Old folks getting PhDs

That's true, Rich. But while being able to refer to my university or publication record would add more weight to the things I say, I'll settle for being less effective and helping people that need more via private messages. I've seen the price paid by you and some others here for openly identifying yourself. It's admirable, I suppose, but not something I'd care to do.

That said, check your inbox.

 

I tried few schools for a PhD by publication. My motivation was to get a PhD at low cost as many schools only charge a modest fee for the PhD examination. My experience is that is not easy to get a supervisor that agrees to take you as a student by publication. As Rich said, these programs are for faculty working at the school already so there is little motivation to take an outsider that is not going contribute too much to the university from both financial and research point of view. One professor accepted me via email but then I received a formal letter from the school explaining that he was not longer available to supervise. Another school rejected me based on the fact that my publications were not in the journals that the faculty recognized. Two more schools rejected me because of lack of supervisors in my area.

In few words, my experience is that there is not much motivation for a professor to take you as a PhD by publication student as they might benefit more from a fresh student that might help them with their existing research rather than taking someone who has already the publications.

These programs seem to be optimal for someone working as a Lecturer or researcher at a University under a particular faculty that needs the PhD for promotion or to be eligible for a job, the school provides a path for these people to get the PhD and technically they need to include it in the catalog but they really have no intention to enroll outsiders that want to take these programs just to reduce their cost of education.

As Rich mentioned, we have no examples in this board of people that were successful at this. Professor McGee explained that most of his doctorates were earned the traditional way and not via publication. However, a person like Professor McGee is really not you average candidate as he is an accomplished professor with hundreds of publications, it is quite possible that the doctorates that he got by publication were earned because his existing relationship with universities and they were granted almost as honorary doctorates for his long history of academic achievement.

No matter what, this program is not for your average person that comes to this board with one or two publications in unraked journals and is looking to earn a doctorate that can cost less than few thousand and can be earned in less than a year. The professor that I was in contact for a PhD by publication explained to me that even this route would take at least two years to complete.

 

Even when people post under their "real names," I don't know if they completed the degrees they say they've completed or worked the jobs they say they've worked. Anyone can post anything on LinkedIn or assume an identity that is not theirs. A member being open about his identity didn't stop other members from questioning claims about his military service. Don't let anyone pressure you into revealing your identity. This is just a forum of a bunch of education hobbyists. Your career and privacy are much more important than proving something to strangers. In some occupations, what you post online, even if it seems innocent, can come back to bite you.

 

If people want to post about distance education under their real name, assuming it's their real name, I'm largely indifferent to it. I see it as neither admirable nor bad, for the most part. I know at least a couple of people have been stalked from this forum or the other one over petty stuff. It's not like people here are trying to overthrow ruthless dictators or anything. In that case, I would have more admiration for those people even if they were going about their cause anonymously.