Shafaq News
Iraq's higher education system is contending with an expanding market for purchased academic research and fraudulent degrees, with disciplinary measures proving insufficient to reverse a pattern that academics warn is eroding the credibility of the country's universities.
Papers for Sale
The purchase of academic research in Iraq has developed into a structured parallel market operating in proximity to university campuses and across online platforms. Bookshops near universities, unlicensed offices, and social media pages now openly offer research preparation services at prices that vary by academic level.
According to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) 2024 Annual Report on Research Integrity Violations, the cost of a bachelor's graduation paper ranges between 75,000 and 100,000 Iraqi dinars ($58–$77), while master's theses can reach between 3 million and 7 million dinars ($2,300–$5,400) depending on specialization. The report identifies Iraq among several countries where such markets have moved from isolated incidents to structured operations.
Beyond original writing, these services also recycle existing research or modify titles to circumvent detection, a practice that facilitates both direct and indirect academic plagiarism. A former worker in one such operation, speaking on condition of anonymity due to fear of professional reprisal, told Shafaq News that research papers are frequently written by experienced individuals in exchange for a share of the profits, then superficially altered to fit the commissioning student.
Detection tools, including Turnitin and iThenticate, are in use across Iraqi universities, but their effectiveness has been complicated by the increasing sophistication of AI-assisted text generation, which produces output that standard similarity-detection systems struggle to flag.
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Academic Decay
The problem is not confined to students. University professor Alaa Najah, a faculty member at a Baghdad-area institution, told Shafaq News that the phenomenon has extended to some lecturers, who reuse or purchase research outright to meet promotion requirements. He warned that the deeper consequence is the production of non-authentic knowledge and falsified research results, a trajectory that risks graduating generations holding certificates without real competence, with downstream effects on state institutions and the labor market.
Academic professor Khalid Al-Ardawi, a specialist in higher education governance, described scientific plagiarism as a global rather than Iraq-specific problem but stressed that its expansion within Iraqi institutions without sufficient deterrence is what distinguishes the local situation.
“The more plagiarism spreads without accountability, the more academic institutions lose credibility, research becomes suspect, and university rankings suffer.” He linked the phenomenon to weak academic preparation, declining professional ethics, insufficient oversight, and a systemic prioritization of output quantity over research quality.
Data from the Iraqi Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MOHESR) shows that more than 27,000 academic certificates issued abroad were subjected to verification review —a process launched following a pattern of irregularities identified by the ministry. Hundreds were found to lack basic academic requirements.
Investigations reported by Al Arabiya found that postgraduate degrees, including master's and doctoral qualifications, were in some cases obtained through intermediaries for payments ranging between $5,000 and $10,000, with degree holders found to have neither attended courses nor completed verifiable research. Some qualifications were completed in unusually short periods or without formal academic supervision. The ministry subsequently suspended recognition of several foreign institutions and launched large-scale verification procedures.
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Zero Accountability
Shafaq News contacted MOHESR for comment on the purchase of academic research, its growing prevalence, measures taken to address it, and possible solutions. No response had been received at the time of publication.
The ministry has previously outlined disciplinary responses to confirmed plagiarism cases, including transferring lecturers to administrative positions, suspending university allowances, revoking academic degrees, and forming investigative committees. It has also documented cases in which plagiarism was detected after thesis defense, resulting in degree withdrawal.
A separate case at the University of Dhi Qar —a public institution in southern Iraq— involved two lecturers found to have plagiarized and published a single study across multiple journals, using it to secure academic promotion and a position within the university administration.
Academic professor Safwan Qusay, an advisor on higher education policy, told Shafaq News that disciplinary action alone is insufficient. He argued that some researchers turn to purchased studies because of “the weak oversight of scientific journals and unrealistic research timelines tied to promotion cycles.”
"Investigation results must be made public,…Those found guilty of scientific fraud should have their academic titles revoked, and degrees must be withdrawn the moment unattributed material is identified."
Academic advisor Mohammed Al-Rubaie described the informal academic market as an open presence in some university environments, warning that continued neglect risks turning universities into institutions focused on issuing credentials rather than producing knowledge.
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The Ranking Mirage
Iraqi universities have expanded their presence in global rankings, appearing in frameworks including the QS World University Rankings —which assesses institutions on research output, academic reputation, and employer recognition— the CWTS Leiden Ranking, which measures the quality and impact of scientific publications, and the SCImago Institutions Rankings, a classification system based on research performance, innovation, and societal impact. More than 21 Iraqi universities have appeared in the Leiden Ranking, and dozens have been included in Times Higher Education assessments.
This international visibility, however, exists alongside structural conditions that complicate its interpretation. Data from Scopus, an internationally recognized database that indexes peer-reviewed research output, indicates that Iraq produces between approximately 6,000 and 10,000 scientific papers annually, a range that reflects year-on-year fluctuation between 2020 and 2024 rather than a methodological estimate. That figure is equivalent to between 16 and 27 papers per day.
SCImago data places Iraq between 60th and 70th globally in total research output, and among mid-tier contributors within the Arab region, behind Saudi Arabia and Egypt in both volume and international citation impact.
A significant portion of that output, according to SCImago journal classifications, is published in Q3 and Q4 quartile journals —categories associated with lower citation influence and less rigorous peer-review standards— raising questions about whether ranking visibility reflects genuine research quality or sustained publication pressure within a promotion-driven system.
MOHESR's current verification procedures for foreign-issued degrees remain ongoing, according to the ministry's most recent public statement on the matter. No legislative measure specifically targeting the purchase of domestic academic research had been formally introduced at the time of publication.
Written and edited by Shafaq News staff.