New Journal Policy on Academic Qualifications

Effective September 1, 2020, IJTMRPH has modified its policy on the types of academic qualifications that authors can add alongside their names in articles published in the journal.

Henceforth, only earned academic qualifications will be allowed to be added to author qualifications on their papers. For our working purpose, earned academic degrees include only degrees that have been duly awarded by recognized academic institutions of higher learning. Fellowship or honorary degrees will no longer be published. Degrees in progress (such as ABD, candidacy, etc.) will no longer be published.  

For the purpose of this policy, the following are the academic degrees:

Bachelors (BA, BS, BSc, LLB)

Masters: (MA, MS, MSc, MPH, MBA, MPA, MPhil, EdM, MSPH, ScM, LLM)

Doctorates: (PhD, DrPH, PsyD, EdD, DBA, JD, ScD)

Clinical Degrees: (MD, MBBS, MbBch, RN, RD)

The journal respects and values the amount of time and efforts that scholars invest in earning these qualifications. However, as a global health journal, we want to ensure that we treat all our authors with respect and that we are treating all fairly. While some non-academic qualifications, such as fellowships, are well-known, especially in developed countries, some are not. There are many of them. The task of verifying these non-academic qualifications is onerous, time consuming, financially tasking, and cannot be embarked upon by the journal.

We thank all our authors for their understanding. We welcome your comments.