Hello all,

I find myself in a difficult situation, I don't have an outstanding bachelor's degree. And, having a master's degree for PhD is a requirement almost everywhere. IU.org or International University of Applied Sciences, offers very cheap masters degree via distance learning mode. I don't think they are any good. It's just another "diploma mill", like most universities now a days are. Is it worth pursuing such a masters? will it hurt mu chances of getting a PhD Scholarship? Or, it doesn't matter in the end?

Thank You.

'Most universities' aren't diploma mills, don't know where you got that idea from.

Neither is this one, it's accredited and as far as I can tell completely legitimate, just not very good. Private for-profit university that wants to make money by churning out MBAs. It will be a waste of time and money if you want to go into academic research.

You don't need an outstanding bachelors to do a Masters degree. In the UK a lower second/2:2 will be enough to get you enrolled on most MA courses at good and even elite universities - funding is the issue.

What you should do next depends what you want to do a PhD in, why you want to do a PhD, where you want to do your PhD. Difficult to help otherwise.

In terms of your original question, you've answered it yourself, avoid this one.

As the previous poster said, nothing fundamentally wrong with the International University. It is a fully accredited German University of Applied Sciences. Not a particularly good one, but not dubious either.

However, there is a world of difference in the German system between a University of Applied Sciences (Fachhochschule) and a full University (Universität). Master degrees from Universities of Applied Sciences (Fachhochschulen) generally do not qualify you to participate in a PhD program in Germany - you'd have to get your degree from a Universität for this. How a degree from a Fachhochschule is viewed in other countries, depends on many factors. (I know at least one person who got a PhD from a NZ university using a German Fachhochschule Master's, but this is quite the exception in my experience.)

As the previous poster also alluded to, however, there is the more fundamental question of whether a PhD is the right path. You yourself say that your Bachelor's degree is not particularly good, and you want to get a Master's cheaply / easily. Not sure this is the stuff that PhDs are made from.