In some countries like Australia, Singapore etc, A candidate may be enrolled into Masters leading to PhD program on condition that he/she will pass the candidature test after the 1st year and are subsequently given PhD in the final/fourth year (subject to successful completion), which results in no M.Sc. degree in between.
Is there any discrepancy towards these PhD holder in academic or professional life?
The famous mathematician Barry Mazur has no undergraduate degree. (He never completed MIT's ROTC requirements.)
The famous philosopher Saul Kripke has no PhD!
– Jeff Aug 10 '12 at 15:08