# Celebrities With Master Degrees Or More **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 7, 2010, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-master-degrees-or-more/538632 "2010-05-07T14:17:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-master-degrees-or-more/538632/41 "2010-05-07T19:25:47Z")
Joe Pernice of the Pernice Brothers has an MFA. Anyone who reads his business manager’s hilarious diary of “things Joe said to me” may think this actually stands for “Master of Fucking Argument”. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-master-degrees-or-more/538632/42 "2010-05-07T19:28:02Z")
If we’re counting athletes, I can think of two very prominent athletes who became doctors. Tenley Albright, who won the figure skating gold medal in the 1960 Winter Olympics, had a very successful medical career. And of course, Roger Bannister (best known as the first man to run a mile in 4 minutes) had a lengthy career as a neurologist in England. If there’s any justice (and if he’s in good health), Dr. Bannister should light the torch at the Olympics in London. Who’s a better repesentative of British amateur athletics? ---
**Author:** ![Monstera\_deliciosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monstera_deliciosa/32/109_2.png) [@Monstera\_deliciosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstera_deliciosa)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-master-degrees-or-more/538632/43 "2010-05-07T19:31:17Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > I am pretty sure that Bill Cosby’s degree is only an honorary one, not an actual degree. No. From [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_cosby) > [@](#): > > In 1976, Cosby earned a Doctor of Education degree from the University of Massachusetts. For his doctoral research, he wrote a dissertation entitled, “An Integration of the Visual Media Via ‘Fat Albert And The Cosby Kids’ Into the Elementary School Curriculum as a Teaching Aid and Vehicle to Achieve Increased Learning”. There have been accusations that the work he did to earn the degree was not as rigorous as that of other doctoral candidates, but it is a real degree. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-master-degrees-or-more/538632/44 "2010-05-07T19:31:37Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > I am pretty sure that Bill Cosby’s degree is only an honorary one, not an actual degree. No, he earned a doctorate in education from the University of Massachusetts (although I’m sure he has honorary degrees as well). ---
**Author:** ![mozchron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-master-degrees-or-more/538632/45 "2010-05-07T19:31:43Z")
> [@Joey\_Tightlips](#): > > Also, Danica McKellar (formerly known as Winnie Cooper on The Wonder Years, and currently known as my dream girl) deserves mention for having written numerous books trying to get girls involved in math. Her Wiki page doesn’t specify an advanced degree in math but I’m making an exception for her. Danica McKellar is one of the authors of the Chayes-McKellar-Winn theorem (1998, Journal of Physics A, 31:9055-9063) which she helped develop as an mathematics undergrad at UCLA. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-master-degrees-or-more/538632/46 "2010-05-07T19:32:57Z")
Eric Heiden went on from his 5 gold medals in speed skating to be a serviceable pro bike racer (1986 U.S. national champ), then went on to become an orthopedic surgeon. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-master-degrees-or-more/538632/47 "2010-05-07T19:42:07Z")
My mistake on Bill Cosby. (was I possibly thinking of Bing Crosby?) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-master-degrees-or-more/538632/48 "2010-05-07T19:48:41Z")
John Michels was a first-round draft choice of the Packers in 1996. He made the all-rookie team as an offensive tackle, and played in Super Bowl XXXI for the Packers, but his career was cut short by a knee injury. He is now a radiologist. ---
**Author:** ![MrSquishy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9e5f3/32.png) [@MrSquishy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrSquishy)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-master-degrees-or-more/538632/49 "2010-05-07T19:49:48Z")
> [@mozchron](#): > > Danica McKellar is one of the authors of the Chayes-McKellar-Winn theorem (1998, Journal of Physics A, 31:9055-9063) which she helped develop as an mathematics undergrad at UCLA. Which gives her a very low [Erdős–Bacon number](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erd%C5%91s%E2%80%93Bacon_number#Actors). ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-master-degrees-or-more/538632/50 "2010-05-07T19:51:27Z")
> [@](#): > > Marrion Barry, sometimes mayor of Washington DC is ABD for his PhD in Mathematics. The more usual abbreviation for “all but dissertation” is “M. S.”. The only difference between a Master’s and a Doctorate is the thesis. And if we’re going to include honorary degrees, then we would be remiss to omit Kermit T. Frog, Doctor of Amphibian Letters. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-master-degrees-or-more/538632/51 "2010-05-07T19:54:33Z")
And [Byron “Whizzer” White](http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002/04/15/white-obit.htm) led the NFL in rushing in 1938 before going on to be a Supreme Court justice. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-master-degrees-or-more/538632/52 "2010-05-07T20:03:51Z")
My dad played pro football and had a Masters in electrical engineering and a PhD in physics. ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-master-degrees-or-more/538632/53 "2010-05-07T20:05:36Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > No, he earned a doctorate in education from the University of Massachusetts (although I’m sure he has honorary degrees as well). [Cite.](http://proquest.umi.com/pqdlink?did=756476461&Fmt=14&VType=PQD&VInst=PROD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1270441368&clientId=79356&cfc=1) and [cite](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Cosby#Honorary_degrees). ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-master-degrees-or-more/538632/54 "2010-05-07T20:20:03Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The more usual abbreviation for “all but dissertation” is “M. S.”. The only difference between a Master’s and a Doctorate is the thesis. That’s never been the way I understood it. ABD is a joking term for people who have taken all the coursework for their doctorate but never got around to writing (or sometimes finishing) the dissertation. I can’t imagine that any college in America doesn’t require years worth of additional coursework after a Master’s in any discipline in order to earn a doctorate. ---
**Author:** ![gregorio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@gregorio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gregorio)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-master-degrees-or-more/538632/55 "2010-05-07T20:59:28Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Figure skater Debi Thomas (silver medalist at the 1988 Calgary Olympics) is now an orthopedic surgeon. Debi Thomas won bronze in Calgary. Elizabeth Manley got the silver and Katarina Witt won gold. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-master-degrees-or-more/538632/56 "2010-05-07T21:12:47Z")
> [@gregorio](#): > > Debi Thomas won bronze in Calgary. Elizabeth Manley got the silver and Katarina Witt won gold. Ooops, you are correct. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-master-degrees-or-more/538632/57 "2010-05-07T21:28:30Z")
I would wonder who the youngest is who already has their degree. And also, it seems that females are under-represented. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-master-degrees-or-more/538632/58 "2010-05-07T21:32:32Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I would wonder who the youngest is who already has their degree. And also, it seems that females are under-represented. You should correct that, then. Also, guys, everyone knows psychology degrees don’t count! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-with-master-degrees-or-more/538632.md?page=2)