Distance learning university graduate programs are becoming more popular for postgraduate students. Many students are attending night/weekend courses for their MBA or other graduate degree. But, if you are thinking about using a distance learning program for a doctorate, there are some things you need to consider.

A doctoral program usually requires research and this dissertation will have to be reviewed and approved by qualified academics in the dicipline of that research. After you have received your degree, if you want your doctoral dissertation to withstand close review, you should have found a program that is focused on the quality of your research and which will be recognized and validated by your peers.

Usually this comes from an accredited university program. The process of achieving accreditation is difficult and complex and may require many years to achieve. This accreditation is the standard conformation of educational excellence for college degree programs.

One of the aspects of this accreditation for leadership PhD degree programs must be an on-campus residency requirement. A typical distance learning graduate degree program requires the student to take courses on-campus for some weeks over the duration of the degree program. Often these are broken into one-week residency programs and a student will come to the university campus for these residency programs based on the university's and the student's calendar.

Homework assignments maintain the distance learning students busy and on-track between the residency weeks. If your doctoral program is an accredited one, you should expect the assignments to include reading, writing, conversations, study, research techniques, collaboration, and other tasks which prepare you for your dissertation.

Many of these distance learning graduate degree programs include extra requirements for reading and research seminars and on-campus library study. The reading and research seminars may be at research libraries other than your school. The supplementary on-campus library study usually is one or two weeks in addition to the coursework residency requirements.

Normally, one of these doctorate degree programs will take three to seven years to graduate.

Author's Bio: 

Rodger Bailey, MS and his wife, Isabel, are attending one of these doctorate programs at a small Christian university in Tennessee. They selected a program which focuses on deep academic research for social change. They have developed a social network for graduate students who want to attend, are attending, or have graduated from a distance learning graduate degree program. They invite you to come by and participate in the friendly conversations about
distance learning graduate degree programs.