - read it. Here are the the assignments -- do them. Here is the test - what are the answers?

But moving to a PhD level reqires a heck of a lot more including a thesis, possible research, and highly educated supervisors. Often, a thesis and PhD have to add something our existing knowledge.

You may be able to find some remote learning offerings by a university, but are you concerned about the quality of education??

 

[johnlopez2000]

Dear Willir,

thanks for the information.

My concerns are:

o cost effectivity / cost control
o time to execute
o schedule load (I have 7 kids)
o institutional accredidation
o the ability to "forge" my degree program to conform to what I want to be able to do when I am done (rather than a cookie-cutter PhD)
o the ability to draw from several disciplines / universities for electives
o copyright ownership of research and documents (disertation)
o my own ability to function and succeed in an on-line educational program (my BS & MA were traditional in-class)

My primary interests encompass leadership liaison role in the application of technology to create an environment for innovative design via computational engineering technologies and enterprise usage of the products of engineering, particularly in the realm of PLM (product lifecycle mgmt systems). I want to be able to help our company press into not only capturing engineering design as expressed in CAD/FEA models (we do that now via PDM), but to apply perhaps varied technologies to automate engineering knowledge management and apply that to driving innovation.

Thanks

Thanks

John Lopez
Enterprise PDM Architect
john.l.lopez@goodrich.com

 

[CajunCenturion]

==> (rather than a cookie-cutter PhD)
And just what is a cookie-cutter Ph.D.?

Good Luck
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[johnlopez2000]

Dear CajunCenturian -

not intent to offend with my comment ... nor to "discolor" anyone else's graduate experience.

It is just that there seems to be little that one can do apart from within the disertation itself to cross-train.

I have a varied background (BS in Electronic Engineering, non-tech MA), many years of experience both in production engineering environments supporting CAD/CAE, much experience in software engineering for the enterprise, and for the last 5 years involved with ePLM (enterprise product lifecycle mgmt - offshoot of PDM).

I want to develop leadership skills that will let me draw on the diverse elements of my background AND become the innovation leader I want to be.

Hence, my comment. No offence ever meant.


John Lopez
Enterprise PDM Architect
john.l.lopez@goodrich.com

 

[CajunCenturion]

Thank you. I understand.

Good Luck
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[kHz]

the ability to draw from several disciplines / universities for electives

A PhD program from a large university, say Georgia Tech, would allow you to have courses cross-discipline, depending on the course of study. But I do not know of any program that would also allow you to take a course from say, the Univerisity of Texas and apply that to your program of study. Much less multiply that many times. Even if you could, try having the transcripts sent, then reviewed by your chaired committee for acceptance, etc. Why?

institutional accredidation

If you are worried about that, then I don't think you should be looking for online programs.

copyright ownership of research and documents (disertation)

My guess is the university would have ownership because you used their resources for completion of the study, much the same as developing software as an employee for Lockheed/Martin.

rather than a cookie-cutter PhD

Most programs are flexible to allow you to follow your interests. Because a large part of the program is through empirical research. A PhD is 96 hours beyond a bachelor's degree. A master's is typically 36 hours, but not all 36 may be approved for a doctoral program. But say all master's hours are accepted. That leaves 60 hours for completion of requirements. But for a PhD a dissertation is usually 20 hours; subtract that from the 60 and you have 40 hours remaining for coursework - roughly 14 classes (at 3 hours). If you want to do further study in a particular area that isn't offered in the form of a class you could partition the committee to allow you to take 3 or 6 hours of directed readings. Still, one-third of the doctoral study is given to research for your dissertation.

 

[johnlopez2000]

Dear kHz - thanks for the input!

One of the reasons that I was interested in crossing lines to get a few electives from anoth U is because UTD (U of Texas, Dallas) offers a 5 hr course in PLM that will apply to THEIR PhD, but I can't go to Texas, so I was trying to meld that into another program ...

thanks!!!

John Lopez
Enterprise PDM Architect
john.l.lopez@goodrich.com

 

[jwdcfdeveloper]

John,

To piggy back some on what kHz said, PhD programs do have some degree of flexibility. With that in mind, you will want to have some deep meaningful conversation with the professors of whatever university you plan to attend. Make sure that the types of things they are working on are the types of things you are interested in. I know people who entered into PhD programs wanted to do "XYZ" and would up just extending their advisor's work. That's not to say that it will happen to you, but just make sure that you and the potential school you're looking at are on the same page in terms of goals.

Another thing to keep in mind is your goals once you get your PhD. Do you want to teach at the university level? What type of university do what to teach at (i.e. an R1 university where research is first and foremost or a university where research is not as important as teaching the students). Do you want to work for a Think Tank, or a consulting firm?

Also, like others already have on this board, I would advise against an online PhD programs. I'm not saying that all of them are bad, but when it's time to get a job, employers (especially if you intend to get into academia) want to know with whom did you study, what type of research did you do, what types of projects were you affiliated with during your time in school, etc. This is a tougher question to answer if you got your degree online.

Whatever program you decide to enter keep in mind a few things about the PhD:

1. At some point you may have to go fulltime (if not go fulltime from the start) to finish the program in a timely manner
2. Expect it take 4 or more (emphasis on "or more") years to complete
3. The toughest part is not getting through the classes but actually completing and defending the dissertation.

I hope this helps.

--JW

 

[johnlopez2000]

JW - thank you. I will consider all of the above.

John Lopez
Enterprise PDM Architect
john.l.lopez@goodrich.com

 

[CajunCenturion]

No matter where you go, for a quality Ph.D. program, you're likely to have to take the "core" courses, which are basically the same from institution to institution. As kHz said, you're probably going to have to take between 12 and 15 classes, and of those, perhaps half will be 'core' courses. Anyone who is conferred a Ph.D. in Computer Science will be expected to have a rather extensive core knowledge across the field.

Good Luck
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