300-500 Euros a year doctorate - question

[EliEverIsAHero]

A friend of mine is studying for a Master's degree in Spain and jumped for joy when she learned that her university offers a doctorate program in her field (or one closely related) for about 300-500 Euros annually.

How common is this? I asked on reddit and was told if you have an EU citizenship (I do, as a second/acquired citizenship) it is quite feasible, but I am struggling to find any PhDs in my desired field/s (the general ballpark of International Relations/Affairs, Global Studies, Geopolitics, Security Studies/Defense Studies/Homeland and Civil Security) where this is an option. 

Does anyone know how I ought to tailor my search? I looked up programs at my acquaintance's university and they do not seem to have anything in the ballpark of what I'm looking for other than a PhD in something like "Criminology and Associated Applied Social and Administrative Sciences", which sounds vague, broad, and not quite what I'm looking for.

[Maltus]

Your friend needs to watch out, that it is a PhD and NOT a "titulo Propio" (like many DBA in spain).
Titulo propio are not accrediated by the state but are "own" programms of the university which in Europe count as continious education, not scientific studies.

If it is a titulo propio your friend should try to find out if he can transfer classes from that to a "real" PhD Programm. That way he/she could manage to get some cheap credit/classes.

[EliEverIsAHero]

Your friend needs to watch out, that it is a PhD and NOT a "titulo Propio" (like many DBA in spain).
Titulo propio are not accrediated by the state but are "own" programms of the university which in Europe count as continious education, not scientific studies.

If it is a titulo propio your friend should try to find out if he can transfer classes from that to a "real" PhD Programm. That way he/she could manage to get some cheap credit/classes.

I don't think it's a Titulo Propio - she is studying something along the lines of Second Language Education/Translation, so I do not know whether what you are talking about applies in that field.

[degreeappreciator123]

I looked into this a while ago out of personal interest and I turned up with nothing.

If you’re looking for the cheapest PhD in IR/Security Studies your best bet would be doing a PhD by Prior Publications from a UK University (Australian Universities also offer this route but it would be prohibitively expensive if you’re not domestic). This would involve you submitting 4-5 high quality journal articles on a cohesive research topic in your time, applying and getting acceptance into a UK university that offers this program, and then writing a 7000-20000 word exegesis over 1-2 years linking your articles together. Fees would range anywhere from ~2500GBP to ~18000 GBP total depending on which university you go with (I seem to have misplaced my list but it would be straightforward enough to look up). Certain universities will only accept you if you have an academic relationship with them, or prohibit your entrance if you have previously earned a doctorate so that’s something to keep in mind during your search if you choose this option.

Alternatively, if you are looking for in-person prestige programs I know that of the big four within Security Studies (Georgetown, Nanyang, ANU, and King’s) NTU RSIS offers full scholarships, and you can also get a full ride to study at ANU through the Australian Government’s RTP.

However, if you turn up any other cheap online programs during your search I would be very interested so please let us know!

[bjcheung77]

Basically, I would really like to mention, you have to do your due diligence in searching for a valid program. You should review all the EU institutions available to you locally or in the nation neighboring yours. Essentially, that 300-500 euro per year isn't available to anyone outside the country, so it's going to be hard for us to elaborate which ones are best for you as we're not in your country. Please also provide more details on what countries you have looked at and if you've found anything locally. More info provided, the better we can assist you...

[EliEverIsAHero]

Basically, I would really like to mention, you have to do your due diligence in searching for a valid program.  You should review all the EU institutions available to you locally or in the nation neighboring yours.  Essentially, that 300-500 euro per year isn't available to anyone outside the country, so it's going to be hard for us to elaborate which ones are best for you as we're not in your country.  Please also provide more details on what countries you have looked at and if you've found anything locally.  More info provided, the better we can assist you...

Gentle correction that there may have been a miscommunication about the purpose of this thread. I simply wanted to know how common or relevant my acquaintance's observation is across EU countries, including Spain where she lives.

My primary purpose was curiosity and verification of if this was a common model. The consideration of scouting out programs myself was, at best, secondary.

There also appears to have been some confusion in this thread about residency vs. citizenship. My acquaintance is an American living in Spain, without citizenship there. I am a resident of the US with acquired citizenship of Germany.

[Tomas]

I always thought Phd is free or even with compensation included (as it often includes teaching) in many countries in Europe? But probably requires knowledge of local language and at least occasional attendance (not fully online). Without knowledge of local language, programs in English might be paid.

I would suggest to check study info in Nord European countries, eg. Finland has studyinfo.fi, Sweden and Norway have similar but not sure whether they have free study for EU citizens.
Germany probably has such portal too - https://www.daad.de/ , English online programs at https://www2.daad.de/deutschland/studien...online/en/
Checked our offerings (Germany neighbour), but for international relations in English, the two programs I could find are paid (1200 EUR? per year, but they offer bursary up to full amount - hard to guess how it will actually come up) and require at least occasional visit, not completely online.