PhD from a non-US school discussion

PhD from a non-US school discussion

For example, would a PhD from one of the big schools in Africa mean much in trying to get an online adjunct position in the US?

Does the US public schools system recognize PhD's from African schools?

How are online PhD's from foreign countries viewed in the US business world?

 

Theoretically, degrees from foireign schools ought to be recognized here if they have the proper recognition in their home country. But that, of course, depends on how conversant the administrative gnomes in human resources are when it comes to degree and accreditation issues. Also, one might run this by a credential evaluation service. If you are thinking about getting a PhD in History from the University of South Africa after your MAIS in History & Political Science from Western New Mexico University, you might run that by the high school and community college where you are currently teaching to see if they will recognize it or even pay for it.

 

I am working on a BA in English, then the MAIS in Education/English, then I am not sure. I am working with special needs students now as a paraprofessional, and I want to teach middle school English. You have me mixed up with someone else.

 

Oops! Sorry!

 

Either way, as a possible South African PhD gets nearer on your time horizon, it would be good to ask whatever school you would be working for by then whether they would recognize a South African PhD.

 

I don't know about South African but I have taught online for few American schools with an Australian Doctorate and two Canadian Master's. I have a colleague with a South African Master's that is part time faculty at one of the schools I teach in Canada.

In my interviews for teaching positions at US schools, I have never been questioned about the Australian doctorate. Most of the interviews focused on teaching and working experience, publications, and how to handle student situations.

I don't think that a South African PhD wouldn't be any less than a PhD from NCU, Walden, TUI or other online schools.
The important issues seem to be publications, experience and personality rather than the source of the degree.

University of South Africa seems to be regarded as a degree with certain utility but I have heard that many other African countries sell degrees so perhaps a degree from Liberia or Congo might not have the same utility due to credibility issues.

As for Business world, I think that European, Canadian and Australian degrees are well regarded in the US. Some Indian and Latin American schools have some good reputation as well.

 

Yes, I will talk to my K–12 district as I progress in my education, but I am asking about online adjunct work, the business world, and public schools in general.

 

Earning a credible PhD seems like a tremendous investment in time, money and effort if your reason for doing it is just to qualify for part-time temporary jobs. There are more efficient ways to make money.

Moving the discussion away from "online adjuncting" a little bit, I don't think that the country your degree comes from will matter a great deal. What will be more important is the reputation of the program that awarded the degree.

I once observed a biotech firm interviewing a freshly-minted PhD-level scientist. The company was encountering some research problems and sought a specialist that could help them in those areas. The interviews were conducted by the company's research director, himself a PhD, and centered on the candidate's experience with and thinking about the kind of things that the company was doing.

I've also had the opportunity to watch a middle-tier university hiring a new tenure-track faculty member. Concerns weren't dissimilar, the university was seeking somebody to anchor a particular set of classes and productive enough to raise the department's profile in that area. The hiring committee included individuals who were well aware of what other universities were doing.

The major variable probably isn't going to be the nationality of a degree, it's going to be the perceived strength of the program that awarded it. And by that I don't mean overall university prestige, I'm talking about reputation in a certain class of research problems. Relatively obscure schools are often major players in certain specialties.

Where nationality might be relevant is with countries where education is struggling and where universities don't have an international profile. Some of the poorer African countries probably aren't the best places to perform cutting-edge science or engineering research. They might be more competitive if one's academic focus has something to do with the local environment, or with the history, cultures and languages of those countries.