# Doctor of Metaphysics

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Doctor_of_Metaphysics
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Doctor_of_Metaphysics.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_of_Metaphysics
> Source revision: 1340766786
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{short description|Unaccredited academic degree}}
{{Infobox examination
| name                = Doctor of Metaphysics
| acronym             =  DMETA
| type                =  {{plainlist|
*[Postgraduate education](/source/Postgraduate_education) 
*[Unaccredited degree](/source/Unaccredited_degree)}}
}}

A '''Doctor of Metaphysics''', also called a '''Metaphysical Science Doctorate''', is a purported academic degree. While mainstream universities teach [metaphysics](/source/metaphysics) as a branch of philosophy,<ref name="Metaphysics"/> the Doctor of Metaphysics degree is offered by a number of unaccredited universities and [degree mills](/source/Diploma_mill) as a religious-based degree. It is not recognized by the United States Department of Education as a legitimate degree, and is not offered by any accredited institution.<ref name="APA"/><ref name="Thyer"/><ref name="Vasche">Vasché, James Burton (1940) “$100 Doctors”: The Facts on Today’s Degree Mill Racket. ''The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas'', 15(3), pp.159-163. {{subscription required}}</ref><ref name="Sigrist">Sigrist, J. (1949). "Beware the Mind-Meddler". ''[American Journal of Psychotherapy](/source/American_Journal_of_Psychotherapy)'', 3(1), pp.162-163. {{subscription required}}</ref>

In the United States, Doctor of Metaphysics degrees are offered by purported religious institutions of learning, as well as unrecognised churches and colleges of metaphysics.<ref name="Sofroniou"/> In 1938 the [United States Department of the Interior](/source/United_States_Department_of_the_Interior) published a book listing the "Doctor of Metaphysics" degree in a section written by Walton C. John, titled "Counterfeit Degrees".<ref name="USD"/> 

A 1960 ''[American Psychologist](/source/American_Psychologist)'' article titled, "Mail-order training in psychotherapy," warned against unaccredited schools purporting to offer "training in a variety of psychological and metapsychological methods" and awarding a Doctor of Metaphysics degree.<ref name="APA" /> 

In the field of [social work](/source/social_work) there are counselors who claim the title "Doctor of Metaphysics". In 2019, the ''[Journal of Social Work Education](/source/Journal_of_Social_Work_Education)'' published "Predatory Doctoral Programs: Warnings for Social Workers". The article warned that the majority of doctoral programs in metaphysics are little more than [diploma mill](/source/diploma_mill)s which have few requirements other than payments.<ref name="Thyer"/>

==See also==
* [Degrees offered by unaccredited institutions of higher education](/source/Unaccredited_institutions_of_higher_education)
* [History of higher education in the United States](/source/History_of_higher_education_in_the_United_States)
* [List of fields of doctoral studies in the United States](/source/List_of_fields_of_doctoral_studies_in_the_United_States)
* [List of unaccredited institutions of higher education](/source/List_of_unaccredited_institutions_of_higher_education)

==References==
<references>

<ref name="Metaphysics">{{cite web |title=What Is Metaphysics? |url=https://metaphysics.com/what-is-metaphysics/ |website=Metaphysics |access-date=14 April 2022}}</ref>
<ref name="Sofroniou">{{cite book |last1=Sofroniou |first1=Andreas |title=Metaphysics Facts and Fallacies |date=2016 |publisher=Andreas Sofroniou |isbn=978-1-326-80745-0 |page=17 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FEw2DQAAQBAJ&dq=doctor+of+metaphysics&pg=PA17 |access-date=8 July 2022}}</ref>
<ref name="USD">{{cite book |first1=Walton C. |last1=John |title=School Life |date=1938 |publisher=[United States Department of the Interior](/source/United_States_Department_of_the_Interior) [Government Printing Office](/source/Government_Printing_Office) |location=Washington D.C. |quote=There is seldom of anything of genuine value created by man that, sooner or later, is not found in counterfeit form. |page=245 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=57g9MSXgIMIC&dq=Doctor+of+Metaphysics+degree&pg=PA245 |access-date=8 July 2022}}</ref>
<ref name="Thyer">{{cite journal |last1=Thyer |first1=Bruce A. |title=Predatory Doctoral Programs: Warnings for Social Workers |journal=[Journal of Social Work Education](/source/Journal_of_Social_Work_Education) |date=2 January 2019 |volume=55 |issue=1 |pages=5–10 |doi=10.1080/10437797.2018.1517624 |s2cid=150751783 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331553758 |access-date=8 July 2022}}</ref>
<ref name="APA">{{cite journal |last1=Brophy |first1=Alfred L. |last2=Durfee |first2=Richard A. |title=Mail-order training in psychotherapy. |journal=[American Psychologist](/source/American_Psychologist)|date=June 1960|quote=One school… grants a PhD after as little as 18-months study with no previous college education… . Corrective action has been made difficult because of the geographical scattering of the schools and the consequently minor problem that they represent to most individual states. |volume=15 |issue=6 |pages=356–360 |doi=10.1037/h0044462 |url=https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fh0044462 |access-date=8 July 2022|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

</references>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Metaphysics, Doctor of}}
Category:Titles
Category:Degrees offered by unaccredited institutions of higher education

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Doctor of Metaphysics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_of_Metaphysics) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_of_Metaphysics?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.