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[shabaz81]

After a few years of bouncing around between various short-term research and adjunct teaching positions, I’ve finally landed a full-time, permanent research job at a major university.  One of the conditions of my hiring is that I should be prepared to teach various undergraduate-level courses, and that the associated department may buy out part of my research contract so that I’d be carrying a 1/1 teaching load.

During my time as an adjunct, I’ve had some really intelligent and motivated undergrad students who have expressed an interest in my research, and I imagine that my current and future teaching responsibilities will pique the interest of others.  Now that I have a permanent home, some former students have inquired about enrolling in graduate school at my university to continue working with me.

The only problem is, I don’t have a Ph.D.  I do have a M.A., and almost 15 years of professional experience; I have multiple active cross-disciplinary research projects (some in collaboration with other universities) ripe for student involvement, and a good history of publications, conference presentations, and funding.  If I were able to teach graduate-level courses or to advise Master’s students with my combination of education and experience, I could solicit applications from some really bright students for the fall of 2012 – but as it stands now, my official involvement with them would be pretty limited.

My university doesn’t offer a Ph.D. in my field, and with a full-time job, I can’t pursue a Ph.D. elsewhere – so I’m wondering if anyone else has been in a similar situation and successfully lobbied to serve as an advisor for M.A. students (i.e., have graduate faculty status) without having a Ph.D.?

[ptarmigan]

I'm curious to hear what people who actually know things (i.e., not me) have to say, but wouldn't this be a disservice to your students? For instance, if they needed a letter of recommendation from their advisor later, how much weight would yours carry?

[menotti]

I believe there are accreditation issues with this.

[cj405]

Is this field dependent?  Can a person with an MSW teach certain master's level courses in that field?  I know one person who does, but she may have some qualifications above and beyond just the MSW.

[madhatter]

There isn't a single, one-size-fits-all answer to this question. Some accreditors (regional or programmatic) will require that instructors have a terminal degree or a degree at a level above the degree being awarded to students. Some won't, or some may require that a certain percentage of the faculty have such degrees. Institutional policies can vary, too, and may differ depending on the rank or type of faculty being hired.

[larryc]

One of my colleagues with an MA has graduate faculty status, so it is not unheard of.

[seniorscholar]

We have a tenured full professor in creative writing who supervises MFA students and also, from time to time, a PhD dissertation who has (shhh) no university degree of any kind: this person published the first of many extremely well-regarded novels at age 20. Accreditors ask about it every time we have a departmental review; we bring in the stack of books (and, now, some of the books of students over recent years) and the objection vanishes.

[charlottchen]

Have you looked into cumulative dissertations? In some countries, you can get your PhD by submitting a number of publications as dissertation (instead of writing a thesis). If you have conducted research and published, it should not be impossible to find European/Australian/.... university that would go through the PhD process with you.

[wet_blanket]

Have you looked into cumulative dissertations? In some countries, you can get your PhD by submitting a number of publications as dissertation (instead of writing a thesis). If you have conducted research and published, it should not be impossible to find European/Australian/.... university that would go through the PhD process with you.

This suggestion is a good one, but most prohibit work published before enrolling.  If the OP will be publishing anyway, though, it could be viable (I say as a meer grad student myself).

[jerseyjay]

When I did my PhD im history at a leading British university (not Oxbridge but Russell Group), several of the old-time faculty did not have doctorates. They did, however, have scores of publications, including in very prestigious journals. There had been a move towards an American model, and I know of at least one lecturer who was demoted because he never finished his doctorate.

Assuming you are in the US, I think it depends on the individual field, the school, the department, and the school.

If you are a star with several books, you may not need a doctorate. I assume you are not.

In some fields, doctorates are not so important as in others (law? and I am not counting the JD as a doctorate).

And the department matters. If everybody else has a doctorate, you could probably slip through the cracks as the exception. I think that even for accreditation, it is only a certain percentage who have to have certain qualifications. 

Presumably, if you have got the job, they are aware of your educational background and degrees. They should be aware of their own norms and rules. If the job is already secure, why don't you ask your chair the questions you asked this board?

[phalaenopsis]

what about doing a phd by publication? It might sound more like an alternative route, but I've read that a phd awarded on basis of the individual's proven track record of published papers is of higher value. My professor told me recently that with the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Sciences/ JSPS Ronpaku program you just need to submit a dissertation along with (if I'm not mistaken) 3-4 papers published in good journals to be awarded the doctorate. Hope this helps! :D

[elsie]

Consult your graduate program director and the graduate college office folks for the specifics of graduate faculty status at your institution. I know ours has a specific category for folks without a terminal degree but who do have professional or clinical experience. You may qualify in that category.

[zharkov]

About thesis/dissertation committee members, I am sometimes asked by students about having someone without a terminal degree on a committee.  (Which to my mind is a similar issue.)  I tell them that would fly for a person of national renown in their field. 

And as in the UK -- mentioned above -- I've seen some older faculty members -- as well as faculty from prior generations -- without doctorates. 

[lightningstrike]

Yes, it's possible, but every discipline and every institution has its own norms and policies.