MANKATO — While it didn't go down exactly as hoped, Minnesota State University has the go-ahead from the Legislature to begin offering applied doctoral degrees.
The good news came with limitations. Instead of broad approval, the four-year institutions within the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system were given legal authority to offer applied doctoral programs in six areas.
They include business, nursing, audiology, physical therapy, education and psychology.
"I would have hoped for more circumspect or inclusive language," said Fernando Delgado, dean of graduate studies at MSU. "But the six areas play to a lot of our strengths."
Before mid-May, the University of Minnesota was, by law, the only public institution in the state allowed to grant doctoral degrees. Only seven states operated that way.
Even with the change in the law, there is still a difference in what the U of M offers and what the MnSCU schools will offer. MnSCU universities will offer applied doctoral degrees, which are designed to prepare a student to practice in a specific profession. The Ph.D. programs at the U of M, meanwhile, are intended to prepare scholars in a field of study.
MSU President Richard Davenport was MnSCU's point man on lobbying efforts to change the law. At the time he cited the nursing shortage as a reason to offer an advanced degree that would create more qualified nursing educators.
And he said the number of K-12 superintendent vacancies in the region is growing, which heightens the need for a institution that can produce qualified candidates for those vacancies.
Another area where there is a need regionally is in counseling. Faculty member Anne Blackhurst said the doctoral degree is required for career advancement in the counseling field. And the only place right now to get that degree is the U of M.
Blackhurst said her department has been busy researching other programs to get a sense of how best to launch their applied doctorate. It's a big job. They're having to take into account funding for graduate assistants and recruitment, what kind of faculty to hire, how the new program will affect the current one and even office space.
"We are excited to be able to fill a need in the region," Blackhurst said. "We think there is a need for people outside the Twin Cities to be able to pursue doctoral work."
Mike Miller, dean of MSU's College of Education, said the demand is high for a doctorate program.
"We could have 200 applications tomorrow if we opened it right away," he said.
But instead of rushing out the door with a doctorate program, they want to spend time researching how they can offer "a high-quality program that is our own brand of doctorate."
The new program will take into consideration what he calls a huge need for school leaders to be able to look at testing data and bring people together and address diversity issues.
"I don't think we have any interest in offering something that doesn't really change things," he said.
The new law went into effect in May, after most of the university's faculty had left for the summer. Because of that, Delgado says there hasn't been much official discussion about the future of applied doctoral education at MSU. That will happen when fall semester begins at the end of August.
Much discussion took place prior to the law being changed, and Delgado said the faculty in the six authorized areas are excited at the challenge of elevating their existing programs.
"MSU's posture is that a doctoral degree is an important academic credential and should be treated as an intellectual endeavor," Delgado said. "What MSU is trying to do is be a doctoral institution that produces knowledge, produces professionals, prepares people to move ahead in their careers."
Delgado said there hasn't been much discussion of timetables, but he did say he expects the first programs to launch within two years.
Email this article | Permanent link | Topstories news | Topstories news archives
Minnesota State
University, Mankato
Mankato, MN 56001
1-800-722-0544
© 2005-2013 Minnesota State University, Mankato. Minnesota State University, Mankato is a member of
Minnesota State Colleges & Universities system and an affirmative action/equal opportunity university.
