Famous modern-era academics without academic degrees?

Question

Are the any famous or well-known (today-living) researchers without academic degrees working as professors or permanent staff members?

There are two related questions:

However, I am curious about the no-degree (past upper secondary school, i.e. no BSc, MSc, PhD, etc) case.

What about a degree in an unrelated field (e.g. math professor with a degree in history), would that count? — Bitwise, Jun 09 '15 at 14:29

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 07 '15 at 21:48

In regard to your question's topic, at least two relevant terms come to mind: lay scholar and autodidact. Once we establish the right terminology, it is not too difficult to find information that you're looking for. In particular, this Wikipedia list and this list seem to be rather comprehensive (you will have to filter the information to select the modern-era academics without degrees).

score -1 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 07 '15 at 21:22

-1

Freeman Dyson does not have a PhD.

http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/2014/04/01/freeman_dyson_on_the_phd_degree.php

answered Jun 07 '15 at 21:22

Prof. Santa Claus

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-1, Freeman Dyson has a Cambridge MA – MJeffryes Jun 07 '15 at 22:22

Famous modern-era academics without academic degrees?

2 Answers2