Unaccredited Degree

This is a list of colleges, seminaries, and universities that do not have educational accreditation. In many countries, accreditation is defined as a governmental designation.

Degrees or other qualifications from unaccredited institutions may not be accepted by civil service or other employers. Some unaccredited institutions have formal legal authorization to enroll students or issue degrees, but in some jurisdictions (notably including the United States) legal authorization to operate is not the same as educational accreditation.John Bear and Mariah P. Bear (2003)
Bears' guide to earning degrees by distance learning
Ten Speed Press.

Institutions that appear on this list are those that have granted post-secondary academic degrees or advertised the granting of such degrees, but which are listed as unaccredited by a reliable source. There are several reasons for an institution not maintaining accreditation. A new institution may not yet have attained accreditation, while a long-established institution may have lost accreditation because of financial difficulties or other factors. Some unaccredited institutions are fraudulent diploma mills. Other institutions (for example, a number of Bible colleges and seminaries) choose not to participate in the accreditation process because they view it as an infringement of their religious, academic, or political freedom. Some government jurisdictions exempt religious institutions from accreditation or other forms of government oversight. Still other institutions are not required to have accreditation.

Some of the institutions on this list are no longer in operation. Several unaccredited universities have names that are similar to those of accredited institutions, and thus some persons may be misled into thinking that an entity is an accredited university. Accreditation is date-related: in the United States, colleges and universities are typically not fully accredited until several years after they open. Also in the United States, many colleges and universities existed prior to the development of the modern accreditation system.

There are many organizations which give their own accreditation, not generally recognised as valid by governments and others, to educational institutions. Many of these are listed in the article List of unrecognized higher education accreditation organizations. Some of the educational institutions listed here claim accreditation from such organizations.

A

* A Touch From Above Christian University, California; overseen by the unaccredited Transworld Accrediting Commission International
* Abundant Living Bible College, Kentucky; overseen by the unaccredited Transworld Accrediting Commission International
* Accademia di Belle Arti di Medicino, ItalyFiocchetti, C., Checcacci, C. & Lantero, L., "How to spot and counter diploma mills", Chapter 4 (November 2010) Information Centre on Academic Mobility and Equivalence (CIMEA)
* Académie Européene d'Informatisation (also known as the World Information Distributed University), Belgium and Russia
* Academy of Intuition Medicine, California (also called the Academy of Intuition Medicine Online)
* Academy of Natural Therapies, Hawaii; closed down temporarily Under Texas law "fraudulent or substandard degrees" are degrees conferred in Texas in violation of the Texas Education Code, conferred in another state in violation of that state's laws, conferred in another state by an institution not accredited by an accreditor recognized in Texas, or conferred outside the United States by an institution that the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board determines is not the equivalent of an accredited or authorized degree.
* Academy of Religious & Spiritual Studies, Oregon; closed in 2014
* Adam Smith University, Liberia and Saipan
* Adams and Washington University King College of Professional Studies, United Kingdom; no longer appears to be operating since 2014
* Adams College, South Africa
* Addison State University, Ontario
* Adison University, Hawaii; closed in 2019
* Advanced Learning Network, Vermont
* African Distributed University (AIDP), connected to the unaccredited World Information Distributed University
* Agape Love Bible College, Wisconsin; overseen by the unaccredited Transworld Accrediting Commission International
* Akamai University, Hawaii
* Alberdeen University, New Mexico
* Albert University, Delaware
* Al-Hurra University (also known as Alhuraa University), Netherlands and Michigan
* Al-Ishraq University, Saudi Arabia
* Al Qasim University, Pakistan
* Al-Shurook University, Saudi Arabia
* Alexandria University, Nevada (not to be confused with the legitimate Alexandria University of the same name)
* Alive University, Mississippi; overseen by the unaccredited Transworld Accrediting Commission International
* All-American University, Nevada
* Alliance International University, Zambia
* All Saints American University, Liberia
* Allen Maxwell University, Wyoming
* Almeda University