Low cost online doctorates outside the US

[sarahmac]

To be honest, every PhD in Germany is free, or nearly fee barring small registration fees, and can be completed at a distance. The Netherlands too. The only exceptions are private universities (of which there are very few). The way a PhD works here as an independent candidate is you write a research proposal for three to four papers and then contact the professor who you would like to be your supervisor. If they approve your research proposal, then you can register as a PhD researcher (doctoral researchers are not students).

How long the PhD takes then depends on you. If you write three to four publication-worthy articles in one or two years then that is that. Schedule your viva and move on with life. If it takes you longer is entirely dependent on your ability as a researcher.

You must already have a master's to apply. The only problem for Americans is that it may be very hard to get accepted since usually master's degrees in Europe are 60 US credits, and you have to write a thesis at both the bachelor and master's level. There are some free online master's degrees in Germany though so I guess you could 2 for 1 over four or five years and do both a master's and PhD for free. The masters I know of are in things like Public Health, Sustainability, World Heritage and Conservation, one physics-y one in Communications and Signal Processing, etc.

Someone could go, for example, history degree at UMPI for <3000, to word heritage masters here, to PhD at any public uni and only pay for the cost of UMPI plus transcripts.

[SweetSecret]

To be honest, every PhD in Germany is free, or nearly fee barring small registration fees, and can be completed at a distance. The Netherlands too. The only exceptions are private universities (of which there are very few). The way a PhD works here as an independent candidate is you write a research proposal for three to four papers and then contact the professor who you would like to be your supervisor. If they approve your research proposal, then you can register as a PhD researcher (doctoral researchers are not students).

How long the PhD takes then depends on you. If you write three to four publication-worthy articles in one or two years then that is that. Schedule your viva and move on with life. If it takes you longer is entirely dependent on your ability as a researcher.

You must already have a master's to apply. The only problem for Americans is that it may be very hard to get accepted since usually master's degrees in Europe are 60 US credits, and you have to write a thesis at both the bachelor and master's level. There are some free online master's degrees in Germany though so I guess you could 2 for 1 over four or five years and do both a master's and PhD for free. The masters I know of are in things like Public Health, Sustainability, World Heritage and Conservation, one physics-y one in Communications and Signal Processing, etc.

Someone could go, for example, history degree at UMPI for <3000, to word heritage masters here, to PhD at any public uni and only pay for the cost of UMPI plus transcripts.

I already have my next step planned out, but this is interesting and tempting!

[sarahmac]

To be honest, every PhD in Germany is free, or nearly fee barring small registration fees, and can be completed at a distance. The Netherlands too. The only exceptions are private universities (of which there are very few). The way a PhD works here as an independent candidate is you write a research proposal for three to four papers and then contact the professor who you would like to be your supervisor. If they approve your research proposal, then you can register as a PhD researcher (doctoral researchers are not students).

How long the PhD takes then depends on you. If you write three to four publication-worthy articles in one or two years then that is that. Schedule your viva and move on with life. If it takes you longer is entirely dependent on your ability as a researcher.

You must already have a master's to apply. The only problem for Americans is that it may be very hard to get accepted since usually master's degrees in Europe are 60 US credits, and you have to write a thesis at both the bachelor and master's level. There are some free online master's degrees in Germany though so I guess you could 2 for 1 over four or five years and do both a master's and PhD for free. The masters I know of are in things like Public Health, Sustainability, World Heritage and Conservation, one physics-y one in Communications and Signal Processing, etc.

Someone could go, for example, history degree at UMPI for <3000, to word heritage masters here, to PhD at any public uni and only pay for the cost of UMPI plus transcripts.

I already have my next step planned out, but this is interesting and tempting!

I think it is just a fundamentally different approach to the US is all. Here citizen science is a big thing, and everyone can participate in academia who wants to, which is especially common among older folks (maybe you know the type - old man who spends a lot of time bumbling around in local archives ^^') and those working in firms which have scientific byproducts.

It is really normal to do a masters here if you are academically inclined, pretty much nobody stops at just a bachelor's (the old undergraduate degree used to be 5 years or so and included a master, so you didn't have a choice), so at any point, people have the option to participate in research if they want to. The hardest part is usually finding a supervisor...

In the US I get the impression that it is a lot more institutionalized since on the one hand there are tuition fees and on the other, they need grad students to teach courses.

I hope in the future more master's courses will be offered online in English, since that really opens this style of academia to people in the US etc. Right now it is kind of limited since most online masters are in German.

[basu888]

European International University, Paris - ASIC accredited

[bjcheung77]

European International University, Paris - ASIC accredited

I would not recommend this institution at all, until they get accredited as ASIC really isn't an accreditation agency. For further info, review this thread before you even look at them, red flags all over the place as they're "disguising non accredited degrees and selling" you a non-recognized doctoral degree: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...University

[EDUxplorer]

Just to provide a heads up...

I spoke with an admissions person on the phone just now for Amity.

Their .edu is for in-person only, it seems. To see their online distance offerings, you must go to:
https://amityonline.com/

The source of this was live chat then they called and spoke to me on the phone.

[eLearner]

Amity is a legitimate school, but if I didn't know that, their portrayal of WES as an accreditor would be a red flag. WES is an evaluator, not an accreditor.

[bjcheung77]

Amity only has Bachelors & Masters at the moment, so this won't help for doctoral degrees just yet. I recall they scrapped their free Bachelors of Arts 3 year option a few years ago, I wonder what happened with that. They're WASC accredited, so they have RA already, they're just located within India and offerings are online... I would review your options and see which one makes your short list, search the posts/threads for something that interests you and within your budget, timeline, etc...

[EliEverIsAHero]

So I'm interested in this thread because doctoral study is very much a bucket list item for me. 

I've had the experiences of being accepted into online programs at Liberty University (and have a few credits from there), Capitol Tech U, and University of Southern Mississippi, but the price tag is just too high. 

Which of the programs being discussed here are purely online and would meet evaluation/accreditation standards in the US (or anywhere in the EU, since I also have access to that geographic job market)?

[crimsonhairless]

The University of London offers quite a few distance learning PhD programs. Not too expensive at around £5-10,000. https://www.sas.ac.uk/postgraduate-study...e-learning