Doctoral Research Bootcamp helps online education doctoral candidates complete final projects

Liberty University’s School of Education offered its first ever Doctoral Research Bootcamp earlier this month, providing online doctoral candidates the opportunity to glean valuable insight from faculty while working alongside fellow students.

The bootcamp, held July 7-10, welcomed to campus 26 education doctoral candidates currently pursuing either Ph.D. or Ed.D. degrees through Liberty University Online Programs. Throughout the event, the candidates were provided practical assistance from faculty and staff as they worked on their dissertations (for Ph.D. students) or applied research projects (Ed.D. students).

“We really focused on meeting (students) where they were and helping them progress — whatever that looked like for the individual candidates,” said Associate Professor of Ed.D. Research Dr. Alisha Castañeda, who helped lead the event alongside Professor of Ph.D. Research Dr. Robert Doan. “Some were at the beginning, some were at the end, and then there was everything in between. The purpose was to help them have hands-on and immediate feedback and progress towards successful completion to whatever degree they could.”

The event featured a welcome banquet, multiple focused writing sessions, tours of Liberty’s campus, and more. Several Liberty chairs also took time to meet with students individually through Microsoft Teams calls. Events were held in the Liberty Career Center, Montview Student Union, and the School of Education classrooms in DeMoss Hall.

Jenn Cobb, who is currently pursuing her Ed.D. in Higher Education Administration, said the bootcamp provided her a chance to get in a physical classroom and build relationships with her peers.

“Online education can be a bit of an isolating experience,” she said. “You have the benefits of doing it at your own pace where you live, so there are so many wonderful aspects that online education affords a student. Even though you try to build community in your classes, not being in person (means) you miss the connection with other students. The doctoral bootcamp was an amazing opportunity to not only get support for those of us who have entered the dissertation and applied research portions of our programs, but to (also) make the connections with other students. I cannot recommend it highly enough. It was a wonderful week of support and connection.”

Through attending the bootcamp on campus, Cobb was also able to experience the life of a residential student. She said her son, a rising exercise science junior at Liberty, even challenged her to complete an “LU bucket list” he came up with. She used the opportunity to complete student-favorite activities like hiking to the LU Monogram, climbing the rock wall in the LaHaye Recreation & Fitness, climbing the Freedom Tower, meeting President Dondi. E. Costin, watching a sunset at the Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine, shopping at the Liberty University Barnes & Noble Bookstore, and more.

“It was really fun to lean into my own unique experience as a student,” she said. “It was just a fantastic week.”

Jakye Morrisey, who is pursuing her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership, said the overall bootcamp experience was “life changing.”

“I had hit a rut in my writing process, and I was getting a bit frustrated,” she said. “I am a self-driven person and can teach myself and learn things on my own, but I had gotten to the point where I really needed somebody to walk me through the process. I needed somebody to hold my hand a little bit and give me some encouragement. That’s exactly what the folks in the School of Education did for me. They not only encouraged me in the work with expertise in the field, but they also prayed with me.”

“I would highly recommend this writing bootcamp to every doctoral student or any student in the School of Education who has the opportunity to do this, particularly those of us who are non-residential/non-traditional students,” she added. “Being at Liberty and feeling the love and the spirit of Christ throughout the entire campus is something I’ve never experienced in all my years of living. I would love every person to be able to experience what I experienced at Liberty.”

Each day of the bootcamp began with a devotional led by School of Education faculty and staff members as well as a visiting speaker from the Center for Teaching Excellence, helping students stay spiritually grounded as they completed their work. Doan said one devotional by a recent doctoral graduate hit especially close to home for those in attendance.

“Some of the students said (that devotional) moved them to tears because they feel they’re not worthy to finish the degree or they’re not good enough to do it,” he said. “That’s the beauty of this event, (where we’re) saying ‘You’re not alone.’ We’re shepherding them to the finish line just like Jesus is shepherding us. That was a great opportunity for us, and I think we all enjoyed it.”

Through encouragement and guidance, Liberty’s staff and faculty aimed to provide a welcoming environment centered on Christian love. Castañeda said the event further exemplified the faculty’s passion for student success both in the classroom and beyond.

“For us as faculty, we are here because we care. We are here because we invest in students,” she said. “It’s invigorating to be with the students again, especially as online faculty and administrative faculty. It’s great to be back, face-to-face, with students in the classroom again.”

The School of Education is currently exploring additional ways to further assist doctoral students as they complete their final coursework. For a full list of Liberty doctoral degrees in education, visit Liberty.edu/Online.