Qualifications

Thread Starter

Beep

Joined Apr 2, 2008
8
also can i just go take the tests in college and pass them and get my ph'd that way while taking classes for another major? i go to community college but the semester hasnt started yet and i want to know if i can just study like a megalomaniac and just go in to take tests and get my degreees that way
 

Dave

Joined Nov 17, 2003
6,969
Give your threads descriptive titles.

PhDs aren't typically assessed through examinations, but through a thesis and viva. Perhaps you need to research what a PhD entails before jumping into any ideas of starting one.

Dave
 

thingmaker3

Joined May 16, 2005
5,083
CLEP and challenges will only get you so far. A certain number of credit hours actually sat through are needed for a bachelor's degree.

Consult your councilor for details.
 

Wendy

Joined Mar 24, 2008
23,415
Just curious Beep, what grade are you in?

Doesn't matter to the forum though, we are all interested in electronics, and try to help each other out. I consider myself pretty advanced in electronics, but have seen a lot of stuff here that left me in the dust.

Doesn't stop me from enjoying myself, and I'll learn something new besides.
 

Thread Starter

Beep

Joined Apr 2, 2008
8
uhm i just started >.< college yay me i just need my mom to do her income taxes so i can get fafsa and stuffs yay school
 

Dave

Joined Nov 17, 2003
6,969
Well get through college first. If you can get an upper second or first class degree (sorry I don't know the equivalent US grades) then you should be in position to consider a PhD. The other issue is can your department get the funding for an appropriate research project.

Your career objectives may have changed by the time you complete your first degree. When those companies dangle the money-carrot it is very easy to ignore any potential benefits of a PhD, often with good cause.

Dave
 

beenthere

Joined Apr 20, 2004
15,819
In order to have a PhD awarded, you must first have earned your bachelor's and (usually) a master's degree. You must work with a faculty advisor and conduct research. Then you write a dissertation about your research topic. This dissertation is reviewed by existing faculty and you must verbally defend your dissertation in front of a review committee.

Only some Arizona school is going to let you get a degree by mail.

Learning standard English and the dialect known as "academic" may prove helpful.
 

Dave

Joined Nov 17, 2003
6,969
In order to have a PhD awarded, you must first have earned your bachelor's and (usually) a master's degree.
Yes it is a good point to note that a Masters is often a prerequisite - we have undergraduate Masters in Engineering here in the UK, so your first degree assessment is the same as for a Bachelors. If you have a very good first-class Bachelors degree then you may be offered a PhD research project, particularly if you have doe work on this subject before.

Dave
 

JoeJester

Joined Apr 26, 2005
4,390
Dave,

For you future reference ... Associate Degree, Bachlor Degree, Master's, and PhD ... are the four steps on this side of the pond.
 

Dave

Joined Nov 17, 2003
6,969
Dave,

For you future reference ... Associate Degree, Bachlor Degree, Master's, and PhD ... are the four steps on this side of the pond.
Thanks Joe.

Can I ask what is an Associate Degree? Is that like A-levels or a Foundation Degree here in the UK?

The Bachelors-Masters-Doctorate route is the same as here.

Dave
 

jpanhalt

Joined Jan 18, 2008
11,087
I am sure there are other views on the Associate of Arts degree in the US. Here's a little historical perspective. With our booming population, many communities set up "junior" colleges, which were originally 2-year schools for those who could not afford or could not attend a 4-year college for other reasons. The AA degree was awarded upon completion of the 2-year curriculum. That could be a terminal degree, or students could transfer some, but usually not all, of the credits to a 4-year college and advance to a Bachelors degree. The 2-year colleges often had the name "Junior" attached to them.

Later, and with development of state and other publicly funded colleges, a lot of the junior colleges joined larger systems, dropped the "junior" and changed to "community colleges." Most of them began offering a Bachelors degree in addition to the AA degree. Often, a formal arrangement exists to allow easy transfer of a student from a community college to the state university.

Today, one finds AA degrees of at least three types: 1) The traditional 2-year degree from a community college; 2) Degrees from many of the on-line universities (e.g., University of Phoenix) are AA; and 3) Degrees in some specific areas of study, such as Music, that have had a strong tradition of the AA degree as a terminal degree.

As an employer in technical and scientific areas, the AA degree does not count for much over a high school diploma. In some cases, it equates to a trade school diploma. In healthcare, it is rarely a requirement for a job, but by statute, it is allowed toward meeting minimum qualifications for some of the more advanced technician jobs.

In summary, as an employer, I considered the AA as a positive indicator of drive and accomplishment, particularly for applicants to entry level jobs that didn't have any degree requirement. However, compared to a similar applicant with a BA, the AA did not carry a lot of weight. One of the problems has been the prevalence of the AA degree from on-line sources and the extreme difficulty in assessing the quality of that education. John
 

Dave

Joined Nov 17, 2003
6,969
Thanks for the information John.

From your description it doesn't sound as though there is an equivalent to the AA Degree here in the UK. The closest would probably be the HNC/HND, which like the AA Degree can be used to provide some credits towards a Batchlors. To be fair the HNC and HND have a very good standing here in the UK as they are often used as academic support for more vocational courses of study, e.g. apprenticeships.

Dave
 

beenthere

Joined Apr 20, 2004
15,819
We do have something like that here. Lynn Technical College and DeVry Institute of Technology come to mind. Almost purely vocational schools.

Bill
 

Dave

Joined Nov 17, 2003
6,969
We do have something like that here. Lynn Technical College and DeVry Institute of Technology come to mind. Almost purely vocational schools.

Bill
The HNC/HND is the academic part of what is typically a vocational focused course. So for apprenticeships, the course will involve something like an NVQ which is the vocational assessment, and a HNC which is the academic assessment. It is quite a neat way of training apprentices usually working on a day-release scheme. I assume these vocational schools work in a similar way.

Dave
 

Salgat

Joined Dec 23, 2006
218
In technology fields Community Colleges are mainly for Associate 2 year degrees for technicians or for completing the first 2 years of your Engineering degree (which you then transfer). Engineering classes for transfers usually are only core classes, like math, physics, english, etc, not much hands on. I get my "technician" AA after this semester but am also going for an engineering degree to transfer.
 

nomurphy

Joined Aug 8, 2005
567
In the USA:

Associate degrees are not necessary and can be skipped. Graduating a "4-year" program at a college/university gets you an undergraduate degree of a BA or BS. You typically don't obtain an AA or AS at that point, and don't need it.

If you first attend a community college or technical school, or attend a "two-year" program at a college/university, you can receive an Associate or "two-year" Degree (although it may take many years to obtain if you attend part-time). If you plan it correctly, you could then attend a university/college for the final two years, starting as an upper classman. Or, you may start as an underclassman and do all or most of the typical four years. In either case, you would then obtain a BA or BS to go along with your previous AA or AS.

After that you must qualify, typically by testing, to enter a Master's Degree Program of some sort and work with an advisor to receive a graduate degree. The grade requirement is often higher (e.g., "B" minimum in all classes) than that for an undergraduate degree. You generally attend classes, have tests, and do homework as one did at the undergraduate level, but at a higher level of study. And you may, or may not, have to provide a thesis paper on a subject within your major, or possibly engage in a relatively short internship.

Getting a Ph.D (doctorate) is not about attending classes so much, as working with an advisor from a particular department and doing research to write a paper that is meticulously annotated and cited, and that contributes significantly new knowledge to the field of study. This requires "original thinking" that can be a big factor in failing to receive a doctorate. However, the department and advisor must be convinced, or have faith, that you are capable of such "original thought" before allowing you to enter the program.

See the movie "A Beautiful Mind" -- although he was very intelligent in mathematics, he did not immediately receive his doctorate. He struggled through a period of years where he felt very strained to come up with an original mathematical process, before he obtained his doctorate.

The above will vary with schools and subject majors. For instance, the law and lawyers have different categories, and can still argue today whether or not they are "doctors" or "professors" or equivalent.
 
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