Orphan Crow, I appreciate your comments about Bergman's "credentials."
That being said, and we are getting a bit off topic (but only a bit), obviously there are illegitimate diploma mills in the U.S., but a PhD program at a University of California or equivalent is a very rigorous undertaking.
I'm currently looking at a PhD in Learning Sciences from the University of Indiana. Here's the program:
Major (36 cr.)
- P544 Applied Cognition and Learning Strategies (3 cr.)
- P572 Introduction to the Learning Sciences (3 cr.)
- Other learning sciences courses (12–15 cr.). Courses should include a minimum of 6 credit hours of course work on theory and 3 credit hours of course work on design. These courses and the inquiry linkage course taken together must include a minimum of 6 credit hours at the 600-level.
- Early Inquiry Experience
- P573 Learning Sciences Apprenticeship (12–15 cr.). Apprenticeship may be taken for 1-3 credit hours each semester. During one semester, you must carry out an independent research project as your early inquiry experience. The resulting research report must be read and approved by your advisory committee.
- Inquiry Linkage (3 cr.)
- Additional learning sciences course
Inquiry (15 cr.)
- Y521 Methodological Approaches to Educational Inquiry (3 cr.)
- Additional approved course inquiry courses (6 cr.)
- Inquiry methodology electives (6 cr.)
Minor (12 cr.)
The minor must contribute to the integrity of the program. Specific course requirements are under the direction of the minor department. Typical minors include psychology, sociology, special education, curriculum and instruction (e.g., mathematics education, science education, arts education), instructional systems technology, linguistics, informatics, cognitive science, or computer science
Dissertation (15 cr.)- P795 Dissertation Proposal Preparation (3 cr.)
- P799 Doctoral Thesis in Learning Sciences (12 cr.)
If you skip the minor, it's still 66 semester credits. For a working adult, that would take approximately four years to complete. This is more than twice the credits required of my MAED program from a WASC accredited university in the state in which I live.
