Jonathan Kaplan talks with students at an academic residency.

At Walden University, we recognize that knowledge is only as worthy as it can be applied. Throughout our doctoral programs, we focus on how the new knowledge that students acquire can be directly applied to their professions and their communities both through their work and their doctoral research. Founded in 1970 as a doctoral degree-granting institution, Walden has always attracted individuals from the helping professions and fields such as business, psychology, education, health, and government who want to use their doctoral experiences to make a difference in the world.

Walden’s academic residencies give doctoral students the opportunity to become totally immersed in the Walden community—in a collaborative, dynamic environment. Offered throughout the year at locations around the United States and in partnership with other Laureate International University network institutions in other parts of the world, the four- or six-day residencies allow students and faculty to engage face to face in lively discussions, exchange ideas with others who are truly involved in their professions and their communities, develop research ideas and skills with a focus on social change, and gain valuable insights and advice. The Walden program also helps students develop their abilities as scholar-practitioners, challenging them to integrate scholarly research with expertise as skilled practitioners in the field to improve organizations and whole communities.

Applying Your Knowledge
A core part of Walden’s mission and vision is to ensure that knowledge acquired in our programs can be directly applied to solve society’s greatest challenges. Through the residencies, students begin to understand their place in the Walden community among peers who share their commitment to making a difference in the world and who work hard to apply their education in meaningful ways. Walden encourages students to pursue their own research agenda, conducting original research in their areas of interest with the strong support of faculty.

The academic residency is yet another step, along with actual research and the dissertation, in preparing students to apply key research concepts in their professions, their organizations, and their communities. In fact, the residency program is the ideal bridge between the research students conduct in Walden’s doctoral program and the work they accomplish in their daily lives.

Structured to Support Success
As students move through the doctoral program, they are supported by faculty members who serve as advisors, mentors, and enablers of student success. The residencies provide opportunities to meet with faculty members one on one and participate in meaningful discussions about research, receive academic guidance, and discuss program outcomes.

Walden residencies also help structure the doctoral programs, making the doctorate an achievable and manageable goal by breaking it down into four structured components, or milestones, that focus on introducing students to the program, building research skills, conducting research, and becoming a scholar-practitioner. Within each session, students participate in specialized seminars, all of which are designed to match their stage in the program.

Equally important, the residencies afford students the time to strengthen and formalize their relationships across cultures and continents. They develop peer support groups and create long-term professional relationships. These diverse relationships enrich the learning experience as students share broad and varied perspectives and interests with individuals from all walks of life.

Academic residencies are invaluable tools for solidifying partnerships and gaining the momentum to complete high-quality research with the potential to transform individuals, communities, and societies. The end result: Students are inspired and rejuvenated, ready to work on their dissertations and other aspects of their doctoral programs, with the hope of making a positive social change in their communities.

I encourage everyone to watch and share our “Academic Residencies for Doctoral Students” video to gain an even better understanding of the doctoral experience at Walden.

—Jonathan Kaplan, President, Walden University

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