Accredited Online PhD Programs

Enrolling in an online PhD program is a significant undertaking. Not only will you invest a considerable amount of time, energy, and money into pursuing your online doctorate, but you will also place a great deal of trust into the hands of your faculty advisors, as their guidance and feedback will determine your level of readiness for the field. As a result, choosing the right online PhD program is of paramount importance to your success.

The most important factor to consider at this point in your educational career is the strength of the program or degree being offered–after all, by now, you’ve completed nearly a decade of college schooling!

Degrees Offered

It is critical to make sure that the online doctoral program you choose offers exactly the degree you want. The most popular online PhD degrees are the Doctor of Education (Ed.D), along with the Doctor of Medicine (MD), Doctor of Psychology (PsyD), and Juris Doctor (JD), also known as a Doctor of Law or Doctor of Jurisprudence, although programs in engineering, public health, and business administration often have high enrollment, too. The key is finding the right field and type of degree for you, though. Most online PhD candidates have been studying in their chosen subject area–for example math, social work, or English Literature–for quite some time, and know what general content they would like to examine.

However, online PhD degrees come in two distinct flavors, the first being the PhD, or Doctorate of Philosophy. As its name implies, the online PhD delves deeply into the theory of a given field, readying students for research or teaching jobs, working in schools, private research companies, or government.

On the other hand, more practically-oriented doctoral degrees exist, too, including the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) and Doctor of Public Health (DPH). These programs focus more on applying researched best practices in the field, and usually lead to higher-level administration, corporate, and managerial jobs. Deciding up front whether you want to go into academia or the business world will greatly help you choose the right PhD online.

Accreditation and Licensing

All schools, online or otherwise, should be accredited by the Department of Education or one of its licensed agencies. However, it is also important for online doctoral programs to be accredited by any important professional or licensing organizations in your field. For example, online MD candidates should seek programs recognized by the American Medical Association, or a professional body within their medical specialization, while potential lawyers should make sure their online school is approved by the Bar Association, both nationally and in their state. As these groups often write the tests that determine whether candidates can get certified or licensed–and this, in turn, determines whether they can get hired–it is crucial to get on a professionally-sound track and make sure all the time and energy you’ve spent earning a PhD online result in your dream job.

Checking on these two factors, in addition to making sure the actual school or program is legitimate, affordable, and convenient, will help ensure that you follow the most successful path to an online doctorate that you can.