"higher doctorate" without being a graduate or working at the issuing university

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by laferney, Aug 17, 2015.

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  1. laferney

    laferney Active Member

    Many universities in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and some African countries offer a "Higher" doctorate but only to members of their faculty or graduates of their university.
    Is anyone aware of any programs that will allow one to submit works to be evaluated for a higher doctorate (post Ph.D) who is not a graduate or faculty member of their own school? Just curious. Thanks in advance for any responses.
     
  2. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Yes - there are such programs, but they seem to be scarce. It took me a while to find even one. I presumed the OP might be looking toward a D.Sc. (which is one of the higher doctorates) so this pertains to that degree. Here are the rules for the D.Sc. From U. of Queensland. Section C states that in absence of a prior degree from that University, a degree from another institution, approved by the U. Queensland authorities would do.

    http://www.uq.edu.au/student/ProgramRules2015/2015-Doctor-of-Science-7510.pdf

    I looked at Oxford and Cambridge and "home-boys" rule. One must be a member / have a prior degree from those schools. U of Sunderland is more liberal; one can enter with a Sunderland-approved degree from another school, but it must be a UK school (CNAA). Their program can be done by distance. Not sure about U. Queensland.

    J.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 17, 2015
  3. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    I also checked University of Leicester. Their distance offerings include 5 professional doctorates that they say (and I believe them) are equivalent to Ph.D. No "higher doctorates" by distance, though.

    J.
     
  4. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Yeah. I've heard that.
     
  5. Koolcypher

    Koolcypher Member

    I've heard that one of our members has a doctorate from Leicester. And he already had a Ph.D. :yikes:
     
  6. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    The University of Sunderland appears to offer what you want.

    Higher Doctorate - University of Sunderland
     
  7. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Maybe-- maybe not. As I wrote earlier in this thread: "U of Sunderland is more liberal; one can enter with a Sunderland-approved degree from another school, but it must be a UK school (CNAA)." (Emphasis mine - J.)
    I provided a link to Sunderland's rules for entry (PDF).

    I have no idea if the OP has a qualifying UK degree. I seem to remember (could be wrong) from previous posts that he earned a doctorate from Universidad Central de Nicaragua. Although that is a great accomplishment, Sunderland insists on UK degrees for entry into Higher doctorates. Queensland makes no jurisdictional requirements.

    J.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 18, 2015
  8. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Sorry - I lied. I didn't provide a link to Sunderland's entry requirements. Just to Queensland's. (But I did read them - honest!) :smile:

    J.
     
  9. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    I sprinted through so fast I didn't see it. Anyway, maybe there's something in here that will help:

    https://www.ukcge.ac.uk/pdf/Higher%20Doctorates%20in%20the%20UK%202013%20Bookpdf.pdf
     
  10. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    I have tried this path without success last year, this path is more for people at their end of their careers and not at the beginning. This means that you are expected to have a good 50 to 100 journal publications and a good level of citations (more than 2000) in order to be considered.
    Some schools would consider you without being a faculty or graduate but you are expected to pay from few thousand to ten thousand pounds for an evaluation.
    I paid for a pre evaluation at the Middlesex University, the evaluation came negative as the evaluators not only were expecting more than 50 publications but they were expecting at least half of them from a list of journals that their faculty of business use (Financial times).
    Needless to say that unless you are a very accomplished professor, I wouldn't recommend this path as it would be a waste of money. It is not the type of program that can take someone with few publications in low tear journals, pay a fee and graduate, they are really meant for top performers in the field.
    A second doctorate would be more feasible in my opinion than going for a higher doctorate.
    If you insist, you can give a try to the schools below that would consider a non graduate or faculty:
    University of the West of England
    Queensland University of Technology
    London Metropolitan University
    Deakin University
     
  11. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    There is a big catch for this one, you are required to have a sponsor from the faculty of the university of sunderland. This means that is not as simple as filling up an application and paying a fee, you would need to work with a faculty member for many years most likely as a coauthor of few publications before the faculty member can feel confident enough to postulate you for a higher doctorate.
    Again, these programs are not meant to take people from the street but more of a honorary degree to recognize people with outstanding contributions to the field.
    There are few unaccredited schools that grant higher doctorates or other mickey mouse Latin schools like Azteca that would probably give you a higher doctorate for a handsome fee but I don't know if the OP is really just looking for a title or care about the name of the school. I don't think is worth paying 20 to 30K to a school that would probably would make people laugh at your CV.
    Here an unaccredited school that offers this type of doctorates for a 20K fee:
    http://iugrad.edu.kn/en/degree-programmes/higher-doctorates.html




    There are some decent Indian schools that offer higher doctorates that are more like Post PhD programs that require you to write a thesis and defend it, but I am not sure if this is what the OP wants. One of this school below:

    http://www.upes.ac.in/Higher_Doctoral_Degree_Programs

    I approached the school above and they seem to be fine but in my case, I don't think a higher doctorate from an Indian school would do much for me but maybe the OP might benefit from this info.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 18, 2015
  12. JGD

    JGD New Member

    Hi laferney,

    I found 3 British universities that fit the bill - London metropolitan, Brighton, and Wolverhapton. But there are undoubtedly more - I only checked a handful. Your best bet is to get a list of all UK universities and google: "university name" "higher doctorates". In each of the three examples I provide, the requirement is a UK degree 'or equivalent'. Assuming that by 'equivalent' they refer to a NARIC report stating educational equivalency, a PhD from Universidad Central de Nicaragua fits the criteria (I have verbal confirmation from NARIC that UCN receives favourable credential evaluations).

    However, the university in question may require you to actually get a degree equivalency from UK NARIC (I think this costs shy of $100, can't remember) and, of course, just because the degree is technically acceptable doesn't necessarily mean your application would be successful.

    If you do end up applying, please let me know how it goes. I am considering a PhD from UCN myself, so would be interested to hear the outcome.
     

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