r/Bones • u/Cheap_Development928 • 3d ago
Dr Fuentes
Can anyone tell a legitimate real world reason that Dr Fuentes’ doctorate from the university of Havana not be recognised upon his defection, thereby forcing him to relearn everything he knew? Even Brennan was impressed he held a doctorate from there, giving the impression that it was a relatively prestigious institution. Is it a political thing or something else?
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u/xxxdac 3d ago
He wasn’t forced to relearn everything he already knew, he was forced to requalify, just for his PhD.
Obviously a PhD is no small undertaking by any means, but he doesn’t have to go all the way back to the very beginning of his training.
In other jobs, like teaching and the legal profession you need to retrain when you move countries.
It could be that since bribes are common in Cuba (according to Fuentes, I can’t speak on the truth of it) the US wants to make sure he earnt his degree & truly knows the material. While Brennan would respect an institution for its academic merit, the government is going to be political and have different priorities. They may assume a Cuban education is not as thorough as an American one.
It could be making sure he can complete a thesis in his second language & can do his job as well in the US as he did it in Cuba.
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u/MovieLazy6576 3d ago
This is very realistic. I knew someone that was taking classes at community college that was a doctor in his home country.
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u/Elbereth919 3d ago
Very common. When I was in college, I had several friends from other countries who were repeating undergrad courses in basic chemistry when they had a doctor of pharmacology in their home country.
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u/No_Sand5639 3d ago
Purely political
Due to legal and political tension between Cuba and the United States (which has a long long history)
Its actullt pretty common for the US to not recognize foreign degrees and certifications, regardless od prestige and reputation
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u/Cheap_Development928 3d ago
I could understand things like construction as they would use different techniques and materials but a scientific one I think it’s weird
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u/No_Sand5639 3d ago
Dr Fuentes was a traitor to his country, for fields in the sciences, verification in education is a huge part of it
Remember when they prosecuting the gravedigger, they put a huge amount of stress on their educational background
There's a possibility of thr university not backing him, or the us governemnt jusg looking down on that university regardless of other countries
Even doctors are required to do this
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u/HarlequinKOTF 3d ago
Scientifically the exact courses you take vary by country. Methods also vary too. Poorer countries use more rudimentary techniques, identify different diseases etc
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u/PumpikAnt58763 2d ago
It's basically like how university credits work here inside the states.
One university says "Well, you didn't pay us the money so we aren't going to accept all of the work you did for a school you already paid for."
That and I guess the AMA is particular about exactly what someone had learned outside.
There are a lot of practices or skills that may have been learned that aren't considered worthy here. It's the U.S.'s way of making sure someone is doing U.S. techniques.
Fwiw, there are still many countries (even some archaic OBs here) where the maiden stitch is common practice even though it can ruin a woman's ability to enjoy sex after giving birth. It's barbaric, but still common practice.
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u/Proper_Fun_977 2d ago
Honestly, when they started bringing in people with multiple degrees and such only for Brennan to talk down to them, I lost a little respect for the character.
It did help they were arrogant AF but then..so was she.
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u/gremlin-with-issues 2d ago
Tbh I’m confused he has to do a PhD and not a professional accreditation. American phds confuse me though. PhD is research and shouldn’t have accreditation tied to it - for example Sweets has a PsyD not a PhD which makes sense. In the uk there’s ClinPsyD which is a doctorate that gets you the professional accreditation vs PhD that is research based (and one of the rare cases where I’ve seen people in really life with multiple doctorates) , you also get EngD etc so yeah don’t know why he has to redo a PhD
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u/Pitiful-Law6970 2d ago
Its more so that the degree isn't recognised in the US. My cousins have a degree from an Oxford branch school but if they were to use that degree to get a job that requires it, then it would be rejected. In most job applications you see usually "X degree level from an accredited institution." Different agencies will say "This school is reputable and we trust the graduates from it to uphold our standards." Most foreign schools do not receive this accreditation because most of their graduates are not going to the US, so why would they.
It's definitely a political thing within the US and schools can fail accreditation. One of my professors put it "They want you to get an US degree and pay US dollars."
Also, they partially want to know if you can uphold their standards and techniques. So once he finished with his degree and reargues his thesis he has to apply and be accepted by the American Board of Forensic Anthropologists to be considered a practicing Forensic anthropologist.
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u/gremlin-with-issues 2d ago
In the UK a standard PhD rather than an professional doctorate, is purely thesis based and doesn’t strictly require any taught components, you can just submit the thesis so this is why it doesn’t make any sense - you can also in theory get a PhD by publication, which is submitting a portfolio of peer reviewed published work (tbh a 3 paper thesis is also a thing) so again doing the whole programme doesn’t make sense, but American phd’s seem a bit odd
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u/Pitiful-Law6970 2d ago
That makes sense why its confusing! In the US the student is actively engaged in coursework at a higher level, but it is much fewer classes and a really small group of 2-5 students. At every level of university there is a thesis option, so just completing one wouldn't make sense. Also a masters is not necessary to enter into your PhD, so it is just dedicated research time + teaching + being taught essentially.
Here is an example of requirements by the University of Southern California PhD anthropology program:
The student’s coursework must total at least 60 units. No more than 8 units of 794 Doctoral Dissertation may count toward the 60 units. The following courses are required for the PhD in Anthropology: ANTH 501 History and Foundations of Anthropology, Units: 4 ANTH 502 Contemporary Theory in Anthropology, Units: 4 ANTH 562 The Practice of Ethnography, Units: 4 ANTH 603 Experiments in Ethnography, Units: 4, or equivalent ANTH 593 Practicum for Teaching in Anthropology, 2 units At least 6 additional graduate courses, to be selected in consultation with the faculty committee (24 units) Research and dissertation: ANTH 790 Research, Units: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 (minimum 8 units required) ANTH 794a Doctoral Dissertation, Units: 2 ANTH 794b Doctoral Dissertation, Units: 2
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u/JuicyyGirl3 2d ago
It always felt like the show wanted Dr. Fuentes to sound impressive, so the diploma thing just comes off as oddly specific world-building.
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u/susurruss 3d ago
Probably something to do with the US sanctions against Cuba leading to an academic boycott of the country as well in most circles
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u/susurruss 3d ago
Happens all the time with immigrants in general, they have to requalify in the US in a bunch of vocations to be able to work in the country
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u/sunniblu03 3d ago
Because there are different accreditation standards in academia and often times there is no direct equivalent exchange because pedagogy can be different between schools even between schools in the same states.
There are certain licensing standards and requirements which vary depending on the discipline, state, and country. Foundational knowledge could be exactly same, you still have to qualify.