Doctorate

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(Redirected from Doctorate degree)

A doctorate is an academic degree of the highest level. Traditionally, the award of a doctorate implies recognition of the candidate as an equal by the university faculty under which he studied. There are essentially three types of doctorates: research, first-professional (USA only), and honorary. Research doctorates are nearly always awarded in recognition of academic research that is of a publishable standard (even if not actually published) and represents at least a modest contribution to human knowledge. It is usually assessed by submission and defense of a doctoral thesis or dissertation, though in some cases a coherent body of published literature can be accepted instead. Honorary doctorates are awarded for a substantial contribution to a field but this need not be academic in character. In the EU, UK, Australia, and some other Commonwealth countries, a distinction is made among research doctorates, into doctorates (generally awarded after a course of 3-5 years postgraduate research and study and submission of a thesis), and higher doctorates -- awarded on the basis of ~10 years outstanding research, judged through examination of publications. These higher doctorates are also used as honorary doctorates, but those awarded on the basis of academic research are non-honorary.

The title of Doctor is used both by and of those holding research doctorates or some professional (usually medical) degrees, but according to convention is not used by or of those holding honorary doctorates.

In the past, in the United States a person with a research doctorate would use the title "Doctor" in an academic or research/development setting, and in publication. However it is becoming more common to use the title if working in a corporate setting. This is the case in most continents. In some countries the term "doctor" may by used as a title of respect even if the person being addressed has no doctoral degree.

Contents

General information

In the United States, first-professional doctoral degrees are first degrees in a given field and include: Chiropractic, Dentistry, Law, Medicine, Optometry, Osteopathy, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, Podiatry, Psychology and Veterinary medicine. There are many others. Although these degrees may be both the initial and terminal degree in their field, students seeking to enter degree programs for them must have already completed a Bachelors degree, usually in a related field. Internationally, however, these first-professional degrees are in most cases equivalent to a first Bachelors degree in content and in length from other countries. Holders of the first-professional degrees from the United States may be obliged to take further examinations if they wish to practice their profession in another country. The host country may not allow the title of "Doctor" to be used as a form of address unless a research doctorate or higher doctorate has also been awarded. Under European Law, holders research doctorates from any EU country are recognised. The duration of a medical degree may vary between EU countries and may require the holder to take further examinations.

First-professional doctoral degrees such as the M.D. and J.D. do not require completion of a thesis/dissertation or publication of a coherent body of literature. The minimum term for a first-professional doctorate is 3 years past secondary education, the same minimum term required for a research doctorate. First-professional doctoral degrees are not research doctorates. Actual practice (and legal recognition) within the field requires that the degree holder become licenced by the appropriate body (an organization not affiliated with the schools granting the degrees) and registration can require a certain amount of work experience. The titles from the first-professional doctoral degrees are not equivalent to the same title conferred in other countries. For example, outside the United States (and countries that mimic the North American medical educational system), the title of M.D.or D.M. may be only conferred as a research or a higher doctorate. This M.D or D.M. is in recognition of clinical or preclinical academic research many years after the original (professional or first) degree in medicine or veterinary medicine.

The most common type of research doctorate is a Ph.D. (Philosophiæ Doctor or Doctor of Philosophy), though there are many other designations, listed below. Some British universities, including Oxford and Sussex refer to the Ph.D. degree as the D.Phil..

Minimum periods for research doctorates vary considerably: In the UK and USA the minimum time for completing a Ph.D. is usually 3 years from time of enrollment (which usually takes place after the award of a bachelor's or master's degree). Although completions within this period are possible, most candidates take considerably longer, with a common average of roughly 7.5 years often seen in the USA for the 'hard' sciences, such as physics, engineering, and chemistry. In the USA, the research doctorate normally requires 2+3 years of taught courses and then research respectively. The courses taught in the first two years maybe equivalent to the content of a master's degree from other countries. Taught courses however are increasingly becoming an additional component in many research doctorates around the world.

Although the Ph.D. is almost universally accepted currently as the standard qualification for an academic career, it is a relatively new invention. The older-style doctorates (now usually called "Higher Doctorates" in the United Kingdom) take much longer to complete, since candidates must show themselves to be leading experts in their subjects. These doctorates are now becoming rare, and are usually only awarded as Honorary degrees. In France, the higher doctorate doctorat d'État. The latter was replaced for academic recruitment purposes by the "habilitation to direct theses". The Habilitation is still used for academic recruitment purposes in many countries within the EU and is a research doctorate involving either a new long thesis (dissertation), a second book or a portfolio of research publications. The "Habilitation" is a qualification that demonstrates independent and thorough research ability, experience in teaching and lecturing, the potential to have a research group and, more recently, the ability to generate extra funding within the area of research. The "Habilitation" is regarded as a senior post-doctoral qualification, many years after the Ph.D.

Types of doctorates

Research oriented doctorates

While the Ph.D. is the most common doctoral degree, and even often (mis)understood to be synonymous with the term "doctorate", the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) recognize numerous doctoral degrees as equivalent, and do not discriminate between them:

  • Doctor of Arts (D.A.)
  • Doctor of Architecture (D.Arch.)
  • Doctor of Applied Science (D.A.S.)
  • Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.)
  • Doctor of Chemistry (D.Chem.)
  • Doctor of Criminal Justice (D.C.J.)
  • Doctor of Comparative/Civil Law (D.C.L.)
  • Doctor of Computer Science (D.C.S.)
  • Doctor of Criminology (D.Crim.)
  • Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
  • Doctor of Environmental Design (D.E.D.)
  • Doctor of Engineering (D.Eng.)
  • Doctor of Environment (D.Env.)
  • Doctor of Engineering Science (D.E.Sc./Sc.D.E.)
  • Doctor of Forestry (D.F.)
  • Doctor of Fine Arts (D.F.A.)
  • Doctor of Geological Science (D.G.S.)
  • Doctor of Hebrew Literature/Letters (D.H.L.)
  • Doctor of Health and Safety (D.H.S.)
  • Doctor of Hebrew Studies (D.H.S.)
  • Doctor of Industrial Technology (D.I.T.)
  • Doctor of Information Technology (D.I.T.)
  • Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.)
  • Doctor of Liberal Studies (D.L.S.)
  • Doctor of Library Science (D.L.S.)
  • Doctor of Music (D.Mus, Mus. Doc.)
  • Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A., A.Mus.D.)
  • Doctor of Musical Education (D.M.E.)
  • Doctor of Ministry (D.Min./D.M.)
  • Doctor of Modern Languages (D.M.L.)
  • Doctor of Music Ministry (D.M.M.)
  • Doctor of Medical Science (D.M.Sc.)
  • Doctor of Nursing Science (D.N.Sc.)
  • Doctor of Public Administration (D.P.A.)
  • Doctor of Physical Education (D.P.E.)
  • Doctor of Public Health (Dr.P.H.)
  • Doctor of Professional Studies (D.P.S.)
  • Doctor of Design (Dr.DES.)
  • Doctor of Religious Education (D.R.E.)
  • Doctor of Recreation (D.Rec./D.R.)
  • Doctor of Science (D.Sc./Sc.D.)
  • Doctor of Science in Dentistry (D.Sc.D.)
  • Doctor of Science and Hygiene (D.Sc.H.)
  • Doctor of Science in Veterinary Medicine (D.Sc.V.M.)
  • Doctor of Sacred Music (D.S.M.)
  • Doctor of Social Science (D.S.Sc.)
  • Doctor of Social Work (D.S.W.)
  • Doctor of Canon Law (J.C.D.)
  • Doctor of the Science of Law (L.Sc.D.)
  • Doctor of Rehabilitation (Rh.D.)
  • Doctor of Sacred Theology (S.T.D.)
  • Doctor of Theology (Th.D.)

Higher Doctorates in the United Kingdom

The notion of doctorates that are higher than the Ph.D. is one that is rare in the United States, but more established in the U.K., where universities may maintain a notional ranking of the seniority of different doctorates. Higher doctorates include:

  • D.D. (Divinitatis Doctor or Doctor of Divinity)
  • LL.D. (Legum Doctor or Doctor of Laws)
  • D.C.L. (Doctor of Civil Law)
  • D.Sc. (Scientiæ Doctor or Doctor of Science)
  • D.Litt. (Literarum Doctor or Doctor of Letters)
  • D.Mus. (Musicæ Doctor or Doctor of Music)
  • D.Tech. (Doctor of Technology)
  • D.Univ. (Doctor of the University - usually honorary)
  • D.M. (Medicinæ Doctor or Doctor of Medicine)

Engineering Doctorates in the United Kingdom

Engineering Doctorates are not considered a "Higher Doctorate" but are an alternative to the traditional Ph.D.

  • Eng.D. (Doctor of Engineering)

Higher Doctorates in Denmark

In Denmark there are five levels of degrees: Bachelor's, Candidate's (may be compared to Master), Magister (similar to an MPhil in the United Kingdom system; a degree by research, higher than a Master's but lower than a Ph.D.), Ph.D., and finally Dr., which is the higher doctorate.

Most of these grades are also used in Norway, which has traditionally used the same system as Denmark.

Doctorates in Germany

In Germany, all doctorates bear the same level of merit (there are no first-degree doctorates as medical doctors do not necessarily hold a doctorate, although it is much easier for medical students to earn the degree (it is done during about one year within their course) than for those studying other disciplines (where the doctorate is a separate degree which takes 3, 5 or even more years). Apart from that, Germany uses different titles, which are written in front of the first name for addresses (within texts, the abbrevation "Dr." is common) and accompany person's name (unlike in German speaking Switzerland!). This is a list of the types of doctorates encoutered most often. For each title the subject is indicated in which it is mostly awarded. (There are exceptions from this, depending on the rules and traditions of the degree-awarding university.)

Doctorates in Slovakia

First-degree doctorates (also called "small doctorates", written before the name)

  • Doctor of medicine (Medicinae universae doctor - MUDr.)
  • Doctor of dental medicine (Medicinae dentalis doctor - MDDr.)
  • Doctor of veterinary medicine (Medicinae veterinariae doctor - MVDr.)
  • Doctor of pharmacy (Pharmaciae doctor - PharmDr.)
  • Doctor of philosophy (Philosophiae doctor - PhDr.)
  • Doctor of natural sciences (Rerum naturalium doctor - RNDr.)
  • Doctor of laws (Juris utrisque doctor - JUDr.)
  • Doctor of paedeutics (Paedagogiae doctor - PaedDr.)
  • Doctor of theology (Theologiae doctor - ThDr.)
  • Doctor of social sciences (Rerum societarum doctor - RSDr., deprecated - used by communist regime)

Higher doctorates (also called "big doctorates", written after the name)

  • Candidate of sciences (Candidatus scientarum - CSc., now being replaced by common PhD.)
  • Doctor of sciences (Doctor scientarum - DrSc.)
  • Doctor of arts (Artes doctor - ArtD.)

Doctorates in Hungary

  • D.L.A. (Doctor Liberalium Artium (Doctor of Liberal Arts))

First-Degree (or First-professional) Doctorates

Related topics

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