Doctoral Degrees and Post Master Certificates Expected to Increase
Extreme Academics Going Online
Post-graduate, online degrees are limited, in contrast to undergraduate and graduate online programs. Indications are, though, that as the distance learning paradigm expands a larger number of advanced degrees will move into the online realm and perhaps become as popular as their undergraduate counterparts. There are a few particular fields of online specialty that remain predisposed to post-graduate programs, which include post-graduate or post-masters certificates and doctoral degrees.
Types of Post Graduate Distance Programs
Doctoral degrees often come to mind when the topic of post-graduate studies comes up. But online education has already proven itself to be an inventor of more granular programs. Professionals with graduate degrees to their credit already may not seek fully realized doctoral programs, but instead crave chunks of advanced curriculum that provide targeted career know-how, jettison for the job market. Online degree providers—savvy marketers that most are—have answered this growing online demographic with customized post-graduate or post-masters certificates. This newest layer of online higher education provides a hybridized bridge between a staid Masters degree and dynamic post-graduate expertise.
On the other hand, a few traditionalists continue to seek online Ph.D. programs, although in much fewer numbers than their on-campus counterparts. Why are online Ph.D. degrees so limited? The sheer academic demands of most doctoral degrees has, up until this point in time, seemed to make them unlikely products to be served online, lacking the necessary flexibility inherent in other types of degrees. If nothing else, plenty of doctoral candidates are off-put to the idea of an online doctorate, presuming the curriculum to be either too much to take on with family and jobs, or not legitimate enough to stack up alongside face-to-face campus programs. But candidates in some fields are actually asking distance providers for online doctoral options that are tailored to an online paradigm.
Popular Online Post Grad Fields of Specialty
Almost any career field that has split itself into tinier specialties is ripe for post-graduate specializations. Nursing provides plenty of opportunity for post-masters certificate programs. Nurses with their Masters of Science in Nursing degrees seek to sub-specialize in niche markets such as Nursing Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Health Systems Administration, Nursing Education, and many others. Business professionals also have a stable of post-grad certificates such as Human Resources Management and Global Strategy. Programs such as these offer abbreviated coursework of a dozen credits or less to working professionals that desire distilled coursework, without the extra academic hoops to jump through.
As unwieldy as some may see an online Ph.D., there are a surprising number springing up, clustered in some fields more than others. Education professionals pursue online doctorates, as do an increasing number of nurses. Business administration executives continue to impose demands on distance learning as well, seeking the next competitive edge, the Ph.D. in Business Administration. Without a doubt, online degree providers are already working to bend doctoral requirements to the shape of online learning, modify online curriculum management systems to handle the academic rigors of the programs, and put library and scholarly resources online where remote, night-time academics may have full access and range of academic motion.
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