I’ve always wanted a PhD. Working in the Nature office and not having one can make you feel like a bit of a dunce. Now it seems I could have assuaged some of my insecurities by hopping on a plane to Germany with a suitcase full of euros.

According to the German magazine Focus, “many renowned universities” have been caught up in a scandal involving thousands of doctoral candidates paying bribes to gain that precious ‘Dr’ in front of their names*.

Prosecutors in Cologne are now investigating links between a now-defunct consultancy firm and professors across the country. AP notes that the director of the consultancy firm and a Hannover law professor have already been convicted and given jail sentences in relation to the scandal.

It seems some professors may have been accepting payments of between 4,000 and 20,000 euros (£3,500-£18,000) to ‘supervise’ students’ doctorates, with ‘supervise’ meaning little more than ‘rubber stamp APPROVED’.

“We’re talking about honorary professors from all kinds of departments including medical science, law and economic science,” Guenter Feld, the prosecutors’ spokesman told Bloomberg.

* yes, I know that they might not use ‘Dr’ in Germany.