Encyclopedia
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 or she studied.
There are three types of doctorates: research/terminal, professional, and honorary.
Research doctorates are nearly always awarded in recognition of academic research that is of a publishable standard and that represents at least a modest contribution to human knowledge. The research 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.
Professional doctorates are awarded in certain fields where most holders of the degree are not engaged primarily in scholarly research and academic activities, but, rather in a profession, such as law, medicine, music, or ministry.
Honorary doctorates are awarded for a substantial contribution to a field that need not be academic in character.
In the
EU,
UK, and in
Australia as well as some other
Commonwealth countries, a distinction is made among research doctorates, as doctorates , and higher doctorates -- awarded on the basis of many years of 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 degrees, but according to convention is not used by or of those holding only honorary doctorates. However, some consider it permissible to use the title of doctor for an honorary degree within the institution that granted it.
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 be used as a title of respect even if the person being addressed has no doctoral degree.
Professional doctorate
In the
United States, professional doctoral degrees are terminal degrees in certain fields, including
chiropractic,
dentistry,
law,
medicine, occupational therapy,
optometry, osteopathy,
pharmacy, physical therapy, podiatry,
psychology,
veterinary medicine, and many others. Although this degree may be both the initial and terminal degree in these fields, students seeking to enter degree programs for them must have already completed a bachelor's degree, usually in a related field. The licentiate is used instead in some countries as a professional degree; then, the doctorate is higher degree than licentiate, intended for research and professor duties, etc.
Terminal/professional doctoral degrees such as the M.D. and J.D. do not generally require completion of a thesis/dissertation, although some professional degree programs require that the candidate perform original research and write a formal research paper. The minimum term for such a degree is 3 years past
postsecondary education, the same minimum term required for a research doctorate. While these degrees are not research doctorates, they do entitle their holders to pursue academic careers on par with holders of academic degrees. Actual practice within the applicable professional field usually requires that the degree holder become licenced by the appropriate body ; a certain amount of work experience is sometimes required for licensure. The titles from these degrees are not equivalent to the same title conferred in other countries. For example, outside the United States , the title of M.D or D.M. may be conferred only as a research or a higher doctorate. This degree is in recognition of clinical or preclinical academic research many years after the original degree in medicine or veterinary medicine.
Research doctorate
The most common type of research doctorate is a Ph.D. , 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 three years following the completion of a master's degree. Although completions within this period are possible, most candidates take considerably longer: anywhere from five to ten years. Students in the physical sciences typically have shorter completion times than students in the arts due to their better access to funding sources. In the USA, the research doctorate normally requires two to three years of coursework and a minimum of three years of research. Coursework is increasingly becoming a required component in research doctorates around the world.
Although the Ph.D. is almost universally accepted as the standard qualification for an academic career, it is a relatively new invention. The older-style doctorates 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 is the
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 or a portfolio of research publications. The Habilitation demonstrates independent and thorough research, experience in teaching and lecturing, and, more recently, the ability to generate funding within the area of research. The "Habilitation" is regarded as a senior post-doctoral qualification, many years after the Ph.D., and is necessary for a Privatdozent position. This system was generally adopted by the
USSR/
Russia and many post-Soviet countries.
Under European law, holders of research doctorates from any EU country are recognised in others.
Types of Doctorates
Research Oriented Doctorates
While the Ph.D. is the most common doctoral degree, and even often understood to be synonymous with the term "doctorate", the
U.S. Department of Education and the
U.S. National Science Foundation recognize numerous doctoral degrees as equivalent, and do not discriminate among them:
- Doctor of Applied Science
- Doctor of Architecture
- Doctor of Business Administration
- Doctor of Canon Law
- Doctor of Chemistry
- Doctor of Comparative Law/Doctor of Civil Law
- Doctor of Computer Science
- Doctor of Criminal Justice
- Doctor of Criminology
- Doctor of Design
- Doctor of Education
- Doctor of Engineering
- Doctor of Engineering Science
- Doctor of Environmental Design
- Doctor of Environmental Science and Engineering
- Doctor of Fine Arts
- Doctor of Forestry
- Doctor of Geological Science
- Doctor of Health and Safety
- Doctor of Hebrew Literature/Doctor of Hebrew Letters
- Doctor of Hebrew Studies
- Doctor of Humane Letters
- Doctor of Industrial Technology
- Doctor of Information Technology
- Doctor of Literature and Philosophy
- Doctor of Liberal Studies
- Doctor of Library Science
- Doctor of Management
- Doctor of Medical Science
- Doctor of Ministry
- Doctor of Modern Languages
- Doctor of Music Ministry
- Doctor of Music
- Doctor of Musical Arts
- Doctor of Musical Education
- Doctor of Nursing Science
- Doctor of Physical Education
- Doctor of Public Administration
- Doctor of Public Health
- Doctor of Professional Studies
- Doctor of Recreation
- Doctor of Rehabilitation
- Doctor of Religious Education
- Doctor of Sacred Music
- Doctor of Sacred Theology
- Doctor of Science
- Doctor of Science and Hygiene
- Doctor of Science in Dentistry
- Doctor of Science in Veterinary Medicine
- Doctor of Social Science
- Doctor of Social Work
- Doctor of the Science of Law
- Doctor of Theology
Professional Doctorates
- Doctor of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine
- Doctor of Arts
- Doctor of Chiropractic
- Doctor of Dental Surgery
- Doctor of Human Sexuality
- Juris Doctor/Doctor of Jurisprudence
- Doctor Liberalium Artium
- Doctor of Management in Organizational Leadership
- Doctor of Medicine/Medicinæ Doctor
- Doctor of Ministry
- Doctor of Physical Therapy
- Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine
- Doctor of Pharmacy
- Doctor of Podiatric Medicine
- Doctor of Professional Studies
- Doctor of Dental Medicine
- Doctor of Nursing Practice
- Doctor of Veterinary Medicine
- Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine / Doctor of Naturopathy -- N.D. can also stand for the licensed professional title of Naturopathic Doctor conferred by licensing bodies.
- Doctor of Natural Medicine
- Doctor of Psychology
- Doctor of Clinical Psychology
- Doctor of Optometry/Optometry Doctor
- Doctor of Occupational Therapy
Higher Doctorates in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Commonwealth
The notion of doctorates that are higher than the Ph.D. is one that is rare in the United States and Canada, but more established in the U.K., Ireland and other Commonwealth nations, where universities may maintain a notional ranking of the seniority of different doctorates. Higher doctorates include:
- Doctor of Divinity/Divinitatis Doctor
- Doctor of Civil Law
- Doctor of Laws/Legum Doctor
- Doctor of Juridical Science
- Doctor of Medicine/Medicinæ Doctor
- Doctor of Letters/Litterarum Doctor
- Doctor of Science/Scientiæ Doctor
- Doctor of Music/Musicæ Doctor
- Doctor of Technology
- Doctor of Governance
- Doctor of the University
The degree of Doctor of Engineering usually indicates a qualification comparable to a Ph.D.
Doctorates in The Netherlands
The traditional academic system of The Netherlands provides four basic academic diplomas and degrees:
propaedeuse,
candidate,
doctorandus ,
engineer and
doctor . After successful completion of the first year of University, the student is awarded the propaedeutic diploma. The
candidate degree is usually attained after three years of academic study, after which the student is allowed to begin work on his doctorandus' thesis. The successful completion of this thesis allows one to use the
doctorandus title, attainment of which means one's initial studies are finished. Those who choose to, and are allowed to, perform extensive research and write a doctoral dissertation . Upon completion, a doctor's degree is awarded. This is the highest academic degree one can attain.
In addition to these 'general' degrees, a number of specific titles for certain subjects are available, each of which is equivalent to the
doctorandus degree: for law: meester , and for engineering: ingenieur .
The last few years, the Dutch have incorporated the Anglo-Saxon system of academic degrees into their own. The candidate's degree is replaced by the bachelor's degree, the doctorandus' by the master's.
Higher Doctorates in Denmark
In
Denmark there are five levels of degrees: Bachelor's, Candidate's , Magister , Ph.D., and finally Dr., which is the higher doctorate.
- dr. med. - Medicine
- dr. jur. - Law
- dr. theol. - Theology
- dr. phil. - Philosophy
- dr. polit. - Economics
- dr. scient. - Science
- dr. techn. - Technology
These degrees were also used in
Norway, which traditionally used the same system as Denmark. Besides dr. philos, which is awarded to people who don't follow an organized degree program, new candidates are no longer awarded these degrees, but are instead awarded a Ph.D. The new Ph.D. degree was introduced in the early 2000s. The Ph.D. in Norway is not a lower-level research doctorate.
The PhD is in Denmark known as the "lower doctorate" or the "small doctorate".
Doctorates in Germany
In Germany, all doctorates bear the same level of merit
- Dr. h.c. , but: Dr.-Ing. E.h.
- Dr.-Ing.
- Dr. iur. , also: Dr. jur. although this is not the correct spelling
- Dr. med. , also Dr. med. dent. for dentists and Dr. med. vet. for veterinarians
- Dr. oec. pub. *Dr. theol.
- Dr. phil.
- Dr. rer. nat.
- Dr. rer. pol.
Upon the completion of a second dissertation or
Habilitationsschrift a senior doctorate is awarded. This senior doctorate is known as the Habilitation. The degree of 'Dr.habil.' or an equivalent professional experience is the necessary prerequisite for a position of
Privatdozent or
ProfessorDoctorates in Russia
The
USSR and many post-Soviet countries, including
Russian Federation, have two-stage research doctorate, generally similar to the doctorate system in Germany. The first stage is named
"Kandidat of <...> Sciences" . The Kandidat of Sciences degree is usually recognised as equivalent of Ph.D. and requires at least three years of post-graduate studies which finished by defen?? of a thesis. Additionally, a seeker of the degree has to pass three examinations : in his/her special field, in one foreign language, and in philosophy.
The second stage,
"Doctor of <...> Sciences", is equal to Habilitation in Germany. It requires many years of research experience and writing of a second dissertation. A position of Professor can be held only by a Doctor of Sciences.
The degrees of Kandidat and Doctor of Sciences are given only by the special governmental agency ; a university or a scientific institute where the thesis was defended can only recommend to award a seeker the sought degree.
Doctorates in Czech Repbulic and Slovakia
First-degree doctorates
- Doctor of medicine
- Doctor of dental medicine
- Doctor of veterinary medicine
- Doctor of pharmacy
- Doctor of philosophy
- Doctor of natural sciences
- Doctor of laws
- Doctor of paedeutics
- Doctor of theology
- Doctor of economy
- Doctor of social sciences
Higher doctorates
- Candidate of sciences
- Doctor of sciences
- Doctor of arts
Doctorates in Hungary
Doctorates in Portugal
Note: In Portugal and in the African Countries of Portuguese Official Language it is common to use the title "Dr." in reference to people with "Licenciatura" degrees . Some professionals have, however, different titles. For example: "Eng." , "Arq." .
The term "Doctor" in Portugal is used for those with a PhD and, instead of the title "Dr.", use "Doutor" or "Professor Doutor" .
Doctorates in Finland
Finland requires 45 study credits of courses and a written thesis including 3 to 7 journal articles for a doctorate degree.
See also
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Doctor of Science
- Bachelor's degree
- Master's degree
- C.Phil.
- Engineer's degree
- Bologna process - EU harmonisation
- Degrees of Oxford University
- British degree abbreviations
- Thesis committee
- EURODOC - the European Council of doctoral candidates and junior researchers.
- Dottorato di ricerca
