IT related PhD affordable for EU citizen, online and own pace

Hi,

I am thinking about leveling up to a PhD in the next years and would like to read your advices.
Do you know a PhD course, which is affordable for an EU citizen, which is possible to do online and where I am master of my own time - as far as possible?

 

I have found the most affordable one in the Ph.D. in Management solid program is from the University of Leceister.
URL: https://le.ac.uk/study/research-degrees/research-subjects/management

 

According to your profile, you are from Germany, right? And according to your signature, you have a master's degree in computer science, but it looks like you don't have a bachelor's degree. That could be a problem, especially at continental European universities. Many EU universities require both. For example, all German universities require that you have at least 300 ECTS credits in total. This is only possible if you also have a bachelor's degree, or you have at least three master's degrees.

Of course, Germany is probably not an option for you anyway, because German universities do not offer online PhDs. The same applies to many other universities within the EU. And with schools that offer a PhD, you always have to be careful whether the degree is also recognized in the country of origin. The fact that the school awarding the degree is recognized is not always enough. For example, there are French grand ecoles that offer PhDs that are not recognized by the French state.

Although I believe that in your case a PhD from a university within the EU would be the best option, I cannot recommend a single European online PhD program that would meet your requirements. I simply don't know of any. Of course, that doesn't mean that such a program doesn't exist.

The second best option, in my opinion, is a degree from a university outside the EU that is recognized in Germany. American universities are probably not an option for you because of the costs. This may even apply to (some) British schools. I assume that you will pay the costs out of your own pocket.

However, there is one school that might be a good choice for you: the University of South Africa. This university is listed by Anabin as H+, which means the school is recognized in Germany. And the PhD degrees from the University of South Africa are recognized in South Africa. This means that they are also recognized in Germany. However, the University of South Africa is of course an African university. You have to decide for yourself whether such a degree really meets your requirements.

In any case, there are two PhD programs at the University of South Africa that would probably fit your criteria.

1. The PhD in Computer Science : https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Apply-for-admission/Master's-&-doctoral-degrees/Qualifications/All-qualifications/Doctor-of-Philosophy-in-Computer-Science-(98803)

2. The PhD in Information Systems: https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Apply-for-admission/Master's-&-doctoral-degrees/Qualifications/All-qualifications/Doctor-of-Philosophy-in-Information-Systems-(98804)

By the way, the University of South Africa has recently started offering PhDs by publication: https://www.unisa.ac.za/static/corporate_web/Content/Apply%20for%20admission/MD/Documents/PhD%20by%20Publication.pdf

 

Hey, this looks like something for me. Thanks!

And yes, germany is not a good choice for those types of learning/studying. I already checked the University of catalania, which fits most parts, but my missing Bachelor is a problem, there. 300 EC minimum...
I will check out Unisa. So thanks for your post and the details!

Btw. the PhD by Publication seems to be interesting, but I never released a paper. Maybe IEEE will publish an article from me this year, but thats it ;-)