Walden University

Date: Dec 31 1969
Major: Public Policy (This Major's Salary over time)
I am attending Walden's PhD program in Public Policy and Administration. Prior to joining Walden, I was attending Hamline University's Doctor of Public Administration (DPA) program in St. Paul, MN. Walden's PhD program has a great scholarly research focus that provides many courses in how to perform qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research. Hamline's doctoral program is only a practitioner program that does not teach scholarly skills in using the three approaches to research. Moreover, all Walden PhD students publish their dissertations to the U.S. Library of Congress ProQuest Database. Hamline's DPA dissertations, like most other colleges, do not publish in the Library of Congresses ProQuest database. Additionally, Hamline and most other resident universities use the same "Blackboard" system for both their on-campus and online programs, and consequently use the same discussion board, assignment submittal, and grading systems as Walden. The only difference is that Hamline and other resident universities typically require students to attend one-class a week. A weekly in-person class does not make a big difference in the education. Moreover, Walden is accredited by the exact same regional accrediting board as the University of Minnesota, Hamline, Macalester, St. Thomas, etc., and has the same level of regional accreditation as every other regionally accredited university in the United States. Walden?s accreditation has been in good standing for about a quarter-century. Walden University is a great school, especially for working adults with families that cannot afford the time or lost wages to reside at a resident university while they acquire their PhD. Lastly, there are many Walden graduates teaching at many prominent universities across the United States, which is testament to Walden?s capabilities.