Foreign school - US credits?

Does any forum member know of any Foreign Colleges or Universities that accept US PhD/Doctoral credits towards the completion of a PhD/Doctoral degree? I was asked this question today but couldn't provide an informed response. My daughter's teacher is working on a PhD and has been working at it for a very long time. She tells me that she has been taking one class at a time, however, she suddenly decides that for whatever reason, she needs to complete her degree, immediately. Due to cost, she'd like to complete her PhD/Doctorate through distance education at a foreign institution. It doesn't sound like she minds what country the school is located in. According to her, she'll like to find a school that would accept her course work and advance her to the dissertation writing stage. If I remember correctly, she said she has about 45 credits.

 

As I understand it, the higher ed systems in England, Australia and South Africa award doctoral degrees based solely on a written dissertation. Your friends credits would not need to transfer because they are not required (although they may assist in her admission). Don't be fooled by this though; this is no shortcut. The process can still take 3-5 years. It may be best for your friend to stick with her present program and simply pick up the pace of her work.

 

PHD's in Australia generally do not have any coursework. Previous work at another university would be evidence of acceptability for a PHD entry. They may expect that the applicant have a topic and to have a short literature review on the topic to show its relevance as a topic and to define the question somewhat. This would most likely run to about ten pages or less.

The work begins with the supervisor who will then guide the student through the process. It is a very lonely and demanding process. Distance learning is very well accepted here and there is no difference between degrees earned oncampus or off.

Depending on the topic, regional universities such as University of Armidale, Charles Sturt University, University of Central Queensland, Uinversity of Southern Queensland, Southern Cross University, and Deakin University, may be good places to start. Some of these have US students and have student meetings in the US.

The AUD is about 70 cents US at the moment. I guess your dollar goes about one third further.

 

Some Commonwealth institutions award doctorates by publication, too. That doesn't change the points made by Kismet or ebbwvale; she would probably still be facing 6 to 10 terms of work before becoming eligible to graduate.

 

Credit transfer at the doctoral level is not easy as most programs in Australia, UK and South Africa are research based only. Even DBAs or EDs, have very little course work. The DBA at the University of Southern Queensland could recognize about 12 credits towards course work. She could try to propose the same dissertation that she is doing now but she would still need to prepare a proposal and defend it. Not because it was accepted in one University it means that it will be automatically accepted at another. In addition, the literature review would need to be updated.

It is more likely that she could transfer her work at NCU, Argosy, Nova or other American schools as these offer programs that have considerable amount of credits for course work.

 

What subject is the teacher pursuing a doctorate in?

 

I actually think she is studying Business Administration. My mind is somewhat fuzzy on this but I somehow remember the degree being in Business.