A perpetual student, gradual 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.
Number of Earned Degrees | Name | Dates | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
30 [1] | Michael Nicholson | 1941–present | Part-time parking attendant whose degree list includes 22 master's degrees and one doctorate. [2] |
23 [3] [4] | Robert W. McGee | 1947–present | Holds 13 doctorates. [5] Professor of Accounting at Fayetteville State University [6] |
20 [7] | Shrikant Jichkar | 1954–2004 | Indian civil servant |
16 [8] | 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. [9] |
15 [10] | 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] |
11 [12] | 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. |
11 [13] | John Warwick Montgomery | 1931–2024 | Lawyer and Christian apologist |
10 | Jacob Appel | 1973–present | Holds both a Doctor of Medicine [14] and a Juris Doctor. Serves on the faculty of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. |
9 [15] | Robelyn Garcia | 1965–present | Former professional women's basketball player is currently an academic at Harvard University and Arizona State University. |
9 [16] [17] | Domaine Javier | 1992/1993–present | Filipino-American actress, nurse, and TV personality. |