My favorite example is Mark Daly (of GWAS fame). He basically got a PhD for signaling purposes. He was already doing his excellent work beforehand, and got the

My favorite example is Mark Daly (of GWAS fame). He basically got a PhD for signaling purposes. He was already doing his excellent work beforehand, and got the PhD for the benefit of the institution (MIT/Broad). Or, at least, so goes the lore.