Hello. Below I will provide some background for my inquiry and then I
will post my specific questions. Please note, I do not want to be
offered any options from schools that are mostly on-line institutions.

BACKGROUND:
Many graduate schools in the UK and Australia offer the opportunity to
receive a PhD. by publication record. Sometimes it is just called a
"PhD. by Publication". In other words, if you have done considerable
and important work in a field of science and had your work published
in peer reviewed journals, you may be able to submit your portfolio to
a review committee at the graduate school to see if you are deserving
of a PhD. The school committee, I am assuming along with the dean and
other notables, will then award you the doctorate if they feel your
work merits it. I believe in the UK, at least, although you do not
have to have been an official graduate student of the institution, the
candidate is typically affiliated with the school in some official
capacity. This may be as a research assistant or a fellow or something
else that made you a part of that school in particular. Thus it seems
that the work one submits for consideration, emanated from that
particular institution. However, I do believe that work conducted
elsewhere can also be considered. My questions relate specifically to
studies in the biological sciences. This can include neuroscience,
biomedical, biological, biophysica, biochemistry, physiology,
genetics, stem cells, etc...you get the point.

THE FIRST PART OF THE QUESTION: 
Are there any graduate schools in the United States that allow one to
submit their work for a PhD by publication? There may not be an
official release of information regarding this practice from the
school's general website but I guess I am asking if this is done in
the US anymore and what are the procedures? Generally PhD awards are
up to the discretion of the graduate school's dean along with the
degree committee, etc...Thus much of it may be done
intra-departmentally and not as an official separable program with
strict requirements.

SECOND PART OF THE QUESTION: 
Of the institutions abroad that offer this option, which ones are
amenable to having the candidate be from another institution? In other
words, they were not a member of the institution, one way or another,
at the time their work was completed. The work was conducted somewhere
else.

THIRD PART OF THE QUESTION:
Are there any professional services that one can hire that assists in
this process?

Thank you so much.

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Request for Question Clarification by politicalguru-ga on 29 Mar 2006 04:57 PST

Leftrightleft, 

I don't understand the last question. What do you mean by
"professional services that one can hire that assists in this
process"?

---

Clarification of Question by leftrightrightleft-ga on 01 Apr 2006 14:58 PST

Hi, 

What I mean by professional services is that on bulletin boards at
univeristies and on the net, I see advertisements for writing editors.
For example, someone who helps you put your written work together in a
more cohesive fashion. I am certain that the institution in question
may ask for a summification or recapitulation of all of your work.

I can't say that there are *no* schools in the US that do this: as you
say, it might not be advertised. I have never heard of this practice
at any university I have been at, nor have I even heard it mentioned.
The closest would be an honorary degree, but I doubt if that is what
you have in mind.

This does not answer your question in any way, but I do know someone
in Germany who received a doctoraate on the basis of previously
published work.  The well-known university wanted to hire him as a
lecturer.  Either the profile for the position or tradition made it
necessary for the person hired to have a PhD  - which he certainly was
worthy of.

The third question is open to interpretation:  A company hired to
locate a university that would grant a degree on the basis of
published work; or a company that would assist by providing papers
....

Hi myoarin,

What I mean by professional services is that on bulletin boards at
univeristies and on the net, I see advertisements for writing editors.
For example, someone who helps you put your written work together in a
more cohesive fashion. I am certain that the institution in question
may ask for a summification or recapitulation of all of your work.

Now having said that, your other suggestion of " A company hired to
locate a university that would grant a degree on the basis of
published work" is also applicable and could be useful.

Thank you to all for any help they may be able to offer.

Mayoarin, 

It is different in Germany. Basically, Habilitation (a "second"
doctorate, which grants one the permission to teach at a university)
is based upon publication of a second research of that scale, or a
book (and basically - and this was somewhat controversial - on the
decisions of a committee at that certain university). In some cases,
even "Promotion" ("first" doctorate) would be based on a previously
published work.

Poly-guru,
I know.  He is only a "Dozent", however, but Humboldt Uni thought he
needed to have a doctorate.  He is described on a couple of sites this
way:
"Ambulanter Intellektueller, Kulturtheoretiker, Medienautor"

(paripatetic intellectual, theoretician of culture, media author)

LRRL,
Politicalguru confirms that what you suggest can happen, though I
expect that one published work by itself would have to be defined as
the thesis.

Personally, to me it sounds like those professional services are suggesting
a bit   - or more -  of ghostwriting.  Why don't you ask one what they do?
Myoarin

Mayo - do you know what miserable salaries does the HU pay to people
without PhD? No tenureship, and about 700 EUR for a 6 month
semester(!) [I hope I am not disclosing something that I
shouldn't...]. We are modern-day slaves, and love it.

But in any case - to LeftRight: 
* I can swear that I knew a University of Chicago professor, who was a
theologian by "regular" PhD and gained a PhD by publication in other
fields. But she was already a professor.
* It is, however very uncommon in the United States. 

Regarding the "editorial" services, I also suspect that most (if not
all), are "ghost writing" services for cheaters.