I earned a B.A. in Life Sciences from Indiana State University (accredited by North Central ) in 1981. I then enrolled in the Graduate School at Indiana State and began working on an M.S. in Life Sciences. It was a 32 credit hour program. It was non-thesis, but did have a 2 hour research requirement. I completed 30 hours of course work, but was accepted to medical school before I completed my 2 hour research requirement. I then went on to earn an MD from the Indiana University School of Medicine. I completed Residency training in Psychiatry at the University of Kentucky, followed by Fellowship training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. After all this medical education, I went into private practice. Then I went back to Indiana State University and spoke with the Chairman of the Department of Life Sciences about doing my two hours of research to complete my MS. He told me that there had been a 10 year time limit to finish the degree and that I had exceeded the time limit, so I had lost all the 30 hours I had already completed. While I was a Psychiatry Resident, I got a case report published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the most prestigious Child Psychiatry journal in the world. Early in my practice, I was a co-investigator in a drug study done at GFI Pharmaceuticals for Solvay Pharmaceuticals, in which esterified estrogens were compared to esterified estrogens plus testosterone in surgically post-menopausal women. I am looking for a reputable college or university, be it foreign or domestic, that will accept ALL my graduate transfer credit and hopefully my prior research experience and confer a Masters Degree for me. I've done the work at an accredited U.S. University and have official transcripts to prove it. I'm only lacking the degree because of a technicality. Obviously, I'd prefer an accredited program, but would accept an unaccredited one, provided it is not a diploma mill. I don't need this degree professionally, but I just feel as though it's a loose end in my education I need to tie up. I need closure on this. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Another case study for the annals of irrational behavior in higher education. Sorry you got caught up in such nonsense. It's not even as if ten years is some universal standard. Seven in some places, more than ten in others (although it is the case that time limits in rapidly-changing fields, and I guess life sciences would be one of those, are often shorter, which could be a problem for you). From limited (but more than zero) experience, I would suggest that the most time-effective behavior now would be to pursue the Indiana State matter. The reason I put a "Bending the rules" chapter in my book is that they are bent all the time, and it is important to know that. There is really nothing to be lost (other than time, and some blows to the ego, perhaps) in pursuing it further, through traditional or nontraditional channels. Polite communications with the dean, or the provost, or the president. Or any influence that can be brought to bear -- trustees, donors, prominent alumni, even the media. You've got such a strong case -- in a rational world. A friend dropped out of his regionally accredited doctoral program for non-academic reasons, and then was told, when ready to return, that his time limit had expired. I wrote to the president of the school (who had once written me a fan letter) on his behalf. No response. A few years later, there was a new president. I wrote to the new president, who responded favorably, and everything marched onward. You may possibly find that some of the British and Australian universities that offer research doctorates also have research master's, and possibly a level of flexibility that could declare your prior work as sufficient, or nearly so. As long as nearly all unaccredited degrees are illegal in a small but growing number of states, that suggests to me a risk someone in your position might wish to take. If you live in or go to a professional convention in those states, you are technically committing a criminal offense subjecting yourself to a fine and up tosix months in prison. The chances of actually getting in trouble are very small, but greater than zero. And the chances of bad publicity are higher.
