Self-study credit, preferably cheap?

[milliemchi]

Does anyone know if there is a university that would give credit for self-study? I am very interested in various topics outside my profession and have lately started reading books with a notebook (MS Word file) in hand, taking notes, making comments, connecting to earlier ideas, etc. This is a hobby, I just think I'd like some recognition for the effort.

So far, I found Excelsior College and Thomas Edison State College that allow this. In fact, I have a couple of friends who got their technical degrees this way at Thomas Edison in the late 1990s and went on to earn piles and piles of money. (This admittedly speaks more about them than about the school.) However, I think that Thomas Edison only offers technical degrees. I already have a STEM PhD, and I am now more interested in fields such as economics, philosophy of religion, psychology, business, communication, etc., as a hobby.

[Ocinfo]

No recommendations on getting college credit but I would recommend working on a conference paper/presentation in a topic that interests you. You've already got a STEM PhD and it's not at all uncommon to change ones focus and build credibility to other fields such as economics or business. This gets you "credit" in the field but not exactly what in the manner you were seeking. Disregard if part of your motivation is to actually pursue another degree at some point (even then being published in the field would help with any future school applications).


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[milliemchi]

No recommendations on getting college credit but I would recommend working on a conference paper/presentation in a topic that interests you. You've already got a STEM PhD and it's not at all uncommon to change ones focus and build credibility to other fields such as economics or business. This gets you "credit" in the field but not exactly what in the manner you were seeking. Disregard if part of your motivation is to actually pursue another degree at some point (even then being published in the field would help with any future school applications).

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Hm... Interesting. Have you done this? Do you know someone who did it? Would it make sense for someone who's working at college level to present at a conference? I imagine that would need to be original work, which would be hard to pull off with incomplete knowledge. Or do I think too much inside the science box, and the world is different outside?

[Ocinfo]

No recommendations on getting college credit but I would recommend working on a conference paper/presentation in a topic that interests you. You've already got a STEM PhD and it's not at all uncommon to change ones focus and build credibility to other fields such as economics or business. This gets you "credit" in the field but not exactly what in the manner you were seeking. Disregard if part of your motivation is to actually pursue another degree at some point (even then being published in the field would help with any future school applications).

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Hm... Interesting. Have you done this? Do you know someone who did it? Would it make sense for someone who's working at college level to present at a conference? I imagine that would need to be original work, which would be hard to pull off with incomplete knowledge. Or do I think too much inside the science box, and the world is different outside?

Yes but I've stuck to my general area of expertise; however, there are usually plenty of less experienced people participating. I also know multiple Physics PhDs that do economics, for example.

That's why I suggested conference instead of journal. Conference papers are relatively easy to put together with a much lower bar. Depending on the field, it might cost a few hundred $$ to attend + travel. You can meet others with similar interests and you'll give a 30 minute presentation. This tends to work best if you can link your existing knowledge with the new field.

Mainly throwing this out there because you already have a terminal degree and many of the fields that interest you are likely to accept your qualifications as is. In other words, a few college credits aren't going to do much. Becoming known in the domain and making contacts will help a lot more.


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[milliemchi]

No recommendations on getting college credit but I would recommend working on a conference paper/presentation in a topic that interests you. You've already got a STEM PhD and it's not at all uncommon to change ones focus and build credibility to other fields such as economics or business. This gets you "credit" in the field but not exactly what in the manner you were seeking. Disregard if part of your motivation is to actually pursue another degree at some point (even then being published in the field would help with any future school applications).

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Can I ask for a name of a conference you

Hm... Interesting. Have you done this? Do you know someone who did it? Would it make sense for someone who's working at college level to present at a conference? I imagine that would need to be original work, which would be hard to pull off with incomplete knowledge. Or do I think too much inside the science box, and the world is different outside?

Yes but I've stuck to my general area of expertise; however, there are usually plenty of less experienced people participating. I also know multiple Physics PhDs that do economics, for example.

That's why I suggested conference instead of journal. Conference papers are relatively easy to put together with a much lower bar. Depending on the field, it might cost a few hundred $$ to attend + travel. You can meet others with similar interests and you'll give a 30 minute presentation. This tends to work best if you can link your existing knowledge with the new field.

Mainly throwing this out there because you already have a terminal degree and many of the fields that interest you are likely to accept your qualifications as is. In other words, a few college credits aren't going to do much. Becoming known in the domain and making contacts will help a lot more.

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Can I ask for a name of a conference you have in mind, as an example? I am used to 7-10 min talks, so I'm curious about a field that has 30 min slots. This must be a small gathering, no?

[Ocinfo]

No recommendations on getting college credit but I would recommend working on a conference paper/presentation in a topic that interests you. You've already got a STEM PhD and it's not at all uncommon to change ones focus and build credibility to other fields such as economics or business. This gets you "credit" in the field but not exactly what in the manner you were seeking. Disregard if part of your motivation is to actually pursue another degree at some point (even then being published in the field would help with any future school applications).

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Can I ask for a name of a conference you

Hm... Interesting. Have you done this? Do you know someone who did it? Would it make sense for someone who's working at college level to present at a conference? I imagine that would need to be original work, which would be hard to pull off with incomplete knowledge. Or do I think too much inside the science box, and the world is different outside?

Yes but I've stuck to my general area of expertise; however, there are usually plenty of less experienced people participating. I also know multiple Physics PhDs that do economics, for example.

That's why I suggested conference instead of journal. Conference papers are relatively easy to put together with a much lower bar. Depending on the field, it might cost a few hundred $$ to attend + travel. You can meet others with similar interests and you'll give a 30 minute presentation. This tends to work best if you can link your existing knowledge with the new field.

Mainly throwing this out there because you already have a terminal degree and many of the fields that interest you are likely to accept your qualifications as is. In other words, a few college credits aren't going to do much. Becoming known in the domain and making contacts will help a lot more.

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Can I ask for a name of a conference you have in mind, as an example? I am used to 7-10 min talks, so I'm curious about a field that has 30 min slots. This must be a small gathering, no?

Not in your domain(s) but this is one that I've participated in before: http://aviation.aiaa.org/Program/

It's a small session type conference. Several thousand attend but there are a few dozen papers presented at any one time. I believe it was 20 minutes presentation and up to 10 minutes for Q&A. You could have 10 people or 50 people there for your talk.


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