PhD by publication - Has anyone ever actually gotten one?

Robert McGee is the only one I could find that actually successfully attained a PhD by publication (almost a dozen actually). I know laferney contacted over 200 universities and was not successful. I read that RFvalve approached several universities but either stopped pursuing that option or was not successful.

Has anybody out there gotten a PhD by publication or know of anyone who has?

 

What I have heard is that it is most often pursued by someone who is employed as an academic and they enroll in such a program at their own university. So typically the person and their work is already a known comodity at the time of the application. The work then is to connect all the research into a cohesive whole.

 

I tried eight different universities, six refused because of lack of research supervisors in the area, one wanted three thousand pounds to evaluate publications (no guarantee of admission), one responded that will consider my application but a minimum residence of one term on campus was required (they told me that few visits were required at least to satisfy this requirement) and finally one university told me that they have availability of supervisors but a formal evaluation is required and this costs 500 pounds.
This type of doctorates are normally available for university staff or established researchers. You also have to be lucky to find someone that is willing to supervise you and understands your research.
As the University doesn't get much from you (other than 3 to 10 thousand pounds), it is a privilege to get admission into this type of program in particular if you are not a staff member at the University in question.

Also, most schools require a dissertation proposal that puts into perspective all your publications.

 

You have it right, you can add also graduates of their own university. In few words, this program is not for the typical guy lurking in this discussion board looking for the cheapest, fastest and prestigious degree that can lead to a tenure track position paying 150K plus.

 

:haha:and on the diploma I want a hardcore gothic font, in Latin with a gold seal AND a ribbon:sad6::no1:

 

Definitely not looking for tenure track, and as for the pony I already have a horse and can barely afford it!

Thank you RFValve for the useful information :fing02:

 

Thanks for tolerating our silly humor.:heart:

 

Phil Condit, former CEO of Boeing, received a Ph.D. by publication from the Science University of Tokyo.

 

I meant no disrespect to you. Bottom line with this type of programs is that schools do not get much from you so they are not rushing to get you in. The few programs that seem to be serious about admission want money upfront, this means that they would put time on your application only if you show them some cash. This seems to be reasonable if the money invested is low but it can go from 500 to 3000 pounds depending on the prestige of the school. Few schools that would be happy to take your money for an evaluation are:
University of the West of England
Middlesex University
University of Roehampton

I understand the notion of charging for an evaluation, I am sure that schools that do not charge get bombed with hundreds of people looking for a quickie with their few articles posted on a blog site so they want to avoid wasting their time with these applicants. If you think you are good enough for them, then you will show them some cash as an act of good will. Money for an evaluation is credited for tuition fees but not refunded if the evaluation is not successful.
Forgot to mention that some schools also require an on site interview as part of the evaluation process. So add another thousand pounds to the bill for a trip to England.

So far from being a quickie, the doctorate by publication is a serious program that admits only people with serious research accomplishments. This is more suitable for established academics with long history of publications and not your typical wannabe looking for a shortcut.

 

You will not get this with a British degree, most British schools print their diplomas in plain paper with regular print fonts from your typical computer printer. No special seals or nor ribbons but just a plain stamp.
British degrees are not very impressive looking.

 

Actually, British PhDs do not require a GMAT or GRE for admission as the American PhDs. The reason is because most schools would require a proposal before admission is offered, they figure that if the proposal is sound enough, you should be smart enough to complete one.
Professional doctorates are the exception, getting admission into a British DBA requires most of the time just filling in a form and a decent MBA.

 

I actually like the one issued by the University of London.

 

I agree, here the list:
-1 year part time while I hold a full time job, support a family and play with my X-box
-No GMAT, No GRE or similar annoying exams
-It should cost less than 10K
-No dissertation but instead a more friendly project based report that can be based on my internet home business that sells Mexican candy on ebay.
-No course work
-No exams
-That can give me credit for all the posts that I posted on degree info, this should count as a half doctorate towards a PhD in education
-It should not have any non prestigious designation such as Doctor of Management, Doctor of Administration, etc. I am very smart so I won't take less than the prestigious Doctor of Philosophy designation.
-From an AACSB accredited school
-That can lead to a tenure track position at a research institution. I would consider also Vice president or high administration positions at teaching institutions if the pay is at least 150K plus bennies.
-100% online, I don't have time to go to England and don't want to bother to meet with supervisors, just want to pay and get my degree by writing a short paper. No questions asked or annoying viva defenses.
-That would admit me with my BS from penn foster, I want to skip the MS if possible.

 

:newangel: Since my PhD will be in Clinical Psychology I want my internship to consist of sleeping (advanced coursework in dream analysis).:sleeping:

 

I seem to remember Robert Laferney actually got his degree. If I remember correctly, it was from the prestigious University of Central Nicaragua. He was able to obtain an evaluation from a reputable company

 

While University of Central Nicaragua (UCN) is a good school here in Nicaragua it is in no way prestigious. The two universities that are considered prestigious here in Nicaragua are University of Central America (UCA), a private Catholic (Jesuit) university and the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua (UNAN) public. UCA is part of the Jesuit university network, and it was the first private Catholic university in Central America.

 

Yeah, I was a bit sarcastic. UCN took some beating around here for it's association with Mexican school, U. Azteca, a prolific international operator with some shady associations. Yes, UCN appears to be an unremarcable (though accredited) school. Still, this is an example of a PhD by publication.

I am very curious about the detailed process multi-Dr. McGee got his degrees. For example, University of Tartu states that it charges it's doctoral students no tuition. It is a solid public research university in EU-member Estonia; I believe no one should be ashamed to be associated with such an institution.

 

Dr Mcgee commented that the only PhD by publication that he holds was granted by the University of Warwick, the link to the story below:
Robert McGee

According to the article, Dr Mcgee completed his PhD in 4 years, this taking into consideration that he already had publications written before when he started the program. This tells you that this type of programs are by no means "quickies"

Dr Mcgee has over 4,000 citations and more than 500 publications:

Robert W. McGee - Google Scholar Citations

I think that is safe to say that he satisfies the definition of an "established" researcher.

By the way, most schools offering PhDs by publication are low tier schools at the bottom of the scale, the University of Warwick is one of the few highly ranked schools that offers this program. Needless to say that you better have something strong to show if you want a PhD from this school.