Doctoral degree
A Doctorate is an academic degree of the highestlevel. Traditionally, the award of a doctorate implies recognition of the candidate as an equal by the university faculty under which he or she has studied. There are essentially three types of doctorates:research, first-professional (USA only), and honorary. Research doctorates are nearly always awarded in recognition of academicresearch that is of a publishable standard (even if not actually published) and represents at least a modest contribution tohuman 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. Honorarydoctorates are awarded for a substantial contribution to a field but this need not be academic in character.
The title of Doctor is used both by and of those holding research doctorates or a first-professional doctorate, butaccording to convention is not used by or of those holding honorary doctorates. In some countries the term "doctor" may by usedas a title of respect even if the person being addressed has no doctoral degree, e.g. holders of a bachelor 's degree in Portuguese -speaking countries.
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General information
USA only: First-professional doctoral degrees are first degrees in a given field and include: Chiropractic , Dentistry , Law , Medicine , Optometry , Osteopathy , Pharmacy , Podiatry , Psychology and Veterinary medicine . There are many others. While first-professionaldoctoral degrees such as the M.D. and J.D. do not require completion of a thesis/dissertation or publication of a coherent bodyof literature, actual practice within the field requires that the degree holder become licensed by the appropriate body (anorganization not affiliated with the schools granting the degrees).
The most common type of research doctorate is a Ph.D. (Philosophiĉ Doctor orDoctor of Philosophy), though there are many other designations, listed below. Some British universities, including York , Oxford and Sussex refer to thePh.D. degree as the D.Phil. .
Minimum periods vary considerably: In the UK, the minimum time for completing a Ph.D. is 3 years from time of enrolment (whichusually takes place after the award of a bachelor's or master's degree ). However, completions within this period are exceptional;most candidates spend considerably longer. In the US a similar process and time period is required for research doctorates butthe normal minimum term for a first-professional doctorate can be as little as 4 years past secondary education , although many fields have longer normative times.
Although the Ph.D. is almost universally accepted as the standard qualification for an academic career, it is a relatively newinvention. The older-style doctorates (now usually called "Higher Doctorates" in the United Kingdom) take much longer tocomplete, 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) was suppressed and replaced foracademic recruitment purposes by the much lighter "habilitation to direct theses ".
Types of doctorates
Since the Ph.D. is the most widely known of the research doctorates among university professors in the United States, there isoften a perceived bias in favor of the Ph.D. over other doctoral degrees, though in certainfields outside of university teaching/research, an alternate to the Ph.D. may be preferred. The U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF)recognize numerous other research-oriented doctoral degrees as equivalent to the Ph.D. and do not discriminate between them.
Research oriented doctorates
- 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 Criminology (D.Crim.)
- 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 Library Science (D.L.S.)
- Doctor of Music (D.M.)
- 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 (D.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 Education ( Ed.D. )
- Doctor of Canon Law (J.C.D.)
- Doctor of Juristic Science (J.S.D.)
- Doctor of the Science of Law (L.Sc.D.)
- Doctor of Rehabilitation (Rh.D.)
- Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.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 theU.K., these include:
- D.D. (Divinitatis Doctor or Doctor ofDivinity)
- LL.D. (LegumDoctor or Doctor of Laws)
- D.C.L. (Doctor of Civil Law)
- D.Sc. (Scientiĉ Doctor or Doctor of Science)
- D.Litt. (Literarum Doctor or Doctor of Letters)
- D.Mus. (MusicĉDoctor or Doctor of Music)
- D.Tech. (Doctor of Technology)
- D.Univ. (Doctor of the University - usually honorary)
- D.M. (Medicinĉ Doctor or Doctor of Medicine)
Higher Doctores in Denmark
In Denmark there are four levels of degrees: Bachelors, Masters, Ph.d. and Dr., which is the higher doctorate.
Others
- D.B.A. (Doctor of Business Administration)
- D.Bus. (Doctor of Business)
- D.Eng. (Doctor ofEngineering)
- D.D.S. (Doctor of DentalSurgery)
- Ed.D. ( Doctor ofEducation )
- D.I.T. ( Doctor of Information Technology )
- J.D. ( Juris Doctor or Doctor of Law)
- MD (Medicinĉ Doctor or Doctor of Medicine)(US)
- D.P.T. (Doctor of PhysicalTherapy)
- D.O. (Doctor of OsteopathicMedicine)
- D.P.M. (Doctor of PodiatricMedicine)
- D.M.D. (Doctor of DentalMedicine)
- D.V.M. (Doctor of VeterinaryMedicine)
- Psy.D. (Doctor of Psychology)
- Pharm.D. (Doctor of Pharmacy)
- O.D (Optometry Doctor or Doctor of Optometry )
Related topics
- Bachelor's degree
- Master's degree
- Bologna process - EU harmonisation
- Degrees of Oxford University
- British degree abbreviations
- Thesis committee
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