diploma mill

noun

: a usually unregulated institution of higher education granting degrees with few or no academic requirements

Examples of diploma mill in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Efforts to encourage education in the United States have led to a proliferation of diploma mills, which deliver second-rate schooling to increasingly desperate students. Menzie D. Chinn, Foreign Affairs, 16 Aug. 2012 All were targets of a massive federal crackdown on a nursing-school diploma mill that authorities say was centered in South Florida and extended to the northeast and Texas. Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 2 Apr. 2024 For example, Eaton notes, creating a definitive blacklist of fake schools or diploma mills would be impossible, because the fraudsters can easily change their names, internet domains and other information to keep themselves off such lists. Emma Whitford, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2023 Mota’s doctorate comes from a diploma mill that provides honorary degrees for a price, the Globe’s research found. Amanda Milkovits, BostonGlobe.com, 17 Mar. 2023 Even though the Chronicle is the journalistic equivalent of a diploma mill, the story was picked up by the Conservative Party and all its downstream social media partners. BostonGlobe.com, 26 Oct. 2019 In the last decade much has been written about diploma mills: schools that teach nothing, yet graduate their students, many of whom just happen to be elite athletes. Pete Thamel, SI.com, 22 June 2016

Word History

First Known Use

1914, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of diploma mill was in 1914

Dictionary Entries Near diploma mill

Cite this Entry

“Diploma mill.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diploma%20mill. Accessed 8 Nov. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!