Walden University Reviews of Doctoral in Social Work

I would not recommend Walden University to students wanting a Ph.D. in social work (English is their second language). Online, you will not have the best experience with your Ph.D. mentor. The cost is not worth it for the service or lack of service. I dropped out of the program and went to an in-person school for their Ph.D. program and had 110% better results. You have to be in consent contact with your PhD mentor and that is hard to do based upon the Ph.D. instructor having way too many students... Read More they have to mentor and only video and on phone appointments. Please do not go to Walden for the sack of your mental health, cost, or thinking it will work around your life. Ph.D. programs are very serious and should build within the student confidence that they know what they are talking about, which sadly, Walden does not. Please, if your going for a Ph.D. go IN-PERSON and please stay away from Walden University online.

Where to even start with Walden, my mom says if you have nothing nice, say nothing at all. The only nice things I can say is that some of their faculty is kind and it’s convenient for working students who need a flexible set of courses to accommodate their work schedule. Aside from that from 2017 til this month, October 2021 I have been a student at Walden. I am going to point out each deceptive practice from my own personal experience. 1. Scholarships and discounts. I was told by the enrollment... Read More advisor that if I received a scholarship with Walden it would reduce the cost until I complete the program at Walden. This couldn’t be further from the truth. I had a scholarship with Walden as a social work student and I most definitely saw my scholarship go away and my school costs go up in the middle of my degree program (2019). 2. They say that the courses will strive towards social change and help you to grow as a student. It was very self paced, I mostly taught myself, and the teachers rarely provided feedback that helps students to strengthen their work or their writing. 3. Residencies are not only a joke but also a waste of money and time. Had I known I’d be spending for room and board, food, and traveling everywhere to pursue a degree while trying to accommodate my full time, very demanding schedule, I would’ve never attended Walden. I did what I had to do to move forward in my degree plan. 4. In dissertation pod I have had the worst experience ever. I’ve been in pod for at least 4 terms and got NO guidance on how to strengthen and improve my proposal and writing to move forward, first of all the first chair responds with looks good or if you text her she’s always traveling, when you manage to have a call with her, she has very little feedback to provide that helps you to move forward in a confident way as a doctoral student. The second committee member is completely non responsive, doesn’t attend meetings, when I look for her feedback on writing you get things like ‘looks good’. The URR doesn’t follow the checklist, they pick and choose what to nitpick at. They send you to fix and make corrections, you follow their guidance completely and do exactly what they say, then resubmit it, only for them to send back a plethora more of mistakes that they never pointed out as an issue in the first place. Also to note you didn’t change anything about the paper that would misalign it, only corrected their critiques and sought feedback from first and second committee member for them to say ‘looks great or way better’ only for URR to continue to say it’s not right. At this point it’s a money pit and I feel I’m being sent through these hoops and circles for them to buckle and dime me. I understand the dissertation is rigorous and that there will be several edits but to not have guidance and be paying all this money is a HUGE issue. 5. I consulted with my advisor about changing from PhD program to DSW program and they showed me that I would only need to take three additional courses and do a capstone project if I went that route. When I decided this year to pursue this, I’m already at Walden and switched from the Clinical Social Work PhD program to the Clinical Social Work DSW program. I side by side compared the courses in the course catalog, the description of the aim of the course, and the course code numbers. I’ve already taken those courses and exceeded some of the courses that are required to be taken. To expound in DSW you get fo choose between quantitative, mixed, or qualitative reasoning research courses. In PhD program you had to do both, which I did. So how is it that the evaluator states that at the same school, with the same class codes, and the same requirements as before, I would not be able to just transfer over and complete the few courses initially projected in 2019 and the capstone project, but instead essentially start almost completely over. This is deceptive because in ANY college of university I have attended, they would allow you a change of major or degree plan. 4)3 courses that compared in the course catalog were allowed to transfer over. Another example of Walden deceiving students and trying to nickel and dime them. 6. When there is a dilemma with Walden there is little to no feedback, I’ve presented this issue to the enrollment counselor who’s supposed to help me transfer from PhD to DSW program, nothing from my academic advisor which might I add a huge ref flag is going through four academic advisors in my time here, they leave like flies. I also reached out to the ombudsman and the next step is to figure out how to email the dean of the school of social work to get guidance because no one is responding to my very real and unreasonable question about a mere transfer process. 7. Walden is not honest and upfront about it’s prices, they project a way lower amount initially. Then you end up paying a whole lot more when you include residencies, materials for courses, the time wasted in dissertation pod with no guidance, etc. The financial aid team tells you mid semester when you ran out of funding for school, after you’ve already begun the term. When you ask them for resources and fiscal options they send you a link to fastweb which we know the link doesn’t work or had just another list of long scholarships for students that are first time 18+, not options for non traditional students. They also don’t work with you on a reasonable payment plan to pay for your school on your own. 8. Can never speak with anyone from your assigned school to discuss your concerns and get answers that makes sense.

Walden University afforded one of the greatest professional and educational experiences of my life. In order to get through any doctoral program, you must be self-motivated to do what you need to do. This includes basic time management skills, and the ability to adhere to a completion timeline that is HANDED TO YOU IN OUTLINE FORM! I feel like the people who are complaining about their experience of this school need to take a hard look at what they are complaining about... it's not about the school,... Read More folks, it's about the students themselves and the presence (or lack thereof) of real motivation. It is not up to the dissertation committee (or the school for that matter) to get the doctoral dissertation done for you - it is your student responsibility to do all of the work. The ability to accept this responsibility and run with it is what separates a doctoral graduate from all other students. The professors are all amazing. They are all extremely supportive. I never had to wait more than 24 hours for any of my professors to get back to me. My dissertation committee chair was available to me via direct TEXT MESSAGING AND TELEPHONE. Do not go into any doctoral program expecting anything to be handed to you. Think about any whining you did as an undergraduate student and throw that insipid nonsense out the window. There is no room for it whatsoever in any doctoral program. Nobody wants to hear about all the personal and professional responsibilities you have in your life that are being impacted by all of the time you spend working on your dissertation - you either have the time needed to devote to this process or you do not. The ability to do the work and get through it successfully is what sets you apart from everyone else. Completing a doctoral degree at Walden University opened up so many doors for me that even during the current pandemic I am SWIMMING in professional work opportunities. I literally have to say "no" to the offers that are coming in. I have people reaching out to me with contracts with dollar signs in them as a prelude to discussing the work they want me to do for them. Walden University made all of this happen for me. If you're not a whiner, or a dilettante, or someone who thinks the world owes you something, then Walden University is for you. I promise you, if you're truly motivated to do what you need to do to get through a Ph.D. program, then Walden is for you!

This program gave solid core courses the first two year. Once Capstone began it was if I did not exist anymore. I was told a chair would mentor and be there the whole way. This was a lie. There was no support. The chair did not make set appointments and her English was very poor. The language barrier was challenging enough, but then the chair would miss appointments making it even harder to have support and guidance. I wasted a lot of money on core classes for this degree and was left on an island... Read More when it came time to complete Capstone Research Project. When brining my difficulties to the head of the social work department there was not much understanding or empathy concerning my situation. Steer clear of Doctor programs in social work at Walden University. You will be stuck holding and empty back when its time to cash in at the end of the degree.

From admissions to graduation, this program is terrible. Admissions counselors contradict each other, they promise transfer credits and once you are admitted, they do not let you transfer them. The professors are awful. There is absolutely no engagement with students and everyone gets an "A". You get to the dissertation/capstone phase and there is no communication. Just a faceless name continues to edit your dissertation and it is never complete. Walden's graduation rate is 6% (47% after EIGHT years)... Read More for a reason. I highly recommended motivated self-starter professionals to stay FAR FAR AWAY.

I do not understand this school at all. No one knows how to help out when questions are asked or give your such a general answer that you still have to go and try to figure out the answers yourself. APA standards are all over the place and do not try to ask questions because they just tell you to go learn it or if you ask the writing center questions about a submitted paper already graded, they are no help either. I have had a couple of great professors, and then the majority are just arrogant and... Read More do not want to provide any help. Walden is fast to help you go into extreme debt, but they are not willing to hire adequate teachers that actually try to help you learn. I got my master degree through these guys and had a great experience, however the doctorate degree process has been a joke. Can't believe I spent time and money to teach myself nothing. Such a waste of time and money. Shame on this school for not treating people better. Also the fact that they do not try to help you find a job after school either is shameful.