Capella University

Date: Mar 14 2013
Major: Criminal (This Major's Salary over time)
I graduated with a Ph.D. from Capella recently at the end of 2012. I can say that I had a positive experience and that the University worked well for me. It took me four years and a lot of hard work but I was able to complete my coursework and dissertation in the timeframe that I set for myself. I understand why people get upset with Capella but frankly it is because many of them enter doctoral programs not fully realizing what they are signing up for. The coursework is not really the challenging part; most doctoral students should not have issues there. The challenge is the dissertation which is what separates the girls from the women and the boys from the men. It is designed to be challenging and hard. It is not something easily obtained and frankly not for everyone.

Your mentors will help you along the way but they will not hold your hand. They can answer questions and direct you but they cannot do the research for you. You have to design, implement and complete a study on your own to prove yourself worthy of the academic rank. You have to carefully navigate the bureaucracy of higher learning. You have to excel at both oral and written communication. This is true of all doctoral programs but unfortunately too many people think that Capella will be easy because of the convenience of online learning. Finally I will say this, the majority of people who start doctoral programs will not finish. That is not something that is stated often enough before people begin and take on a great deal of debt.

I wish those in the program the best of luck