"I was a student enrolled in the Public Health PhD program and logged in once when the classroom opened up. Unfortunately, due to a life-threatening medical emergency with my mother I opted to withdraw from school after 2 days in the course. I notified my enrollment counselor immediately and he the withdrawal. I was totally thrown when I received an invoice from Walden University for the full tuition of $2,858!! I was not even in the courses for a full week so I reached out to the enrollment counselor, with no response. I then reached out to financial aid, who informed me that I was required to pay the full tuition costs. To add further insult to injury, Walden University then sent the debt to a collection agency to force me to pay the tuition. Thanks to Walden University, my credit was impacted. Walden University is a horrible school. I have been impacted in spite of following the rules and directives of the school and ended up having to pay full tuition for courses I didn't even take. I would NOT recommend Walden University to anyone! Steer clear of this school. They are only out to make money!"

Bernadette

Responded: 4/21/2023

We’re sorry to hear that this is your perception of Walden University. Our desire is to create incredible student experiences and outcomes, but we also realize there are always areas for improvement. We would like to learn more about your specific situation and your feedback to see how we can assist. Please email us at WeCare.Walden@mail.waldenu.edu with your name, email address and phone number, and a member of the appropriate team will reach out to you within 24 hours to discuss your feedback.

Dr. Danielle Robinson

Reviewed: 5/11/2022
Degree: Public Health
Graduation Year: 2020

"Walden University provided the flexibility required for my full-time work schedule and various community engagements. I really enjoyed the connection with my professors. My favorite moments were the residences. They provided helpful information and allowed me to network with other students and professors."

Dr. Deirdre Moyer

Reviewed: 5/11/2022
Degree: Public Health
Graduation Year: 2019

"Walden University afforded me a great education to acquire my PhD while working. Looking forward to a future with Walden University and growing my career professionally either as a professor there are getting more involved with volunteer organizations."

Ulysses Lagrimas Labilles

Reviewed: 5/11/2022
Degree: Public Health
Graduation Year: 2018

"What I learned from WaldenU made me who I am today as an epidemiologist with the CDC Foundation, and transitioned to my current post with the US Department of Veterans Affairs. If I could only return the favor, I would love to become a faculty of this great institution."

Hernandez

Reviewed: 4/13/2022
Degree: Public Health
Graduation Year: 2022

"I couldn't have made a better decision than to choose Walden University as my graduate school for my doctorate. I attended Texas State University in San Marcos Texas (all courses in person) and attended Benedictine University for my MPH (hybrid). Walden has been 100% virtual in all courses, including the dissertation phase now. However, I have attended three residencies in person that provided me the opportunity to network with peers, meet new people, and engage with others with the same mission to serve our communities. Social change is at our heart. This school is 100% and I would recommend anyone who is willing to put in the time and hard work to attend. I would send my children here."

Anonymous

Reviewed: 8/19/2021
Degree: Public Health
Graduation Year: 2021

"Excellent university! Great learning from qualified faculty within an enabling environment. Fellow scholar-practitioners were from diverse countries, cultures, and backgrounds. Walden University is indeed student-centered with one clear focus - support student learning by providing active staff engaged in relevant capacity building for scholarly academic learning designed to help students succeed. For example, excellent librarians, writing center, current APA support, and statistics courses to augment program courses. Furthermore, CEPH accreditation brought credibility to my Doctor of Public Health degree. Thank you, Walden University for guiding me into being an evidence-based scholar-practitioner in my quest to improve the quality of life of the people I serve, and achieving positive social impact at personal, family, community, country, and global levels! I highly recommend Walden University to new students who want to graduate from the world's largest online higher education university with accreditations recognized worldwide."

Reviewed: 12/12/2019
Degree: Public Health
Graduation Year: 2020

"I have an MPH from Walden and am working on my doctorate. I really love Walden actually! I am sad to hear people with bad experiences. The only bad experiences I've had were with people getting me into my programs, both times. The recruiters don't always have accurate intel. I have attended several other brick and mortor undergrad schools, and have found Walden to be very user friendly. That said, you have to use what they offer. You also have to do the work of finding your own internships and such. But when I interned with 2 other grad students from the local MPH program, they were actually under prepared in comparison. They definitely had more of a beat on what was happening locally, but they missed quite a bit of material in the meantime, and weren't as versed in many aspects of public health practice. I was so proud of my education, I am back for a doctorate! Great school."

Gerald Ileka

Reviewed: 9/26/2019
Degree: Public Health
Graduation Year: 2019

"To be honest, nothing good comes easy. I just defended my dissertation. It hasn't been an easy journey. I had some bad experiences. However, the good experience I had out numbers the bad. Walden University gives you back what you put in. If you manage your time well, follow instructions, and build a good network (peers and faculty) alike. You will make your journey easier. Yes! Sometimes things won't go the way you want it. Frustrating! I know but, use your resources: writing center, library, course advisor, career service. So I don't understand how people say that they don't get help. You don't expect to be spoon fed. You don't get that in the conventional universities, so why expect it from an online school. The bottom line is, we must not have all good stories to tell. But before you point fingers, ask yourself what you did wrong and what you didn't do at all. Shalom."

Emmanuel Okoro

Reviewed: 8/28/2019
Degree: Public Health
Graduation Year: 2019

"My experience with Walden University was positive until my final year. My review is strictly based on my personal experience and may differ from others. If you are considering registering with Walden University, read my comment and think twice about it. My Walden University program needs restructuring, improved systematic monitoring and accountability. I encountered committee members that are sloppy and were not held accountable for their excessive delays in responding to my needs. In fact, at some point, after over two weeks of delay, a committee member informed me that he does not know where my submitted dissertation file was. The system would not permit me to submit another document because of one showing to have been submitted. I followed up with the Chairperson, Committee member, and Program Director. I complained with an Academic Advisor who wrote an email offering instruction to the Committee member on how to view my submitted document in the system. The unnecessary delays caused me to go through the semester doing nothing but waiting. This was supposed to be my last quarter, but I was told to register for another semester or else I would be forced to drop out of the program or take additional classes to regain admission into the program. Walden University did not care to protect my interest and was only interested in charging me fees regardless of the instructors’ delays and repetitive processes. To date, Walden University is withholding my Diploma because I refused to pay the last fee of $1200 associated with the unnecessary delays by the institution. If you have similar experience as me, please contact me so that we can see how we can protect the public and prevent Walden University from reaping off students. Walden University, from my experience do not care about students. The central focus is to make money even to the detriment of students. This is terrible."

Maria calixta

Reviewed: 2/20/2019
Degree: Public Health
Graduation Year: 2016

"A strongly rigorous online program. I was 7 years to finish my doctorate. The IRB process for research was very easy compared to other universities in Puerto Rico. The only limitation is the application of the theory, but I learned a lot to comply with high expectations in my work."

anonymous

Reviewed: 1/13/2019
Degree: Public Health
Graduation Year: 2022

"While I can not vouch for other departments, I can say the public health department at Walden is excellent. I am currently in the PhD in public health, epidemiology concentration, and have enjoyed it immensely. There are multiple resources and I was able to get responses to questions I had from any department within 48 hours maximum. Like any other university, some professors are better than others, but overall it has been a great experience. I am currently do well in every class, but it because I have spent at least 5-20 hours a week doing the assignments. However, do not think it is easy. There are plagiarism detectors and rubrics that specify what is expected for each assignment, so you do not think for a second that you do not have to put in the time and effort to do the work. I think Walden is designed for students who recognize they have to be responsible for their own learning. While the professors and other departments can help, it is ultimately up to you to ensure you pass each class, get financial aid setup each quarter/semester, etc. For those people who had a negative experience, I am sorry to hear that. But overall, in my perspective, Walden is a great learning experience for anyone who wants a graduate degree and has to balance school, work, and life in general."

Dana S Widdison

Reviewed: 12/13/2017
Degree: Public Health
Graduation Year: 2017

"Walden University afforded me the opportunity to pursue my dream of helping others in disasters. I am an educator of medical providers such as nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and nurses in the methodology and clinical application of disaster medicine. This is a great school to purse this goal. They are supportive in all of the steps to proceed to graduation. The academic enrollment to financial aid, to the academic counselors are well prepared to help you meet the deadlines. This is a school that deeply cares about their student's success and work hard to make this a doable journey when you are employed and unable to attend on ground programs. You will be pleased with your decision to attend Walden University as I am. Let them guide your journey to your dream they become your academic partner and share in each success you achieve. The educators are of high caliber and have real-world expertise this matters! I have been so pleased to be a Walden Scholar."

Cassandra Freeman-Reiter

Reviewed: 2/20/2017
Degree: Public Health
Graduation Year: 2020

"Walden University offers a variety of webinars on many issues such as statistics, research, and tutoring sessions. Walden University also offers residencies to help guide you through the dissertation process and meet your classmates and teachers. It allows both online and an in-person environment, and attending the residencies was a great experience for me and addressed a lot of my concerns."

Malissia Lockett

Reviewed: 9/6/2016
Degree: Public Health
Graduation Year: 2017

"I am currently in the Track II: Epidemiology at Walden University and studying how infectious and chronic diseases can devastate entire communities. The Epidemiology specialization broadens your understanding of how these diseases affect populations and explores strategies for maintaining the health of communities. Study how the prevalence of chronic diseases like cancer and diabetes can distress communities and learn to create education programs that can help prevent the spread of chronic disease. As part of the coursework, I have conducted an epidemiological field study that included original research. Track II is designed for students who hold a bachelors degree or higher in an academic discipline other than the public health field. In addition to specialization coursework, Track II explores public health fundamentals including case studies and research methods, public health management, and environmental health."

Stella Biira

Reviewed: 8/23/2016
Degree: Public Health
Graduation Year: 2020

"I have heard many success stories and good reviews of Walden University. The fact that working professionals can get the opportunity to advance their studies/careers without necessarily stopping work is commendable and is what attracted me to this school. The academic staff is a great selection of well trained professionals with high credentials in their fields of practice. Makes me look forward to learning from those that have actually practiced what they preach."

Keith

Reviewed: 8/10/2016
Degree: Public Health
Graduation Year: 2014

"I believe Walden is a great school of higher learning, but like college, it is not for everyone. My experience with Walden was great from start to finish. The residencies were very helpful and insightful to hear and learn from other students who were completing their degrees. I found the professors to be knowledgeable and they were willing to assist when engaged. I found earning my degree was a difficult, yet enjoyable experience, because my success was up to me. I could not present a less than satisfactory dissertation chapter and have it approved. I could not write my dissertation in the wrong APA format and have it approved. I could not write using poor grammar and punctuation and have it approved. I could not complete my dissertation using outdated research references and have it approved. I could not write my dissertation and not have it be a scholarly piece and have it approved. In short, if you are unprepared for the rigors of Ph.D. work then you will complain about every aspect of the process to cover up your own academic shortcomings. I would recommend Walden for the independent study student who does not need to be coddled or have their hand held throughout their entire graduate process. The academic rigor is good and I have two degrees from "brick and mortar" schools. I have found the academics for my degree to be on par; the advising better; the library fulfilling; the support staff wonderful; and the professors challenging. If I had one negative to make the review balanced, it would be in the selection of the committee. I found this process to be the most stressful of my entire process, and it did frustrate me to the point that I was unsure if I would graduate. I was able to field my committee and now I look at the picture of me getting hooded on the wall of my house. Nothing is perfect, but perseverance is key to anything worthwhile."

Brent Spruill

Reviewed: 7/19/2016
Degree: Public Health
Graduation Year: 2014

"Walden University is what you make of it. If, an individual uses time management successfully, they will be okay. A lot of students want to schedule vacation trips, weddings and other activities during the school semester. Walden University does not support that. Walden University will make a student work for everything they earn. Sometimes, glowing reviews will come and sometimes it does not. My experience at Walden University was students who love shortcuts will not be successful. We had a group project in one of my classes. This young lady did not research or contribute for the group project. She received the same grade as all the students, who contributed. Later on, that student was dismissed because of plagiarism on her dissertation. The issue is not during coursework; the issue is the dissertation phase, if one cheats the process in the doctoral program; one will pay for it later on. I guess what I am trying to say is Walden University did not give me anything, it is not a diploma mill. The doctoral program is real as they come. You have to work as hard as any brick and mortar school, and you do not have face-to-face instruction; therefore, discipline and time management is key to your success. Students that do not succeed will want to put a spin on it, but one not willing to work hard should not come to Walden University; those students that are willing to work should."

Marie

Reviewed: 7/11/2015
Degree: Public Health
Graduation Year: 2016

"Walden is not a good school. They basically take your money and provide you with no guidance academically. You are left on your own to figure everything out while the professors keep changing the expectations. There is no consistency among the professors as it relates to what is expected and especially when you are working on the dissertation the lack of consistency can be costly for the student. It is the worst school and no one should ever attend."

Ray

Reviewed: 12/3/2014
Degree: Public Health
Graduation Year: 2013

"I found an opportunity to change my career from Walden programs. I was highly enriched by the dept of knowledge I got. My dissertation was not easy because it involved a lot of work writing and re-writing. Sometimes frustrating, but I learned from it. My education has given the power to have a strong voice on health issues and I have been making presentations and speaking out about improving access to healthcare to all. Though, I am still looking for a suitable job to apply my education, I have always share good view on health issues. I have written a book on primary healthcare. Academic work at Walden was rigorous and not for students who are not self-motivated or used to being spoon-fed or led by the hand. Online programs are not for everybody. It is an innovation which will take time before people get used to it.The program is for self-starters. My advise to future students is that doing online degree is not an easy one. Also, doctoral programs are not easy and will always pose challenges and those who are not strong enough will surely drop out. The effort you put in equals what you get."

Doret Ledford

Reviewed: 1/2/2013
Degree: Public Health
Graduation Year: 2011

"My program of study was a rigorous one and felt as if I was in a "brick and mortar" setting. There was great access to the professors and to my peers. However, it would be great if Walden has a partnership with different agencies such as the CDC and NIH where graduates would be privy to fellowship programs."