On Credentials and Academic Honesty

There are a few things I want to talk about in this post, mainly dealing with the use honorary degrees, bogus degrees from diploma mills, and the various types of doctoral degrees.

So often I hear someone referred to as "Dr. X". This happens a lot with televangelists. Take Mike Murdock for example. He has at least one honorary doctorate. No earned degrees though. And yet you hear him referred to on television as "Dr. Murdock". This makes it sound as if he's some type of scholar. The title "doctor" makes one seem to be an expert in their field.

At some point we have to ask if this is a little bit mis-leading. When I hear "Doctor" I typically think of someone who has earned a Ph.D., Ed.D., Th.D., J.D., M.D., D.M.A., or some other equivalent terminal degree. I don't think of someone who found favor with certain school officials who then decided to award an honorary degree.

I'm not diminishing honorary degrees, many people who are awarded them probably deserve a certain level of recognition. What I do want to question is the use of an honorary degree to establish academic credibility or expertise power (e.g.- leading people to trust you because you are an "expert" on the issue). My great-great grandfather was awarded an honorary Master of Science degree in recognition for his contribution to the field of geology. What I ask is that honorary degrees are awarded in recognition for an outstanding achievement in the field, not as a means of associating with a high-profile individual that might get recognition for the awarding institute.

In the case of Mike Murdock, the man has not contributed a single thing to the field of theology or ministry. If anything he perpetuates the idea that pastors are just greedy, self-seeking hucksters. But he conveniently hides behind the "Dr." title to establish his credibility.

There are also the diploma mills and fake degrees. People like Roland Martin claim to have a masters degree when it's from an unaccredited university called by some a diploma mill. In Martin's defense, I attended a debate he had with former Secretary of the Treasury Bay Buchanan, and Martin is a very smart man. He has been awarded several journalistic rewards and is a intelligent political commentator.

What I wonder is why the need to claim a fake degree? As far as I know he earned most of his awards before his "masters", and he has an accredited bachelors, so why the need?

During the aforementioned debate the issue of faith and politics came up. Martin was arguing for Obama, Buchanan for McCain; and there is a stereotype that Christians must be Republicans. To establish his Evangelical credibility Martin said "I have a master's degree in Christian communication". I have a friend, a fellow Christian, who is skeptical of seminaries (in fact, trying to discourage me from ever attending one). After the debate he pointed out that having a seminary degree does not necessarily make you a capable or integral pastor (Martin had, among his profanities, also said he was speaking at a Church the next Sunday).

Of course I had done a little research on Martin and knew the degree was unaccredited, but even so, it doesn't give those of us who take education seriously a good name. There are legitimate seminaries, and serious minded pastors and theologians who attend them and actually earn their degrees. There are doctors of various subjects who have earned their degrees.

And this brings me to the last point I want to make. Increasingly the Ph.D. is becoming the degree of choice for many pursuing doctoral work. But it should be noted that not all fields offer Ph.D.s. For a musician focusing on composition, performance, or conducting, the terminal degree is the D.M.A. (Doctor of Musical Arts). It typically takes three years of full-time study to complete, and often requires a master's degree for admittance. As such I think the D.M.A. is academically equivalent to a Ph.D., it's just a different title.

There are also professional degrees, such as the D.Min., M.D., and J.D. Again I believe these degrees are equivalent to (though distinct from) a Ph.D. A D.Min. requires at least 30 hours of study, with a pre-requisite of a 90-96 credit hour Master of Divinity. A M.Div. would be equivalent to a Ph.D. in most fields (with the exception of a thesis/dissertation, sometimes). A M.D. is a professional degree as well, not an academic degree. But I still think a medical doctor is academically qualified to teach subjects of medicine at the graduate level. I find it odd that some people look at the D.Min., Ed.D., PsyD, or other doctoral degrees that are not Ph.Ds. as "lite" doctorates.

Well, this may be my most boring blog to date, which is probably quite an accomplishment in itself, but I think we need to open this dialogue.

God bless!
Joey