I want a distance PHD where I must be physically present at final exams?

I am looking for a PHD degree (Distance - Online ) from a respectful university (USA, UK, Aus, Canada,...) where I have to be physically present only at final exams; being present at exams will give the distance PHD degree more credit as I think.

I appreciate any help on this...

 

Which field?

 

University of Southern Queensland (Australia), All exams are proctored and at an examination centre.

 

I'm not sure it well help much. The PhD is not a degree heavily dependent on final examinations. Programs do typically require comprehensive examinations prior to admission to candidacy, but the dissertation is the most important component of the process.

 

this depends on the program, some online PhDs at known places like TUI and NCU require a considerable amount of course work. I think the person in question feels that programs that require examinations are more credible.

I believe it is not the proctored examination that makes the doctorate credible but the reputation of the school. Schools with better reputation tend to be more expensive and demanding so you would need to find a good match between budget and reputation. There is also the location aspect, it is not easy to explain that you went all the way to South Africa for a PhD when you live in LA where plenty of choices are available, the prospect employer would be very skeptical of the degree even if it comes from a known place like UNISA. A TUI PhD would be easier to explain if you live in California even when the school has lower reputation than known schools in Australia and the UK.

Bottom line, there are many factors to consider.

 

My point is this: a PhD is a research degree, not an exam-taking degree. If the end result of your program is a well-researched, well-written dissertation, it will not matter whether or not exams for your coursework were proctored.

 

I'd argue that it is all about publications - under the assumption that you want to stay in academia. Nobody cares about your exams, some will care about the University name, but the only way to demonstrate your personal academic abilities is the unbiased (... I know) process of having published in peer-reviewed journals.

 

ditto. Also, no one cares about your doctoral gpa.

When on a search committee, I either read the faculty candidate's dissertation or examine his or her research record depending on where they are in their career.

I only look for the posted degree on their transcript.

 

RFValve has a point that you will run into xenophobic academic halfwits that think that any accredited for profit in the same state you are in is better than some foreign Charles Sturt University (Australia)...and er...um...dude was Charles Sturt a king of England???? Did they give you a coupon for a free meal at Outback when you downloaded the degree.....ha...ha. But really can you help that kind of stupidity.

All joking aside, a program that might work well for you would be the University of Pretoria in South Africa. Very well respected world class university. If they allow you to do a research doc by distance they expect you to come to the University at the end to defend the dissertation. Then you not only would end up with a well respected PhD but could say you did go there. Stellenbosch also requires residency (another excellent school) but you have to do it up front.

 

It is not just xenophobic, I have been asked once to send my degree from Australia here in Canada to "academic fraud experts" as it is not common that someone would do a degree distance from Australia or the UK.

UNISA is a fine school but I'm afraid that it might be subject to bias as well. If you hold a degree from a low standard local school at least the prospect employer knows what are they dealing with and it is easy to validate. Some employers might feel that you went to UNISA because the wrong reasons (e.g. easy program) and won't bother to do the research but reject the application right from the beginning.

UNISA might work well for an individual with an established career that needs a doctorate for a career advancement or pay increase. However, I would think that might be hard to defend for the 20 something professional.

Again, if one wants to remain an online adjunct and just make money on the side, the UNISA PhD might be good enough. However, if someone wants to use the UNISA doctorate for a high profile position, I would be careful with this option.

 

I was laughing...."academic fraud experts"....and your Australian doctorate was from a well known school. That is sad and must have been somewhat annoying.