I’m no fan of Gorka, but this ‘takedown’ just sounds a little off. I have a PhD from a British university. Unfortunately I also have experience exposing a fake PhD (as in, completely made-up), but that’s another story.
As is usual, my viva (exam) was tough, and lasted around three hours. But the only printed record I have of that exam is a single A4 sheet from each examiner.
Personally I don’t particularly like using the Dr. title, but many of my colleagues do use theirs. From casual observation, it seems that people who work outside of academia are more keen to use their title. Possibly because a title holds less value when everybody in the room has it.
Did Gorka take classes? Well, for a PhD in Europe, there often aren’t any classes. It’s all about independent study. I come from a science background, where there may be a few classes for PhD students, but in the humanities there are often none at all.
Prof. Reynolds says “Undergraduates do not award Ph.Ds.”. It’s a small thing, but an undergraduate is someone working towards a degree. Once you are awarded a first degree, you become a graduate. As for the examination panel, they should be experts in the field, but do not necessarily have to have a PhD. They usually do, but it’s not a requirement.
Every country does their PhDs slightly differently, and maybe this is a case of Prof. Reynolds being unfamiliar with the Hungarian system (as am I). It certainly sounds like a bit of stitch-up, with an overly-friendly exam panel. But it doesn’t sound like a fake PhD. Please, in these times of fake everything, let’s use the word carefully. A poor PhD is not the same as a fake PhD.
Now, to the real problem. Who let the thesis through with two colons in the title? That should never have been allowed.
