DISCUSSION 1

The Doctoral Focus

Think through the reasons that motivated you to enroll in the Capella program for a PhD in psychology. For your initial post in this discussion, answer the following questions:

• Why are you here? Describe your primary motivations for pursuing this program.
  • What elements in your background, experience, and thinking have led you to taking this direction?
  • Which learning model best describes you right now, considering the scholar-practitioner model?
  • How do you think your learning in this program will be different from your learning in your master’s program? Choose a specific situation that you recall from your master’s program, and illustrate the differences you expect.
• What are you trying to become? Think about what you have thought about for your future, and reflect on what you have read in this unit.
  • When you have earned your doctorate, what will it enable you to do that you cannot do now?
  • What will it mean to you?
  • How will it change your contributions to society and community?
• How will you make sure that you can accomplish your goal? Consider what you have learned in this unit about the requirements for earning a PhD, about the elements of the program, and about the other aspects of your life. Consider the time management action plan you prepared as part of the second study in this unit, as well as the recommendations in Chapter 11 of your Graduate Savvy text. What will it take for you to succeed? To what extent are you prepared to take charge of your learning, to challenge yourself, and to handle all of the time commitments required?

The expected result of this discussion is the opportunity to share these ideas with your peers, ideally, to continue to post back and forth with others in your specialization. However, do not feel obligated to share any information which, due to its nature, you consider too personal or private.

Refer to Attributes and Evaluation of Discussion Contributions uploaded below to learn how the instructor will evaluate your discussion participation throughout this course and as a self-assessment guide for your discussion posts and responses.