Online Doctorate Programs

If you are considering furthering your education from masters to a doctorate degree, you now have the option of earning your degree with online doctorate programs. In the past obligations at work, home, and community may have preventing you from furthering your education, but now you can earn a doctorate degree at your own pace while still maintaining other obligations.

1) How to earn your degree online:

• Make sure you investigate several online universities before choosing the university you wish to attend. We have provided a list of top accredited online universities to help you make a decision.
• Decide what school will offer you the doctorate degree you wish to pursue. Most online universities offer a wide variety of doctorate degrees, but if you wish to specialize in a certain field, you may have to do more research to find the college that offers your specialty.
• Once you have made your decision, you will want to have all prior school transcripts before applying to the college of your choice. Some colleges may require admissions tests, as well as a certain GPA may be required, and some colleges may require a certain amount of experience, years of study, and personal recommendations.
• Most online schools offer financial aid and scholarships programs to help with tuition, while other may not. You will need to consult the admissions office before applying to ensure they have these programs available.
• Depending on the college you choose, you may have to complete a period of residency program before beginning your doctorate program. This may require completing the residency in the state the main college is located in. This is something to consider before applying if your online doctorate programs are at an out of state college.

Online Doctorate Programs

2) Top 6 accredited colleges that offer online doctorate programs:

University of Phoenix
• Doctor of Business Administration
• Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership
• Doctor of Education Technology
• Doctor of Education in Curriculum and Instruction
• Doctor of Education leadership

Walden University
• Doctor of Business Administration
• Doctor of Education including Administration Leadership in Teaching and Learning
• Doctor of Education of Curriculum in Instructional and Assessment
• Doctor of Education in Higher Education and Adult Learning

Liberty University
• Doctor of Education
• Doctor of Education in Teaching and Learning
• Doctor of Ministry

Argosy University Online
• Doctor of Accounting
• Doctor of Business Administration
• Doctor of Community College Executive Leadership
• Doctor of Counseling Psychology

Colorado Technical University Online
• Doctor of Computer Science
• Doctor of Computer science in Enterprise Information Systems
• Doctor of Management
• Doctor of Computer Science with Digital Systems Security

3) Advantages and disadvantages to furthering your education online:

• Online doctorate programs offers flexible schedule for students who have certain time restraints. Online classes allow you to study in your spare time and still maintain social, work and family obligations.
• Location is no longer an issue with many online courses, but as stated above, some online doctorate programs may require onsite residency program before beginning classes. You no longer have to commute which will save time and money.
• Time management can be a disadvantage to students who are procrastinators or are easily distracted. This is due to less time constraints on student when they learn at their own pace. If you fall into this category, online doctorate programs may not be ideal for you.