Korean Job Discussion Forums

[fromtheuk]

Konglishman - You've made a valid point about the credibility of some PhDs, but if I can find a PhD from a British university that requires no viva, I'll certainly consider it.

On your cv/resume, if it states you have a PhD from a real university and the certificate is identical to the face-to-face version, I don't think any employer will ask if there was a viva.

Most people assume all PhDs have them.

I am waiting for a response from Birmingham University. From their website, it seems they run a distance learning PhD in Applied Linguistics. I may be wrong, we shall see.

[allovertheplace]

[Skyblue]

Those Ph.D.s I mentioned are $60,000 minimum. I laugh when I see jobs in Korea offering an extra 100,000 won per month for a Ph.D. It wout only take a hundred years (taking into account inflation) to recoup your investment at one of those places.

[cyui]

Hey K,

What about MBA's?

[nathanrutledge]

What's the fear of having to defend your thesis? Doing all the work and then not defending it seems pretty weak (in both the standard and slang definition of the word).

I'm in the midst of doing my M.A. and am already researching what it would take to do a PhD afterward. I think the idea of an "online" PhD is wrong - even the term distance doesn't work. "Not in residence" is a much better phrase.

ALL the programs I've found that looked halfway decent (from the US, to New Zealand/Australia to the UK) have required SOME time on campus, even if it's only a month a year.

For everyone else, you guys DO realize that doing a PhD does NOT always require coursework, correct? Frequently, European PhD's are only a thesis, the idea being that the candidate already did the coursework for an M.A, and that the PhD is just the original contribution to human knowledge. Even in the US where a certain number of credits are required, dissertations can account for anywhere from a handful of credits to the largest majority of credits - i.e., someone who does a large, tedious project doesn't have to take very many, if any, classes.

If you're serious about it, plan ahead, accept the fact you may have to spend a couple thousand extra to fly somewhere and live in a motel for a few weeks a year. In the end, if it's what you want to do, you can get it done. And remember, haters gonna hate...

[fromtheuk]

The fear is, I am weak in every sense. I want a 'sure thing.' I feel a viva undermines that.

[UknowsI]

It makes little sense to skip the thesis defence. If your advisor thinks your research is good enough for a PhD and you have the right publications the thesis defence is often more of a formality. I would also think of all the interaction you lose by doing a distance degree. You will invest a lot of time if you want to do a PhD, and wouldn't you want to get the most learning out of it and not just a piece of paper?

[Skyblue]

[fromtheuk]

I appreciate this sounds crass but all I'd want is the certificate and any extra cash that I could earn with it.

I may not do a PhD, I believe an MA will suffice. The amount of effort and money put into a PhD may not pay dividends, over time.

Or even if it would, I probably couldn't be bothered to do it. I'm keeping a semi-open mind on the issue.

[nate1983]

[fromtheuk]

I change my mind regularly. I think I'll stop after doing an MA. I have no desire to do a PhD. I'm only doing an MA because it's just one year.

It also looks quite straightforward.

As mentioned, the viva could be a problem for me. Some people do actually fail the PhD, over this issue.

After the MA, I intend to teach again in the Middle East.

It'll be nice to have the option of a direct hire at universities around the world. Being MA-less, means I currently don't have the luxury of such a choice.

[young_clinton]

[Skyblue]