t is unusual to earn a doctorate before a bachelor's degree

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by geoffs, Jun 23, 2009.

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  1. geoffs

    geoffs Member

    The man behind Zicam is getting some press on his degree path including his bachelor's degree from Excelsior and his other degrees

    Washington Post

    The colbert report June 22nd episode to be posted soon.

    oops the "I" from the topic got cut off when I pasted it from another page...
     
  2. Woho

    Woho New Member

    WP link is not working :/
     
  3. geoffs

    geoffs Member

  4. japhy4529

    japhy4529 House Bassist

    Thing 1 - This article is from three years ago.

    Thing 2 - I love how the writer of this article attributes Excelsior as a "virtual" university, with no mention of the fact that Excelsior was formerly a part of SUNY and that the school is regionally accredited. Gotta love shoddy journalism.

    Thing 3 - I'm not sure what is so unusual about Hensley's credentials - a Ph.D. in Physiology from USC seems perfectly legitimate to me.
     
  5. lchemist

    lchemist New Member

    Excelsior, was never a part of "SUNY"(State University of New York)

    Excelsior is part of the "USNY" (University System of New york)
     
  6. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    japhy: "...no mention of the fact that Excelsior was formerly a part of SUNY..."

    John: Was it? I don't think so. The University of the State of New York is not the same thing as the State University of New York.
     
  7. geoffs

    geoffs Member

     
  8. edowave

    edowave Active Member

  9. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    Is it unusual to earn a doctorate before a bachelor's degree? Probably so, but I figure one has the right to earn any degrees one wishes in any order one wishes, provided one can get admitted. Was the bachelor's that was earned after the doctorate the degree holder's first bachelor's or was there a first bachelor's earned prior to the doctorate and a second bachelor's earned after the doctorate?
     
  10. GeneralSnus

    GeneralSnus Member

    Hensley's USC degree isn't problematic; Davidson's doctorate and MBA from American University of Asturias are.
     
  11. japhy4529

    japhy4529 House Bassist

    Hi John,

    Thanks for correcting my egregious error. Great word btw, egregious. Hey, I was close though - same letters, just in a different combination! :)


    Best,
     
  12. japhy4529

    japhy4529 House Bassist

     
  13. japhy4529

    japhy4529 House Bassist

    Agreed. However, in the Washington Post article, the writer makes the following statement:

    "But unlike many inventors of drugs, Davidson and his colleague Charles B. Hensley, who hold patents on Zicam, have unusual backgrounds."
     
  14. BillDayson

    BillDayson New Member

    I'm not going to comment on the news stories which I haven't read.

    Is it unusual to earn a doctorate before a bachelors degree? Yes.

    But not unheard of, if the subsequent bachelors is in a subject different than the doctorate. I read about one instance where a very famous Ph.D. in physics (Nobel laureate Richard Feynman) enrolled in undergraduate studio art much later in life, out of personal interest. He actually had a couple of gallery shows in Pasadena (probably a lot easier when you are already famous). I don't believe that he ever completed a bachelors in art though, he just took studio classes.
     
  15. Radek Gadek

    Radek Gadek New Member

    It is unusual to earn a doctorate before a bachelor's degree. Especially, if the degree is from a reputable institution. Most people roll their eyes :rolleyes: when they hear some kid just finished his PhD at a regionally accredited State university. I would have loved that option when I was attending undergrad classes :)
     
  16. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    Hey! It's not unheard of to get a PhD from Union Institute and then go get an associate's in truck driving. :eek:
     
  17. Radek Gadek

    Radek Gadek New Member

    Union Institute & University offers 3 PhD programs and has regional accreditation. I guess an Associate's in Truck Driving is for recreational purposes.
     
  18. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    Could be that the AAS Truck Driving was for employment purposes and the Union PhD was for recreational purposes. :eek:
     

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