Korean Job Discussion Forums

TECO · Joined: 20 Jan 2003

Which do you think is the better degree if a teacher is interested in establishing a university EFL teaching career in Asian countries such as Japan, Korea, Taiwan, etc?

I see a lot of Ed.D degrees offered through distance.

Anyone doing an Ed.D right now?

How does a Doctorate differ from a Ph.D degree?

Sook-sun · Joined: 10 Dec 2003

J.B. Clamence · Joined: 15 Jan 2003

A Ph.D. is a doctorate degree. It stands for "Philosophy Doctorate". An Ed.D. is an "Education Doctorate".

A Ph.D. in Education is more research-oriented and theoretical, while and Ed.D. is more practical in terms of its application in the classroom. As a result, the Ph.D. is more difficult as well as more prestigious, so a Ph.D. would be best for acquiring high-level university positions.

Not only that, but you don't have to do a Ph.D. in Education. You can do a Ph.D. in English and still get good jobs.

kangnam mafioso · Joined: 27 Jan 2003 Location: Teheranno

i wouldn't bother with an online or distance phd. a distance masters in tesl might be easy enough, however. in korea, all u need is a masters in anything to teach in a uni and sometimes only a ba and some kind of certificate. in japan and possibly taiwan, i phd and publications wouldn't hurt, although just a masters in tesl, a cambridge celta and some publications would probably be enough to get you started.

TECO · Joined: 20 Jan 2003

Taiwan universities hire those with Masters degrees but they won't hire anyone with a distance Masters degree.

In Japan, a Ph.D and publications (for schools in Tokyo especially) are the minimum requirement. And they seem to get people with those backgrounds!

I sent in my resume to a few Japanse universities (5 years EFL experience and partially completed distance M.A. in Applied Linguistics and no publications) and was told politely that I am not even close to being competitive with many of the people that had applied Shocked

And one of these schools was in the sticks (Shikoku).

Ironically, I had a Korean university offer me a position for March 2004. However, when a Ph.D told them he wanted the position, they sent me e-mail retracting the job offer Crying or Very sad

So, if you're up against a Ph.D with only your B.A. or partially completed M.A. - likely you aren't going to get the position.