Pretty sure also taking a Waiver means no Skill or Knowledge receipt for that instance.
So, if you pull a Waiver in Year 1 of 4, assuming no further Waivers and no Honors you end up with Major-3 and Minor-1
I personally do not read T5 that way. A successful PHD graduate gets +2 Major, +1 Minor and an EDU increase so long as the stay at the educational institution is successful. A (successful) waiver attempt eliminates one failure. All waiver rolls get a cumulative DM+1 for each successive waiver. If you fail a pass role and a waiver roll you fluke out or drop out of the institution at that point immediately. In your example, I would allow the full Major-4, Minor -2 and even an honors roll for an additional Major +1. Let's take a look.
In the scenario that Agorski suggests, a character wants to earn a PHD without ANY prerequisites. We conceded with a (very) strict reading of the current rule set (and a quick look to 5.09 to make sure there are no pertinent errata changes anywhere) that missing educational degrees may be subject to a waiver role.
The applicant is EDU4 dreaming of EDU12 without any real work. He needs high SOC and high INT to make this remotely possible.
Let's look at how T5 might handle this hyper-idealistic fantasizer. The necessary waivers required to enter and complete a PHD program (under a very literal reading) for this scenario are: the low EDU score of 4 [1], skip BA degree in its entirety [2] (note: no knowledge or skills have been earned or EDU increased). No MA requires waiver [3]. We already know he has an EDU of 4; let's hope INT is up to the task to pass admittance. Otherwise, we use waiver [4]. For the sake of discussion we continue.
Our escapist now starts his PHD program that would last normally a casual two years with a lot of seminars during the day and drinks at the nearby Aslan bars at night. However, (s)he struggles almost daily with no formalized educational base to meet this level of academia and struggles each and every day for two years (using every available free moment to "catch-up").
When (or if) (s)he successfully completes year one with or without waiver [5] earns Major-1. The following year another success roll is required and possibly waiver [6]. If successful, our stargazer gets Major+1, Minor+1, and EDU 12 (really OMG!?!). Further, our idealist gets a paper degree to hang on the wall that might include the qualifier
Honorary.
Or, as Daddicus suggests make the actual degree non-waivable.
Alternatively, (s)he might have a GM that requires all prior 6 years to be completed as a new PHD candidate and the waivers count could increase that way. Such is the life of the non-traditional student.
What we
may be discussing in this thread is an errata candidate:
An errata entry that clarifies that a completed degree is not a waivable prerequisite for a higher university program OR, a slight change to educational benefits that quantify EDU increases numerically for each academic program such as BA +4 EDU/Max9, MA = +2/Max11, and PHD= +2/Max13. This way if you start with an 8 or higher EDU you just "waiver" into a Master's of Art program as a gifted and (hopefully) lucky student.
The second option provides Agroski's dreamer with an EDU of 6 vice 12 and 2-Major and 1 Minor which is effectively a short BA. Got to love those Imperial Honorary Degrees
Yes. I did, in fact, chose the +1 EDU factor based on each year of academic study.
