Inexpensive Doctorates - Search your desired country

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by AsianStew, Aug 28, 2021.

Loading...
  1. AsianStew

    AsianStew Moderator Staff Member

    Basically, I was looking for a cheap, easy, fast Doctorate with the most ROI/Value as I don't have tuition assistance...
    Countries I looked at were India, Pakistan, Philippines, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya as English is an official language.
    Here is just an example of what I found in the Philippines, a for-profit, AMA University (I compare it to Walden).

    AMA University - Online Ed - Inexpensive Doctorates
    DBA 30 months/2.5 years - P97,000 a year | https://onlinepostgrad.com/dr-business-administration/
    DIT 30 months/2.5 years - P91,000 a year | https://onlinepostgrad.com/dr-informational-technology/

    For the DBA, it's $1,950/year, 2.5 years would be $4875
    For the DIT, it's $1,825/year, 2.5 years would be $4562.5
    If I go for them and complete both in 2.5 years, it'll cost under $10K - RA equivalent double Doctorate

    There are many different offerings from other universities, all with different pricing/requirements.
    The ones I need/want must be online/distance education as I don't think I will travel for residency.
    What interested me in this AMA University is that it's ranked 34th in the PI and their Bachelors are ABET (computing).
    I haven't found any ABET computing bachelors for this cheap yet, I added them to my list of inexpensive undergrad.

    For me, the ROI/Value seeker, If you can find something comparable - higher ranking, more recognized, basically cheaper, easier, faster to finish, then it'll be a better deal. Anyways, if you're in the neck of those woods, you may want to investigate colleges/universities in your country. Some Local or International students like to have RA undergrad and then go through grad studies from other countries (usually where they get cheaper education that is equivalent to RA). Local or International students may want it the other way, get a cheap education overseas for undergrad while they're young and a fanatic of travel, then come back for a RA graduate education.
     
    MasterChief and asianphd like this.
  2. asianphd

    asianphd Active Member

    That's a good finding! Thank you for posting.
    Anyway, for-profit and non-profit are not really relevant in the Southeast Asia context. 80% of university here is considered for-profit.
     
    LearningAddict likes this.
  3. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    I'm probably an outlier here, but I think one should pursue a doctorate for specific reasons--academic, professional, personal interest, etc. And unless some factor--like government subsidies--enters into it, the three variables that apply are quality, speed, and cost. You only get to pick two.

    When it comes to quality, please note that you are paying for two forms of it: learning and the degree. I would be concerned about the latter.
     
    Dustin and Alpine like this.
  4. Johann766

    Johann766 Active Member

  5. Johann766

    Johann766 Active Member

    For full time Students in their 20s I agree with you. For working persons above 30 with a completed full time Bachelor/Master degree personally I understand that they are not purely focused on the academic challenge.
     
    Rich Douglas likes this.
  6. MK1980

    MK1980 New Member


    Thank you @AsianStew .

    I entered "AMA Computer University" Philippines in the WES degree equivalency tool are here's what I got:


    Here is Your Free WES Degree Equivalency

    Credential 1
    Country of Education: Philippines
    Name of Degree: Bachelor of Business Administration
    Name of Institution: AMA Computer University
    Equivalency in U.S.: Bachelor's degree

    Credential 2
    Country of Education: Philippines
    Name of Degree: Master of Business Administration
    Name of Institution: AMA Computer University
    Equivalency in U.S.: Master's degree

    Credential 3
    Country of Education: Philippines
    Name of Degree: Doctor of Philosophy
    Name of Institution: AMA Computer University
    Equivalency in U.S.: Master's degree


    The bachelor's degree and master's degree are US equivalent, but not the doctorate.

    Good finding though especially for bachelor's students. You can top off this Philippine bachelor's with a cheap US master's.

    How much is bachelor's total cost?
     
  7. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    I think that's my point. I called out the efficacy of the degree, after all.
     
  8. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    I once considered--briefly--doing a DTech at the Technikon SA. Accessible, done by research, done at a distance, and dirt cheap. I considered the issue of explaining a foreign degree--South Africa? But it seemed worth it. I think you have to consider the system, not just the price. South Africa has a robust educational system. Some of these other countries? Not so much.

    (The Technikon SA was folded into Vista University, which was subsequently folded into UNISA.)
     
    RoscoeB likes this.
  9. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Ooopsie!
     
  10. Stanislav

    Stanislav Well-Known Member

    WES online tool is garbage.
     
    SteveFoerster likes this.
  11. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    So? That doesn't change the impact of that assessment.

    (I happen to think that WES is staffed by idiots, but that is for another day.)
     
  12. Stanislav

    Stanislav Well-Known Member

    It's not an assessment. It's a result of a lookup in a very buggy database. There's no reason to believe this will match up with WES' official assessments, until someone can come up with what would their rationale be.
    In addition, what evidence do we have that the educational system of a mid-income country with population of 100M is not "robust"? How would that evidence even look like?
     
    SteveFoerster likes this.
  13. mintaru

    mintaru Active Member

    Yes, the WES database is buggy. Just one example: according to this database, a German postgraduate "Diplom(Fachhochschule)" degree is equivalent to a US master’s degree. But in Germany this qualification is on level 6 of the German qualifications framework. So it's actually a second bachelor's degree.

    On the other hand, in the Anabin database, a Phillipine PhD is classified as "NZ".
    Here is the explanation of this classification:
    It is therefore possible that so far only very few or no Phillipine PhDs have gone through a recognition process in Germany. In my opinion, that's the most likely explanation for this classification. In addition, that NZ classification does not automatically mean that such a qualification is not recognized in Germany.

    At least in theory, however, it cannot be ruled out that a Phillipine PhD is actually not equivalent to a German or US PhD, for whatever reason. But I don't think so.

    And then there is another possibility: Anabin is not bug-free either.
     
  14. asianphd

    asianphd Active Member

  15. life_learner

    life_learner Member

    For folks in the US, it seems easier to find an employer providing tuition assistance and get a RA doctorate.
     
  16. asianphd

    asianphd Active Member

    Or find a fully-funded program.
     
  17. MK1980

    MK1980 New Member

    I think WES looks at the university or program ranking in determining equivalency for PhD. It looks like AMA Computer University is somewhat like the for-profits (Phoenix, Walden, etc) so they equate their PhD as lower than a PhD.

    The same WES tool will equate Philippine PhD's from other institutions as equal to a US PhD. Probably case-to-case based on university or program ranking.

    But it is strange they equate AMA bachelors and masters as equivalent but not the PhD.
     
  18. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    It sounds like you haven't had first-hand experience with WES. I have. That database outcome looks EXACTLY like what WES would do with it on an individual evaluation.

    Even the term "individual evaluation" that I just used is a misnomer. WES has rules--criteria it has already established. It applies it without thinking, and without considering other evidence to teh contrary. If their database says something, that's what they go with.

    Do you have some reason to believe that database is "buggy"?
    It was my term and my assessment. Thus, my opinion, nothing more.

    Back here in the real world, a WES evaluation that resulted in an equivalency would be the end of the process, not the beginning. In other words, if an employer or school wants to hire/accept you, then you will need to present the evaluation upon request. (Some will include it in the application process, though.) But degrees--no matter the source--are not commodities. I would imagine a PhD from a U.S. school would preponderate over one from a school in one of the other countries being discussed. But, all things are never equal, so it is relative. Having strong credentials is a good idea.
     
  19. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    I don't know why this would seem strange. The PhD is a whole different animal from taught bachelor's and master's. I don't know the reason for their evaluation, but the quality of available faculty, the quality of the research being produced, etc. may be factors.
     
  20. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    WES considers that some countries PhDs are not equivalent to the US PhD. Try a Nicaragua PhD, the same will come out in the evaluation. WES is not the only evaluation service so you can try others.
    We have to be careful also with these low profile PhDs, they might be accredited and work for a community college professor looking for a pay raise but not for the average person. You can try sending a CV with a PhD from AMA for an adjunct professor job that requires a PhD. My guess is that you will get a very low response rate unless is a field with a shortage. With so many people with PhDs from more known DL schools such as Walden, NCU, etc, the AMA degree might not make it that far. There is also the psychological factor, If am a citizen of Philippines, the AMA might look fine but if all my education is from the US, it might look like a fraud as it is not normal that a US citizen decides to get a PhD from Philippines.

    Foreign degrees might work from countries with good education reputations such as the UK, Australia, France, etc but I would expect low acceptance from other countries with not so strong education systems but there are exceptions such as IIT in India, UNAM in Mexico, etc.
     

Share This Page