Northcentral University Reviews of Doctorates in Organizational Leadership

"Great program and staff. Challenging at times, but very doable. The flexibility offered was really key to my wanting to attend. I was looking for a doctoral program that did not require residency since I work a lot and taking two or four weeks off a year can be difficult. This program gave me what I needed and it was relatively inexpensive compared to other schools."

"The experience was good up to dissertation. There was zero support, mentorship, or coaching from my chair. My chair expressed a disdain for me in the process and had no investment in my success and the other dissertation board members where non-existent in the process. The Chair was a tenured professor out of Boston College out and "road blocked" me in the process. He had absolutely no investment in my success!! After going around and around for three years in the dissertation development I gave up and acquired a certificate in business leadership, which is worth nothing as it applies to nothing as a credential. After tens of thousands of dollars I invested along the way having gone through all course work achieving 3.9 accumulated GPA leading up to dissertation... and my dreams/professional goals dashed and what seemed to be high jacked by a dissertation process that was dysfunctional! I regret my affiliation."

"Like Jeff below, I found the coursework rigorous and rewarding. Other than the regular tuition increases over my 6 1/2 years, I have no significant complaints. I had one 'poor' instructor early on, and he is no longer with NCU. Every instructor since then has been outstanding--engaging and accessible. The greatest distinction between NCU and some other online schools is the independent nature of the doctoral process. In some other schools, you are in a cohort--the coursework and even the dissertation is more of a 'community project' instead of truly being your own. I can honestly say that my dissertation--every single page of it--is my work. (Being able to listen in on dissertation defenses was also amazing. It was quite clear who had done their research and who had not.) Finally, I want to reiterate Jeff's comment --PhD work is not for everyone. This is a very independent process; you must be able to explore and synthesize massive amounts of information, and your writing skills must be excellent! My dissertation chair was an APA guru! If you can work independently, you will do quite well at NCU."

"This was the hardest thing I ever did; took seven years. It is also one of the most rewarding things I ever did. A PhD is no joke, and they certainly don't give it away. In other words, the program was very academically rigorous. There were many times I would lye down at night and wonder if I would ever finish it. This is not for everyone. Your writing skills need to be top notch. Also, a doctoral dissertation is nothing like a master's thesis. They are very different animals."

"My learning experience with NCU was 100% positive. The weekly assignments were meaningful, expectations were made clear, and the support during the dissertation phase was phenomenal. You have to devote time to your studies and need to be self-motivated, but it's absolutely worth it."

"I am currently enrolled at Northcentral University and I have to say I love it. the professors provide excellent and timely feedback. The courses are set up in such a way to help you progress through the program. At the end of each class you are well prepared for the next class. I also like the fact that it is not based on a team environment, unlike my MBA where my grade counted on other people to do their work, which rarely happened. My guidance counselor is always there if I need him, but rarely do I need to contact him. The only time was when I had to delay a class for one week, which was no problem. This is by far the best online school. Yes it is challenging, but any Ph.D program should be challenging. I have learned so much and apply what I have learned every day to my work environment."

"I graduated from this school. All my other degrees are from M&B universities. I must say that NCU was the toughest, my chair and team were candid. At times I was frustrated and actually thought because I was paying, the profs needed to treat me with some type of special care; not mine, they were tough as they should be and gave me all the comments and areas that needed review. This is not for everybody, I wrote my work and worked hard. If you are not ready to work, please stay out of the kitchen. I am gainfully employed and doing quite well. Great school"