What is a Doctorate degree?

A doctorate will take at least three years beyond any masters’ work, and most programs include the Masters degree as a prerequisite.

There are three basic types of Doctorate degrees.  The most common is a research doctorate.  In order to receive this degree, a person must learn research methods and write a publishable paper (thesis/dissertation) about the research done.  The thesis is then reviewed by a thesis committee, and the doctorate candidate must then defend the thesis in person.  This type of doctorate is the Doctor of Philosophy, or a PhD.

Professional doctorates are also well-known.  These are the highest degrees available in various practical fields such as education (EdD), law (JD – Juris Doctor), business (DBA – Doctor of Business Administration), and medicine (MD – Medical Doctor).

A few universities also award honorary doctorates to people whose philanthropic work is outstanding in various fields – or to people who have contributed greatly to a specific field.  These aren’t as common.  Perhaps the most frequent awareness of doctorate degrees come from college students, many of whom must call their professors 'Doctor' -- from a PhD, in most cases.