Doctor of the University by Prior Learning Assessment

You may be closer to earning a degree than you think! Wouldn’t it be great if your professional knowledge and certifications counted toward your degree, helping you earn it faster and saving you money in the process? Take your experience and all you have learned, and use it to earn college credit through Prior Learning Assessment.

We provide the opportunity, using your professional expertise, skills, knowledge and life experience, to earn a university own (grado propio) Bachelor’s, Master’s or Doctorate degree.

Universidad Azteca is convinced that learning does not take place exclusively in the classroom. A person’s professional learning may be translated into college-level credit. This learning can be evaluated in terms of required and/or elective courses from specific degree programmes. At our nationally recognised private university, we value the college-level and university-level knowledge you may have acquired outside the traditional college classroom. You have already done the learning! Using the University’s Portfolio Assessment programme, students demonstrate that what they already know is equivalent to what they would have learned in an equivalent college course. Although you may have college level learning from multiple sources, you will only use those credits that best meet the degree that you have designed. To be eligible for prior learning credits, you must be enrolled in our degree programme. You will be asked to create a portfolio that describes and demonstrates how your previous learning equates to the learning outcomes of specific courses within the degree programme.

The Universidad Azteca Bachelor comprising 3 full study years requires a EQF level 6 qualification. The Bachelor comprising 4 full study years requires a EQF level 7 qualification.

Graduates of Universidad Azteca grado propio Bachelor degree programmes qualify for admission to grado propio Master programmes of our University and selected partner universities.

The prior learning assessment grado propio Master programmes of Universidad Azteca are ideal for qualified professionals earning a university degree based on their qualifications, licenses, skills and experience and who do not need an accredited or recognised degree rather than a university own degree awarded by a recognised university to demonstrate their individual level of education in a given area or field of expertise. A grado propio or university own degree reflects that the graduate has earned a degree at postsecondary education level awarded by an officially recognised university.

Graduates of our Universidad Azteca grado propio Master degree programmes qualify for admission to grado propio Doctor programmes of our University and selected partner universities.

Universidad Azteca, seeking to differentiate between official and university own doctorates, has introduced the Doctor of the University (Dr.Univ), the Doctor of Science (Dr.Sc) and the Doctor of Letters (Dr.Litt) as well as the Doctor of Business Administration which are awarded, with the other higher official doctorates reserved for formally examined academic scholarship.

A Doctor of the University degree, awarded as grado propio by Universidad Azteca, is a terminal academic degree for which the University has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence or online-presence, study, and the passing of sit-examinations. The degree is a doctorate and often conferred as a way of honouring a distinguished person´s contributions to a specific field, or to society in general. The degree typically is not recognised in the same stature as the standard “earned” doctorate by employers, and should not be represented as such, it should rather be seen as an academic award.

The Doctor of the University is awarded by the Universidad Azteca under the terms of its charter, may be considered to have technically the same standing as the official doctorate, and to grant the same privileges and style of address, except where explicitly stated that it is a university own degree without RVOE.

The Doctor of the University is a professional recognition that provides an independent quality assurance reference for highly qualified professionals from all fields, for those who strive for personal excellence, and who become a motivating example in their communities. The Doctor of the University is a recognized mark of professional ability, outstanding professional career, services to the human kind and international achievements.

In practice, however, such degrees may not be considered of the same standing as doctoral degrees earned by the standard academic processes of courses and original research, nevertheless, based on the University´s evaluation, the recipient has demonstrated an appropriate level of academic scholarship that would ordinarily qualify him or her for the award of an official degree. The Doctor of the University degree is sometimes considered honorary, although it is only conferred on an individual who has already achieved a comparable qualification at another university or by attaining an office requiring the appropriate level of scholarship. Under certain circumstances a degree may be conferred on an individual for both the nature of the office they hold and the completion of a
dissertation.

Competence means the ability to do something well and to a required standard examined by the Commission to be suffiently qualified for the award Doctor of the University in Competence .

Universidad Azteca will appoint a panel of examiners who will consider the case and prepare a report recommending whether or not the degree be awarded. These, also, are properly considered substantive rather than honorary degrees. These ad eundem degrees are earned degrees, not honorary, because they recognise formal learning or contributions at doctoral level.

The primary objectives of the doctoral programme are to: Enable the student to achieve an appropriate level of academic competence. Achieve personal development and to develop critical awareness of benefit to themselves and to their organization. Develop skills of initiation, implementation and analysis in a range of contexts. Develop capability in the analysis and evaluation of complex issues and situations.

The specific objectives of the program will vary according to the chosen named award and will include the: Development of knowledge at an advanced level. Development of skills of analysis, research and policy formulation and implementation. Unification of theoretical analysis and practice through a variety of contexts appropriate to the study area.

Admission requirements

The entry requirements are a graduate degree of at least 240 ECTS credits in total, an MBA, MSc, or similar Masters degree, or equivalent qualifications at level 7 MMC (EQF), or in a functional field by examination awarded by a professional body. We may also ask for significant experience in a arearelated position involving responsibility for decision-making issues.

Doctor of the University

All Doctorates of University are terminal degrees, similar to a professional research doctorate. The Doctorate requires coursework and research beyond the Masters degree requiring a dissertation or journal publication that contributes to practice. The portion of the programme, consisting of coursework and examination, is equivalent to that of a PhD. The part of the programme, consisting of independent research and the writing of a thesis, is geared towards more applied research in the given study area, with the research making a direct contribution to professional practice. The doctorate requires a significant thesis, dissertation or final comprehensive project including a formal defence and approval by nominated examiners or an officially sanctioned and qualified doctoral review committee.

The degree is conferred when all coursework, testing, and written portfolio are completed and reviewed and approved by the jurors of the examination commission.