Research Only PhD's

In fact - I do not - but I realize that the chaff must be sorted from the wheat.

I also realize that some of the posters here are like ants at a picnic - they are going to appear - and they are far too numerous to address separately with the attention they no doubt deserve - and they are simply adding "background noise" - like the esteemed gentlemen who posted that I "want a research degree".

It is my opinion that you can use as a barometer the fact that persons add the same value to their workday activities as they do to their posts.

 

Tony,

Feel free to not help me any further

Jim Morgan
Roosevelt University

 

Re: Re: Research Only PhD's

One - I really did ask what I did for the reasons specified - again, this is not for me.

Two - Two of our best faculty members have PhD's from St. Petersberg, Russia - and they are second to no one.

 

You are all so US-centric...

In fact, I think that MOST PhD programmes in the world are research-only. In fact, even in the US, where grad school is composed of the masters and doctoral levels together, there is a separating line between the two - I once enquired if I could get a waiver for my MA at Berkeley, and enroll immidiately to the PhD level (the ABD one). They said that I might have to do a couple of courses. Since then, I met my wife and things have chaged (I travelled here and started life all over again), but the fact is, that ABDs don't do any classes, usually.

In any case, most continental (as in "European") as well as UK-inspired systems (not only NZ, SA, and AUS, but also others) don't require an MA holder to have many courses, if any.

In some of them it is an option to take some courses; some residential programmes have doctoral colloquiums, where you are to present the development of your work and get reviewed by your peers and departmental professors (I bet this could be also arranged in a DL programme without much trouble, via video conference, for example); others would require courses if they feel that you have gaps because of the system you came from, or because of the topic you chose.

But, in the bottom line, most PhD programmes in the world are research-only, and most of those who do not require a lab (not hard science or engineering, though you might get a permission to use your own lab/workplace in some universities), could be done by DL. It is in fact, up to the supervisor: I bet that you could agree with a B&M professor to correspond through email, to meet few times (or once) a year and to advance that way. The whole essence of PhD, is after all, the research.

A friend of mine here does a PhD at the University of Leipzig (one of the oldest and most respected in Europe). His advisor got in the meanwhile a position at Oxford. They email each other and meet few times a year, and the professors is here for two month or so a year. The guy has moved now to Berlin, so none of them is in Leipzig, but the PhD continues. I mean, if you do field-work or archive work, in a "real" humanities/social science PhD, you'd still be DL, even in a B&M institute.

 

You've made some good points. I once had a concern about the language of instruction, thinking that it would be restricted to the native language of the particular university's country (say, German) but it seems that this is not necessarily the case. There was a discussion a year or so ago regarding PhD programs in the Netherlands and how everyone there speaks English, etc. So we have much more potential in regards to the number of possible universities available for research-only PhDs. I think it's important to remember, however, that strictly speaking, these are not DL degree programs. Typically, students live somewhere around the school, maybe within a days drive, and make visits from time to time, maybe once per month, even if it's just to use the library. I think that applicants would do well to remember that if you're proposing that you will never visit the school during the course of your studies/research then you had better be prepared to put forth a very convincing argument as to why the school would want to do this. Still, it can be done.
Jack

 

I'm sure he does not need your permission to either help or not help you on this forum, Jim. What on Earth makes you think otherwise? Are you a moral authority of some sort? Or, did you hack this board and obtained Bruce's admin privileges?

 

Excellent post

 

Stanislaw,

Not an excellent post - see the comments re: "value-added"

 

Jim,
and what makes you think you can judge quality of other people's posts and, moreover, your judgement is of any interest to anybody?
Your initial question has been answered. YES, there are "research-only PhD programs". MANY "research-only PhD programs". But I have a suspicion that you've already knew this, didn't you? Especially if you've worred with PhDs prom SPbSU (Russian PhDs are "almost" research-only). So what's your motivation behind your questions and bizarre behavior?

 

Actually, my question deals with the names of any research-only programs - so you stike out yet again. I'm going to take a minute out of my visit to the MS campus at Redmond and guess that you have never been blamed for adding value to any group you've been with.

 

Friend, try the following Australian universities for research only Ph.D. The universities are B&M and fully accredited government universities. Fees are reasonable:

University of Southern Queensland
Central Queensland University
University of New England
Deakin University
Charles Sturt University

 

Adam,

Thank you very much sir.

 

USQ's PhD is mainly On-Campus

 

Still, useful information to pass on...thank you very much.

 

What about the University of South Africa? They seem worth looking into although the research PhD is going to be a very rigorous piece of work.... at least 500 pages, and it is inexpensive.

 

I know that research only PhD's are the norm across much of the world . My question is, how are such degrees treated when one is trying to obtain a faculty position at a college or university in the US. A bit more specifically, would a research only PhD from a very reputable UK University, like Leicester or Nottingham, be a help or a hindrance in the job search. And would it matter whether such a degree was obtained in the usual route or in a route requiring only limited residency? Thanks

 

Not a definitive answer, but at Roosevelt's CST Dept, two of the most respected Faculty have PhD's from St. Petersberg, Russia.

I don't think a reputable foreign degree is a problem - but is HAS to be perceived as "reputable".