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I have paid $1000 for PhD in mathematics. And I have sent them my book to be considered as a PhD thesis.

Now I suspect that I have lost the money.

But as far as I know they are not accredited by the U.S. Department of Education.

So, is it possible that I will find a job requiring a degree, using this (fake?) PhD?

Now they have told me that the U.S. Department of Education will send my diploma to US foreign affairs department and then they will make some "stumps" on my diploma. Do these stamps mean anything? Are these stamps just a formal thing which mean nothing and don't make my degree "official" ("real")? Moreover, to send my diploma to the departments costs additional $1000-$1750 (dependent on whether I pay right now or later).

smci
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porton
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    http://consumerwatchdogbw.blogspot.com/2013/06/and-another-fake-university-grant-town.html – ff524 Jun 14 '14 at 19:28
  • @ff524: I have already read this blog post earlier. It does NOT convince me that GTU is fake, because it says just that they give life-experience degrees (not only degrees based on study in their university) – porton Jun 14 '14 at 19:30
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    At best, this sounds like you've paid $1000 for a worthless piece of paper. At worst, this sounds like a scam. No credible university would do this, and listing such a "degree" could even be damaging to your CV. A "life experience degree" is not a University degree. – Moriarty Jun 14 '14 at 19:32
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    I have removed the name of the university, because we generally do not answer questions about specific universities; see the [help/on-topic] – ff524 Jun 14 '14 at 19:33
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    Life-experience degree sounds like a euphemism for "you were duped." –  Jun 14 '14 at 19:37
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    @porton what kind of evidence would convince you that this university is "fake" (or not)? – ff524 Jun 14 '14 at 19:41
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    I would not waste any money on a degree that is not conferred by an accredited institution. You can find accredited (US) schools at the following government site: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/ – Brian P Jun 14 '14 at 19:48
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    @porton "give life-experience degrees" is the same as "fake". No, this degree (should you ever receive it) will not help you in the slightest when applying for jobs requiring a PhD. I am sorry, but you have certainly been scammed. – xLeitix Jun 14 '14 at 20:05
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    I am having trouble believing anyone would actually pay for this. – Marc Claesen Jun 14 '14 at 20:36
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    To put it simply: Any PhD degree that you can get by paying and without spending considerable time and effort doing research will probably be either fake or useless. There are no shortcuts. – Bitwise Jun 14 '14 at 20:53
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    @Marc: Scams which no one falls for don't exist for very long. This particular OP has been trying to do "independent mathematical research" for several years now. I find the news that he has been exploited in this way truly heartbreaking. I think that mainstream academics should have more sympathy for people like this -- there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to be a mathematician. For some people wanting to be a mathematician is a very unrealistic goal, but that does not mean that they deserve to be cheated! – Pete L. Clark Jun 14 '14 at 21:17
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    @user2379888 , for porton's sake, I hope so. However, it sounds real enough not to be discounted. Even if the whole thing is fictional, it serves as a cautionary tale, as well as an opportunity for "the other side" to come clean about their practices. – Not Quite An Outsider Jun 14 '14 at 21:32
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    @user2379888, Marc: As I've mentioned, I got emails about scams like this 15-20 years ago (at my university email address, no less!). There's clearly enough victims to keep it going. – aeismail Jun 14 '14 at 21:42
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    @PeteL.Clark I am not reveling in the fact the OP got scammed and I genuinely do agree that the basic ambition shown here is a very good thing to have. That said, I am having trouble sympathizing in these circumstances because I consider trying to buy a degree to be a form of cheating as well. To me, such attempts are on an equal level of moral wrongs as cheating exams, if not worse. – Marc Claesen Jun 15 '14 at 08:44
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    @Marc: The document submitted by the OP is longer than most PhD theses in mathematics. The OP has been working on and trying to publish it for several years: longer than many PhD students spend working on their thesis. Content issues aside, I believe is 100% sincere. Further, there is nothing inherently immoral about paying money in pursuit of an academic degree: many of us would be out of a job if that were the case. Characterizing the OP's behavior as cheating seems to miss many of the heartbreaking nuances of the situation. I hope you'll reconsider your lack of sympathy. – Pete L. Clark Jun 15 '14 at 13:20
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    @Pete L. Clark "I would share your opinion if not for these lines. Albert: I already have the thesis, it is a 300 pages book ... how long will it take you to review my thesis? Senior Guy: Well it will take us 24 Hours." Anybody who can go for the offer after this either has no idea what mathematics is, or.... – fedja Jun 16 '14 at 03:30
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    @fedja: I believe that that quote was from when another user on this site investigated the matter, and I don't think there is any reason to believe that the original poster had received any similar information. – Thomas Padron-McCarthy Jun 16 '14 at 06:36
  • @fedja Thomas is correct, I will clarify it in the answer. – Davidmh Jun 16 '14 at 15:50
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    @PeteL.Clark If he really wants to be a mathematician and has done considerable work in mathematics alone, should he approach a Prof, who may be able to help him. I am a PhD student myself and I think Profs are quite supportive in such cases. What do you think? (I am tagging you since you said that "there is nothing wrong with wanting to be a mathematician" and I see that you are a Prof too :) ) – Autonomous Jun 17 '14 at 07:03
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    OP: did you pay with a credit card? You might have recourse if so. – John Johnson Jun 17 '14 at 21:28
  • @JohnJohnson: Yes, I've paid with VISA. How to get money back? – porton Jun 18 '14 at 10:30
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    @porton Call VISA and tell them what happened, that the seller is dishonest, and you want a refund. – John Johnson Jun 18 '14 at 14:32
  • @porton how did this turn out? Were you able to get a refund? – John Johnson Jul 12 '14 at 02:45
  • @porton So did you get a refund or chargeback? Sounds like possible fraud, depending on what representations they made on website or email. – smci Jul 21 '15 at 06:33
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    @PeteL.Clark: I have to agree with Marc. Your statements are correct, but "there is nothing inherently immoral about paying money in pursuit of an academic degree" simplifies things too much in my opinion: There is indeed nothing inherently immoral about paying money when that is an administrative/organisational requirement to get a chance to obtain a PhD based on one's research success. However, paying money in exchange for a guaranteed degree is a whole different story, and at least if the OP was aware that research requirements are replaced by a payment (and maybe some superficial ... – O. R. Mapper Jul 21 '15 at 08:05
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    ... formal requirements, such as hand in a 150+ pages document that looks like it's professional at first glance), cheating is the right term. – O. R. Mapper Jul 21 '15 at 08:06
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    @O.R. Mapper: I agree with everything you say. In this case, I firmly believe that the OP did not believe that research requirements were being replaced by payment. As I've said, he's spent many years pursuing mathematical research and has some published papers in generals that academic professionals would regard as predatory. I really don't think he is trying to cheat or take advantage of anyone. – Pete L. Clark Jul 21 '15 at 15:52
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    There was a New York Times article this summer exposing the company that sells degrees through GTU and other "universities." – ff524 Aug 11 '15 at 06:39
  • @MarcClaesen Most people in most country's at one point or another pay large sums for their degree. There are several legit degrees that can be earned based on submitted publications, thesis and so on and does not require attending a school. If someone is not familiar with the system, may believe that such an offer is a legit offer, so your comment is too harsh. – Greg Jan 27 '17 at 16:47

2 Answers2

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You have lost the money whether or not the "university" gives you the degree.

You have given your money to what is known as a diploma mill. A long time ago (nearly two decades!), I received an email offering degrees from "prestigious, non-accredited universities" based on life experience. This is a complete and total scam. Even if you have a diploma, it will be useless for professional purposes. Anybody responsible for hiring a PhD will see that there is no work resulting from your "graduate career," which will be a tipoff that the degree is worthless, and you will be unlikely to receive a job offer. Worse still, even if you were to get an offer, it could be rescinded when the truth is uncovered.

Disengage now, before you lose any further money on this situation.

Addendum: I should also mention that I am unaware of the US Department of Education doing any certification of diplomas and certificates on an individual basis.

aeismail
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    I believe the "stamps" he refers to is notarization of the signature on the diploma (see "apostille") – ff524 Jun 14 '14 at 22:07
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    @ff524: Maybe so. But that would in any case not be the US Department of Education. – aeismail Jun 14 '14 at 22:34
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    More significantly, notarization of the signature on the diploma doesn't signify anything about the degree the diploma is supposed to reflect – ff524 Jun 15 '14 at 04:51
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    Wikipedia has a list of animals with degrees from diploma mills: List of animals with fraudulent diplomas – Andrew Grimm Jun 15 '14 at 07:13
  • I don't see why this 'university' won't send him a piece of paper with degree and his name on it. This would help them avoid being sued. – Quora Feans Jun 15 '14 at 18:30
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    @QuoraFeans: What I meant is that even if the university sends the degree, the money is "lost" in that the degree is worthless. (And given that it doesn't appear to be a US outfit, good luck suing them.) – aeismail Jun 15 '14 at 20:16
  • I'll give you a nice looking full color diploma for only $295.99, plus only 1 hour turnaround after receiving your thesis... BTW, my cat constantly receives credit card offers from CitiBank; perhaps I should get her a degree first? – Phil Perry Jun 16 '14 at 21:22
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    I know this thread is old news by now, but it bears repeating because diploma mills are a real threat: The US Department of Education does not accredit institutions of higher education. That means that the idea that a certain degree is accredited by the US government is absolutely bunk, false. –  Jan 30 '15 at 00:51
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    I have just learned what he was referring to w.r.t. "stamps from the US foreign affairs": http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/18/world/asia/fake-diplomas-real-cash-pakistani-company-axact-reaps-millions-columbiana-barkley.html ("Such certificates, which help a degree to be recognized abroad..") – ff524 Jun 01 '15 at 13:17
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In case there was any doubt, I have asked them. This is the conversation I had with them (some irrelevant parts omitted):

Albert: Hello, I have written a book on Mathematics that I would like to turn into a PhD thesis
Albert: what do I have to do?
Their Guy: What is your highest level of education?
Albert: I have a Masters degree in mathematics
Their Guy: Ph.D degree will cost you $1100.00 (USD)
Their Guy:
• 1 Original Accredited Degree
• 2 Original Transcripts
• 1 Award of Excellence
• 1 Certificate of Distinction
• 1 Certificate of Membership
• 4 Education Verification Letters
Albert: how long will it take to complete it?
Albert: I already have the thesis, it is a 300 pages book
Their Guy: When are you planning to enroll?
Albert: as soon as possible
Albert: once the payment and the thesis are sent, how long will it take to have it accepted?
Senior Guy: Alright you have been transferred to senior student counselor
Senior Guy: Shipment Details :-
Senior Guy: 2 set of documents we are going to send you in total in 2 separate shipments.
-First set of degree documents will be sent in just 15 - 20 working days with all 10 degree documents without attestations.
-Second set of documents will be sent in only 25 - 30 working days with complete and comprehensive attestations with all above mentioned authorities.
Senior Guy: Total Fee Submission including all registrations would be $1700.00 USD ( $1100 + $600 )
Albert: how long will it take you to review my thesis?
Senior Guy: Well it will take us 24 Hours
Senior Guy: Forward your resume & thesis on [email protected]
Albert: thank you, you have been most enlightening

So, they are reviewing 300 pages in 24 h (where it should take like a year). They do no checking whatsoever on what I would be submitting.

I am sorry, but you have lost the money.

Edit:

I have found something funny. The faculty (only visiting faculty seems visible for our university) is the same as, including pictures and order, in another online university and another one and another and yet another one, ¡and even more! (and at least, 5 more, but you get the point); all of them looking equally suspicious.

John Kugelman
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Davidmh
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    A thesis shouldn't take a year to review! – aeismail Jun 14 '14 at 20:39
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    @aeismail Perhaps not but it cannot be done in a day either. – Alexandros Jun 14 '14 at 20:40
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    Thank you for this public service. Even if it is fictional (and I hope all the names you used above are), it sounds plausible. I am certainly not going to pursue such a degree based on this scenario. – Not Quite An Outsider Jun 14 '14 at 20:40
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    @aeismail review the correctness of a 300 pages maths document takes a while. In practice, they are based on articles and one may assume they are correct. – Davidmh Jun 14 '14 at 20:45
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    @NotQuiteAnOutsider my name is not Albert, nor my phone number is 555555555, and I don't work on Mathematics. Their part is true. – Davidmh Jun 14 '14 at 20:48
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    @aeismail: It depends on what you mean by "reviewing the thesis". If you mean that a committee member gets a lot less than one year to sit with a thesis before the defense: yes, I have sometimes been given less than three weeks. However, paperwork aside the vast majority of the reviewing is done by the thesis advisor. If you count the amount of time the advisor spends discussing and vetting the work with the student: less than a year is not impossible but would be very, very fast. Anyway, this is probably not the point... – Pete L. Clark Jun 14 '14 at 21:23
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    @Davidmh , indeed. I am worried about the other names appearing as real, especially in these days of web indexing. I might recommend Representative and Senior Representative. In any case, the example is instructive, and names should be changed to not embarrass the guilty here. – Not Quite An Outsider Jun 14 '14 at 21:28
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    @NotQuiteAnOutsider I see your point, and it is a good one. Changed now. – Davidmh Jun 14 '14 at 21:40
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    Boy, they found some unreasonably fresh-faced and perky visiting professors to clone, didn't they? – dmckee --- ex-moderator kitten Jun 15 '14 at 04:11
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    The faculty pics are pretty obviously stock photos. – xLeitix Jun 15 '14 at 07:58
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    … as can easily be determined using Google image search. – Daniel Beck Jun 15 '14 at 10:54
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    It's not just the same photos, though -- it's also the same names, in the same order. Either this is one outfit half-assedly pretending to be a bunch of schools, or there's a "scam university" template being passed around. :P It certainly doesn't help their case that i can't find a physical address on any of them. – cHao Jun 16 '14 at 22:31
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    @cHao if you look at their Terms of Service page it's obvious that they use the same document for every site. What's sad is that their search and replace for the university name has an extra space on the end. Example Hill University's where every use of Hill University is missing the space between university and whatever word is to follow. – Ryan Jun 16 '14 at 23:10