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Perpetual student

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College/university attendee who re-enrolls for several years more than necessary

A perpetual student or career student is either a college or university attendee who either pursues multiple terminal degrees or re-enrolls for several years more than is necessary to obtain a given degree.

For the first category, perpetual students might publish or work in several fields and are often considered polymaths.

As for the second category, as early as 1545, Christoph Stymmelius in his play Studentes explores the concept of students who go off to university and instead of being diligent in their studies engage in debauchery.

Holders of multiple academic degrees

Number of Earned Degrees Name Dates Notes
30 Michael Nicholson 1941–2016 Part-time parking attendant whose degree list includes 22 master's degrees and one doctorate.
23 Robert W. McGee 1947–present Holds 13 doctorates. Professor of Accounting at Fayetteville State University
20 Shrikant Jichkar 1954–2004 Indian civil servant.
16 Benjamin Bolger 1975–present Received an associate's from Muskegon Community College, his bachelor's from the University of Michigan, thirteen master's degrees and a Doctor of Design from Harvard University.
15 Luciano Baietti 1947–present Studied for degrees in physical education, law, literature, philosophy, sociology, criminology, and military strategy. In 2002, The Guinness Book of World Records officially recognized Baietti as the most graduated living person in the world.
11 Bruce Berry 1940–2014 Took his first degree from Manchester University in 1963. Earned a number of master's degrees starting in the 1970s. He earned a Ph.D. from Leeds Metropolitan University. Died while completing a second Ph.D. Worked in technical document translation for Agfa-Gevaert, for the Post Office, and as a teacher, before working as a school crossing guard in retirement.
10 Jacob Appel 1973–present Holds both a Doctor of Medicine and a Juris Doctor. Serves on the faculty of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City.
9 Robelyn Garcia 1965–present Former professional women's basketball player is currently an academic at Harvard University and Arizona State University.

Long tenure to complete a single degree

  • Milton De Jesús has been a student at the University of Puerto Rico since 1963. In 2010, De Jesús was interviewed by the newspaper, since he was the only student on the campus who could compare the 2010 student strikes and the 1970s, 80s, 90s, and 2005 strikes.
  • Johnny Lechner attended the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater from 1994 until at least 2009. He spent 13 years as a senior at the university.

References

  1. "How to Be a Perpetual Student | Psychology Today". www.psychologytoday.com. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  2. Miller, Korin (2016-09-14). "The Best College Advice From This Man Who's Been In School For FIFTY-FIVE Years". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
  3. "Michael Nicholson". December 2016.
  4. Holcomb, Anne (January 19, 2009). "Twenty-seven degrees and counting: Kalamazoo man enjoys the 'freedom' of intellectual pursuits". mlive.
  5. "Robert McGee". 2023-03-31. Archived from the original on 2023-03-31. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
  6. Holland, Monica. "Fayetteville's Robert McGee, 74, is world champion martial artist ... and novelist, doctoral degree holder, international consultant". The Fayetteville Observer. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  7. "Alumni Spotlight - at 72, Robert W. McGee is just Getting Started". 6 November 2019.
  8. "Faculty & Staff". www.uncfsu.edu. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
  9. "Meet India's most educated man, who had 20 degrees, cracked UPSC twice, quit IAS job due to..." DNA India. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
  10. Bernstein, Joseph (2024-06-03). "The Man Who Couldn't Stop Going to College". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
  11. Bernstein, Joseph (2024-06-03). "The Man Who Couldn't Stop Going to College". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
  12. "King of university degrees is 70-year old Italian | Inquirer News". newsinfo.inquirer.net. 16 February 2017. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
  13. "King of university degrees is 70-year old Italian". Yahoo News. 2017-02-14. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
  14. "Lollipop man studies 12th degree". BBC News. 2012-05-02. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
  15. "Jacob Appel". Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
  16. "Rev. Robelyn Garcia". University of Sedona. Retrieved 2024-06-21.
  17. El Nuevo Día year xxxx, vol14449 page 6- also at: https://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/locales/nota/miltonvive-707559
  18. "A cap and gown for UW-Whitewater's perpetual student? - JSOnline". 2009-12-30. Archived from the original on 2009-12-30. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
  19. Prizevoits, Antonijs (2009-08-02). "Fraternity House". Apple TV. Retrieved 2024-06-14.

Further reading

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