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Warning: Foreign Degree Scam in the US
#1
FYI, since a few board members on both sister boards DF & DI have been searching for affordable post graduate offerings, some have come across legit sites offering Spanish Propio degrees. While these Spanish Propio degrees may be inexpensive, most of then are in Spanish with a select few taught in English as well.  There are some programs that offer Doctorate degrees, you want to make sure the school is in fact in Spain and recognized, not a US agency with a Spanish online presence.

I came across a US based agency offering these Spanish Doctorates - You'll find the name with something like Doctorado en ABC/XYZ.  The info and site is all in Spanish but they're a Miami Florida based company, their site even tells you the degrees are not recognized in the US.  I have come across offerings from them before, Doctorates at 750 Euro up to 2000 Euro.  Cheap yes, recognized, no, these would be much worse in reception/recognition than say the ENEB partnership degrees with University Isabel I.

These type of degree providers are trying to use a "loophole" or "stamp" that other nationals "may" accept as credible learning for credit. BTW, this is not a continuation of my previous post in regards to older universities with a .edu domain scam: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...-are-scams

An example would be Uniclau Laude International University.  Their operations started earlier this year and they're using these Spanish sites as their "groupon" offering.  Beware, be diligent and do your research before purchasing from an online source you're not aware of...
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#2
Since Uniclau Laude claims to be based in Miami, it should minimally have a license to grant degrees in the state of Florida. However, I am not seeing them on the list of state-licensed institutions in Florida (which includes licensed-only and accredited institutions in the state);

https://web02.fldoe.org/CIE/SearchSchool...earch.aspx

I also don't see them on the list of (registered-only) Florida institutions that grant degrees under religious exemption;
https://web02.fldoe.org/CIE/Religious/Re...tions.aspx

It's one thing to be a non-accredited university. It's quite another to operate without any kind of authorization.

Add-on: They say that they have registered in Florida in 2020. If that's the case, we should see them on one of the above lists in the near future. That would take care of the legal issues. However, a merely registered or licensed (better) university faces other problems.
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#3
In Spain you have the "Master Propios" and the "Master Oficiales", Propio means own and Oficial means official.

So, in Spain you have the "Own Master Degree" which are the masters that universities give on their own and although they receive some "accreditation" from the state, they also have limitations. And the "Official Master Degree" which are fully accredited by the state.

Own Master Degree is recognized in the private labor sector but not in the public labor sector. Most of Spanish wants a public labor postion as you can get a an inflated salary and also you can't get fired from these jobs because of laws (this is actually the cancer of latin countries economy).

Official Master degree allows you to get a job in the public sector, with the previously mentioned benefits; but Official Master Degree also allows you to do the PhD degree. In Spain you cannot do a PhD without an official master. Own Master Degree holders can't do PhD (unless they also do an official one).

Therefore, when a Spanish institution offers a PhD without requesting an Official Master, then it is scam.

I actually don't know how foreign (non-Spanish) Master degrees are validated.
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#4
(08-16-2020, 05:22 PM)cecilgambe7 Wrote: In Spain you have the "Master Propios" and the "Master Oficiales", Propio means own and Oficial means official.

So, in Spain you have the "Own Master Degree" which are the masters that universities give on their own and although they receive some "accreditation" from the state, they also have limitations. And the "Official Master Degree" which are fully accredited by the state.

Own Master Degree is recognized in the private labor sector but not in the public labor sector. Most of Spanish wants a public labor postion as you can get a an inflated salary and also you can't get fired from these jobs because of laws (this is actually the cancer of latin countries economy).

Official Master degree allows you to get a job in the public sector, with the previously mentioned benefits; but Official Master Degree also allows you to do the PhD degree. In Spain you cannot do a PhD without an official master. Own Master Degree holders can't do PhD (unless they also do an official one).

Therefore, when a Spanish institution offers a PhD without requesting an Official Master, then it is scam.

I actually don't know how foreign (non-Spanish) Master degrees are validated.

You might find this thread a really good read:

https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...-under-300

We discussed everything you mentioned in great detail there, and then some. Plus, there is a recent evaluation of a Spanish propio degree by ECE with the result that it is equivalent to a U.S. regionally accredited degree. More details to it, but I don't want to spoil it for you.
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#5
(08-16-2020, 07:21 PM)eLearner Wrote:
(08-16-2020, 05:22 PM)cecilgambe7 Wrote: In Spain you have the "Master Propios" and the "Master Oficiales", Propio means own and Oficial means official.

So, in Spain you have the "Own Master Degree" which are the masters that universities give on their own and although they receive some "accreditation" from the state, they also have limitations. And the "Official Master Degree" which are fully accredited by the state.

Own Master Degree is recognized in the private labor sector but not in the public labor sector. Most of Spanish wants a public labor postion as you can get a an inflated salary and also you can't get fired from these jobs because of laws (this is actually the cancer of latin countries economy).

Official Master degree allows you to get a job in the public sector, with the previously mentioned benefits; but Official Master Degree also allows you to do the PhD degree. In Spain you cannot do a PhD without an official master. Own Master Degree holders can't do PhD (unless they also do an official one).

Therefore, when a Spanish institution offers a PhD without requesting an Official Master, then it is scam.

I actually don't know how foreign (non-Spanish) Master degrees are validated.

You might find this thread a really good read:

https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...-under-300

We discussed everything you mentioned in great detail there, and then some. Plus, there is a recent evaluation of a Spanish propio degree by ECE with the result that it is equivalent to a U.S. regionally accredited degree. More details to it, but I don't want to spoil it for you.

Cool, thank you for the info
BSBA: 70% completed (84 credits of 120)
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#6
Misleading. An "employer" level evaluation based on unofficial transcripts was evaluated as equivalent to a US undergrad degree, not a masters.
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Thomas Edison State University
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BA Psychology, 2016
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#7
(08-16-2020, 09:45 PM)jsd Wrote: Misleading. An "employer" level evaluation based on unofficial transcripts was evaluated as equivalent to a US undergrad degree, not a masters.

Nothing I said was "misleading". You're reaching with that one. This thread isn't about what purpose type evaluation a person can or did get. With regard to the evaluation you're referring to, the service accepted what the graduate sent, so? What an evaluation service chooses to take is at their discretion and given their extensive experience of evaluating thousands and thousands of foreign degrees for many years and being well-respected within their industry, I'm sure they have an established written process in place for it and we're in no position to discredit that. It should also be pointed out that each Isabel certified diploma has an ID attached that can be searched at the Isabel site for verification, so I'm sure that had to factor in, but that too is not what this thread is about.

(08-16-2020, 09:45 PM)jsd Wrote: ... was evaluated as equivalent to a US undergrad degree, not a masters.

Notice how I didn't mention any of that because 1. This discussion is not specifically or only about a Masters, and 2. since I said and I quote: "More details to it, but I don't want to spoil it for you."
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#8
Not everyone is going to have the patience to read through that whole thread, no need to be cryptic -- it was easy for me to provide non-misleading clarification.
Northwestern California University School of Law
JD Law, 2027 (in progress, currently 2L)

Georgia Tech
MS Cybersecurity (Policy), 2021

Thomas Edison State University
BA Computer Science, 2023
BA Psychology, 2016
AS Business Administration, 2023
Certificate in Operations Management, 2023
Certificate in Computer Information Systems, 2023

Western Governors University
BS IT Security, 2018

Chaffey College
AA Sociology, 2015

Accumulated Credit: Undergrad: 258.50 | Graduate: 32

View all of my credit on my Omni Transcript!
Visit the DegreeForum Community Wiki!
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#9
(08-17-2020, 10:02 AM)jsd Wrote: Not everyone is going to have the patience to read through that whole thread, no need to be cryptic -- it was easy for me to provide non-misleading clarification.

I'll let others decide what their patience level is for reading text on a message board where reading text is, you know, kind of the idea...

It wasn't about being "cryptic". I didn't want to turn this thread into something it isn't about. You apparently have some issues regarding the outcome of the evaluation, but it would be better to voice it in that thread instead of this one since you're misleading people into a discussion that has nothing to do with this thread.
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#10
sorry for commenting on something you brought up. not sure why this is setting you off so much, but apologies, i guess?
Northwestern California University School of Law
JD Law, 2027 (in progress, currently 2L)

Georgia Tech
MS Cybersecurity (Policy), 2021

Thomas Edison State University
BA Computer Science, 2023
BA Psychology, 2016
AS Business Administration, 2023
Certificate in Operations Management, 2023
Certificate in Computer Information Systems, 2023

Western Governors University
BS IT Security, 2018

Chaffey College
AA Sociology, 2015

Accumulated Credit: Undergrad: 258.50 | Graduate: 32

View all of my credit on my Omni Transcript!
Visit the DegreeForum Community Wiki!
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