Technology Management is an ever-relevant field in that nearly every industry in today’s global society relies on some form of technology. While people can often enter the professional field with an undergraduate degree or master’s, a doctoral degree is what sets candidates for leadership and top-paying careers apart from the crowd.
A doctorate in Technology Management is one of the highest credentials a person can earn in the field. Not only does it expand upon foundational knowledge that has already been acquired through academic and professional experience in the field, but it transforms those candidates into undoubted leaders in all aspects of technology management. Candidates for a Ph.D. in Technology Management are trained in research methodologies and types of analysis of the field, allowing them to pursue their own innovative projects and studies. They are also given the space and time to specialize in a particular area of the field.
FINDING AN ONLINE DOCTORATE IN TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT
Online doctorate programs for Technology Management are not hard to come by. Nearly all of the following Top 5 Affordable Online Doctorates in Technology Management are designed for working students while promising flexibility. By the time students enter doctoral programs, they often have experience and are familiar enough with the breadth of the field to know what they’d like to specialize in or pursue post-graduation. With this dedication in mind, many programs allow students the freedom to individualizing their course load. This often culminates in a dissertation that is completed and defended before graduation.
Different specializations from the programs in this article include Artificial Intelligence, Digital Management, Education Systems, and more. Technology Management is an ever-relevant field in that nearly every industry in today’s global society relies on some form of technology. While people can often enter the professional field with an undergraduate degree or master’s, a doctoral degree is what sets candidates for leadership and top-paying careers apart from the crowd.
Students can use the knowledge they’ve acquired through years of academic and professional experience but combine that theoretical and practical understanding of the field with advanced methodologies that promise innovation and solution. Earning a Doctor of Philosophy in Technology Management is an impressive feat, and proves one’s serious dedication to and consideration of the field.
RANKING THE TOP 5 ONLINE DOCTORATES IN TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT
While you’re on your way to earning your Ph.D. or Doctorate within your field, the editors at Online PhD Programs are already practicing doctors of their craft: ranking the best online Ph.D. programs. To be featured on our annual rankings online doctorates must satisfy four coinciding requirements: accreditation, research and scholarship doctorate certification, NSF recognition, and institutional association with peer-reviewed academia.
Each degree is then ranked using information provided – primarily – through the National Center for Education Statistics and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Outlook Handbook. The data collected is scored through a series of weighted categories to represent seven crucial aspects of what makes an online doctorate valuable to future students. Online program quality and presence are joined by industry salaries, student reviews, degree exclusivity, costs, and completion rates to determine the best online doctorates available. For a comprehensive breakdown of how we categorize and source data, please visit our methodology page.
#1. ASPEN UNIVERSITY
Aspen University’s online Doctor of Science in Computer Science is for students who already have foundational knowledge in the field and are now seeking to increase their credentials, improve their technical abilities, and solidify their research skills in preparation for careers as technological develoepr. The program is designed to benefit people from a variety of disciplines, utilizing a curriculum that develops theoretical concepts and practical applications of Computer Science but in the context of advanced research and analysis. Students are trained in the methodologies of the field, graduating with a competitive capacity for research and analytical thinking that is desired in the thigh-level careers of computer science.
Course topics include Technique and Interpretation for Advanced Statistical Research or Doctoral Writing and Inquiry. Courses specifically centered around technology management, include Algorithm Design, Artificial Intelligence, and System Metrics and Risk Analysis. There are 20 required courses amounting to 60 credits, which includes courses set up to support students in the dissertation process. Course topics are wide-ranging and in-depth, covering all aspects of the field: some include Simulation and Modeling, Algorithm Design, Artificial Intelligence, and Managerial Economics and Business Theory. The dissertation courses are set up to maintain accessibility and organization through the long process, divided into sections like Literature Review and Research and Results. Tuition is a fixed rate with options for monthly set payments.
Format: Online
#2. NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY
North Carolina offers a Doctor of Philosophy in Technology Management that is tailored to meet the specific career goals of each student. They’ll have freedom in choosing the IT classes that best fit their long-term ambitions in the field, with topics ranging from e-commerce to web design to Internet security. Formal specialization areas are designed around careers: offered are Construction Management, Digital Communications, Human Resource Development and Training, Manufacturing Systems, and Quality Systems. The curriculum is a minimum of 90 credits, consisting of coursework and research. The coursework is divided into greater overarching topics, including a general technology and research core, and a technical specialization.
The Ph.D. in Technology Management is a minimum of 87 credits consisting of coursework and research. Students who already have a master’s degree may be able to transfer in up to 21 credits towards the Ph.D. Admissions are competitive. Students should have an undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0, a master’s level grade point average of at least 3.5, and GRE scores with a minimum combined score of 500. They’ll also need five letters of recommendation and employer validation of 2000 hours of occupational experience related to a technical specialization.
Format: Online/Residency
#3. EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY
The Doctor of Philosophy in Technology Management from East Carolina University is a consortium-based, Internet-enabled program. Graduates will have advanced their skills in research procedures and have been trained in instructional processes. They’ll be well-equipped and competitive candidates to provide service to both the industrial and educational communities that rely on different technologies. The consortium is made up of five universities that are linked together by communication systems; various faculty members come together from their respective universities to teach courses in the program. This includes Bowling Green State University, University of Central Missouri, East Carolina University, and Indiana State University. Students may be required to complete a residency.
Even though the program is pursued online, students will identify a “home university” based on their specialization within technology management as well as their geographic location. The specialty of faculty members includes Quality Systems, Digital Communications, Manufacturing Systems, HRD and Industrial Training, and Construction Management. The Ph.D. in Technology Management program is designed to train leaders for both the public and private sectors influenced by the field. The curriculum is made up of 18 credits in the chosen area of specialization, nine credits in professional studies, 27 in research, and 12 in general technology. The research core takes up matters of research methods, statistical analysis, field research projects, and hosts seminars in technology processes. The general technology core, in combination with the chosen specialization, will cover the breadth of the field and its applications to the student’s ambitions.
Format: Online/Residency
#4. UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS
The Doctor of Philosophy in Learning Technologies from the University of North Texas is a 100-percent online program, designed for working students and promising affordable, flexible, and adaptable courses of study. The curriculum relies heavily on the importance of research in the field, increasing student’s knowledge and capacity for advanced inquiry in the field that supports innovative change. The curricular goals of the degree include training students in the synthesis of knowledge, by reading academic literature, describing its application to the role of technology, and using that connection in practice. Graduates are also equipped with professional communication skills and the ability to think critically and reflectively.
Cohorts begin in the summer, and applications are due shortly before each year. The distance program for the Ph.D. in Learning Technologies does include yearly residences in the fall. Specific course topics are divided into overarching themes: Core, Topic, Research, Tools, and the culminating Dissertation. The Topic credits are meant to build on the knowledge gained through the Core courses, allowing students the chance to work alongside faculty in specialized areas and projects. Graduates from the program have gone onto work as faculty members, teachers, instructional designers, directors of distance education, technology coordinators, and many other roles in the instructional and educational fields.
Format: Online/Residency
#5. UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL MISSOURI
The Doctor of Philosophy in Technology Management from the University of Central Missouri can be completed entirely online. UCMO is actually a part of the same consortium as East Carolina University, as described earlier. As explained in the section above, pursuing a Ph.D. in Technology Management from any of those in the consortium means that a student will have to select a home university. Regardless of the home university, the online course of study for the degree is delivered by Indiana State University’s established online platform. Students who enter the program benefit from a unique philosophical quality offered by a consortium: there are so many different faculty members, all of whom bring their own specializations to the coursework. All the universities in the consortium provide various resources for students, including extensive library holdings and laboratories with specialized equipment that can be used in research and study.
While attending a program that is designed and hosted by a consortium is uncommon, but it does offer certain benefits and opportunities that students wouldn’t be privy to in more traditional programs. The degree itself consists of at least 87 credits, 30 of which come from a Master’s degree earned en route to the Ph.D. at UCMO or one of the other universities. There are five technical specializations: Construction Management, Digital Communications, Human Resource Development and Industrial Training, Quality Systems, and Manufacturing Systems.