Daily Pioneer News

PLATTEVILLE-Kingsley Ubabukoh was not exactly your typical criminal justice student when he first enrolled in the University of Wisconsin-Platteville's online graduate program. In addition to his courses with UWP, he was also enrolled in a Master of Divinity program in North Carolina. If studying for two degree programs wasn't enough, Ubabukoh was also required to participate in various internship programs as part of his preparation for the ministry. Ubabukoh notes optimistically: "Honestly, it was really difficult, but not impossible for me to handle."

Before being accepted into UWP's distance education program, Ubabukoh was already mid-way through a traditional campus graduate program at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Comparing the two formats, he says: "The UW-Platteville program is at par with the UNCC in most ways. In some other ways, distance education was more challenging in terms of the volume and depth of reading and writing assignments. My academic coursework did not quite have a direct application to my particular situation, but it certainly contributed to my preparation for a professional life in Christian ordained ministry and social activism - in a peculiar way."

Balancing the many demands on his time was crucial to Ubabukoh's graduate success. "I was never without some text books. I read in the car while waiting to pick up the children from school, and at half-time in their soccer games, etc. At home, I read in the bathroom, in the kitchen, and everywhere. At my school, I read in between my classes and other activities in the seminary. I tried to use every minute that I had."

After graduating this summer from UWP's criminal justice program, Ubabukoh must still complete 13 weeks of unpaid pastoral internship in a major hospital as part of his requirements for his divinity degree. He looks forward to using both of his degrees once he's ordained.

UWP offers four degrees at a distance: an undergraduate degree in business administration and online graduate degrees in criminal justice, engineering, and project management. No campus visits are required. For more information, visit online at www.uwplatt.edu/disted, call 800-362-5460 or e-mail disted@uwplatt.edu.