Research Doctorates

• The research doctoral specialty is most commonly reserved for those who desire the degree primarily for academic purposes; that is, they plan to teach others the discipline or they hope to work as a researcher of some caliber in a given subject area. Examples of persons who may have research doctorate specialties include college professors, high-ranking economists and renowned business analysts. Those who earn research doctoral degrees, aka a Ph.D. degree, may or may not choose to be addressed as Dr. ________. NOTE: Ph.D. stands for "Doctorate of Philosophy" but the lettering is used, due to tradition, for doctorates earned in other research doctorate fields as well.
  
  

Professional Doctorates

• As the name suggests, those with professional doctorate degrees obtain doctoral specialties in a given area in order to work in a specific profession. Professional doctorate degrees are also sometimes referred to as "first-professional" degrees. Lawyers, doctors (traditional and alternative medicine), ministers and pharmacists are all examples of persons who are often required to obtain a doctorate level degree in order to work in their chose profession. Medical doctors, whether of traditional or alternative medicine, are often addressed as Dr. _______ in lieu of Mr. / Mrs. / Ms.; persons who have earned a professional doctorate in other professions may or may not use the courtesy title.
  
  

Honorary Doctorates

• Unlike research doctorates and professional doctorates, honorary doctorates are not earned based on academic achievement. Instead, honorary doctorate degrees are given to a recipient due to merit-based actions within a specific area of study or industry. Therefore, honorary doctorate degrees often serve as a symbol recognizing a grantee's contributions. Since honorary degrees cannot be earned, the awarding of an honorary doctorate is at the sole discretion of the granting university. Most honorary doctorate recipients do not use Dr. ________ as part of their courtesy title.
  
  

Obtaining a Doctorate

• In many cases, the basic eligibility requirement for a doctoral specialty program is completion of master's level courses in the desired doctoral specialty. However, select doctoral degree programs do accept students who have completed only a baccalaureate degree. In addition to the educational requirements, doctoral program candidates must apply to and be accepted to an accredited doctoral degree program. Once accepted, doctoral candidates will complete the institution's doctoral program, which will be comprised of one or more of the following: a series of courses, a comprehensive exam, a thesis paper or dissertation and an oral defense of the thesis / dissertation. The average time for completion of a doctoral program in the United States is three to seven years.
  
  

Benefits

• Whether obtaining a doctorate degree is beneficial is dependent on professional and personal goals. As noted above, certain professions require doctorate degree. In those cases, the benefit is obvious. In other cases, however, a doctorate degree is not a necessity for the purposes of professional advancement but rather a desired accreditation resulting in a higher salary or prestige.