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Go"Excellent experience but be prepared."
In completed my doctorate at Walden in March, 2010. Unlike most students, I decided to pursue it full-time. I have no idea how anyone could complete this doctorate part-time in any reasonable period of time. It took me just under three years to complete and I understand the average is 5.9 years. I also estimate that well under 20% of those who start their doctoral degree at Walden actually complete it. In my cohort, there is only four of us left from roughly 20. The greatest complaint I have is the acceptance process. The reality is that the 80% of the students that drop out should have never been accepted in the first place. The simple word is commitment. If you are committed and serious you will excel at any program. If you are not it will be a very expensive experience. On average my commitment to Walden was between 20-80 hours per week. At times, it was simply my entire life. The changes at Walden between 2007 and 2010 have been exceptional. There are clearly a range of areas that they can improve on. However, the value of the institution is the faculty. Everything else is secondary. The global reach of the faculty was amazing. My dissertation committee included professors with their doctorates from or currently scholars at UMass, NYU, Stanford and Walden. I met with most of them several times face to face at residences and they provided outstanding input into the research project. My dissertation took 18 months in total and they were committed through the entire process. I am a full-time professor at a business school. The one area I was impressed with Walden is the apparent lack of traditional politics that plague most institutions. I suspect this is because most faculty are adjunct (and FT faculty at other institutions) and they do this to extend their professional reach or remain active if they have retired. From my perspective - the Walden model is the future of graduate education. Traditional institutions will need to adapt or else.
