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I'm a math professor at a mid-tier PhD-granting university in the United States. I'll share my perspective. First of all, funding is not an issue. Tuition is f

I'm a math professor at a mid-tier PhD-granting university in the United States. I'll share my perspective. First of all, funding is not an issue. Tuition is free, and we pay a stipend (something like $18k/year I think), provided that you are willing to spend ~15 hours/week as a TA for calculus. That said, in practice, the question of "what's the weakest possible dissertation you can get away with, and still earn a PhD" doesn't arise much. We have a battery of qualifying exams, which are a significant obstacle. After that, depending on your advisor's personality, you could possibly skate by with a weak dissertation. Weaker students tend not to finish at all. It's often said that a PhD is a "labor of love". And indeed, in the US, people don't generally seek out PhDs with ulterior motives. This is an interesting contrast to e.g. Germany where politicians are sometimes discovered to have plagiarized their dissertations. In the US no one would bother, a PhD wouldn't help you get elected in the first place. So (at least in the context I'm familiar with) the answer is somewhat ambiguous, probably depends on your definition of "somewhat legit", and certainly would depend on random factors which couldn't be predicted in advance.

ThrowawayR2 7y ago
Out of curiosity, would a bottom-tier but legitimate Ph.D granting institution be necessarily laxer, at least in some respects?
- impendia 7y ago
  Necessarily, no, but in practice likely: - The qualifying exams are likely to be easier than at top tier universities; - The faculty will be more accustomed to weak students with little motivation. Not all students will be weak, and indeed many students, at whatever program, will be strong and motivated. However, weaker programs are more likely to take chances on applicants with ambiguous track records. - That said, it's certainly possible that individual professors, at whatever institution, decide that they aren't willing to put up with any shit.

ThrowawayR2 7y ago

Out of curiosity, would a bottom-tier but legitimate Ph.D granting institution be necessarily laxer, at least in some respects?

impendia 7y ago
Necessarily, no, but in practice likely: - The qualifying exams are likely to be easier than at top tier universities; - The faculty will be more accustomed to weak students with little motivation. Not all students will be weak, and indeed many students, at whatever program, will be strong and motivated. However, weaker programs are more likely to take chances on applicants with ambiguous track records. - That said, it's certainly possible that individual professors, at whatever institution, decide that they aren't willing to put up with any shit.