Doctorate Details, Meaning Doctorate Article and Explanation Guide

Doctorate Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description

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 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 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 UK, Australia, and some other Commonwealth countries, a distinction is made among research doctorates into junior 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. Additionally, in the United States while a person with a research doctorate would use the title "Doctor" in an academic or research/development setting, and in publication, he would generally not use the title if working in a corporate setting. In some countries the term "doctor" may by used as 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.

Table of contents

1 General information
2 Types of doctorates

2.1 Research oriented doctorates
2.2 Higher Doctorates in the United Kingdom
2.3 Higher Doctores in Denmark
2.4 Others

3 Related topics

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. 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 normal minimum term for a first-professional doctorate can be as little as 4 years past secondary education. These "first-professional" doctoral degrees therefore lack the status of the research doctorates. Actual practice within the field requires that the degree holder become licensed 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 most common type of research doctorate is a Ph.D (Philosophić Doctor or Doctor of Philosophy), though there are many other designations, listed below. Some British universities, including York, 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.

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 (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) was suppressed and replaced for academic recruitment purposes by the much lighter "habilitation to direct theses".