Dear Cindy – Fake Master's

I recently applied for a position and was told that I could not be considered for it because a Master's degree was required. I have a Master's degree, through distance education, for which I paid fees and completed a thesis – but the degree is from a non-accredited institution. What can I do?

Sincerely,

Not a Master?

What you can do may depend on a few things. Were you the only candidate in the running and the lack of a Master's degree is all that's holding you back, or are there several candidates with real degrees who were in the running with you? If you're not alone at the head of the pack, you're out of luck. Is the position one that urgently needs to be filled, or is there some time (not meaning, of course, enough time to get a real degree)? If there is time, you may want to see if the employer is willing to read your thesis and give you merit points for it.

Another thing you may want to consider is whether you can salvage the hard work you did on the thesis: see if you can get it published.

You did not say whether you did courses for the program, if so, you may want to see if any of them are worth credit in an accredited program and go back to the books.

It's a bit late, but also see Dear Cindy – What Are Accredited Schools? and Accredited Schools – What Are They?.