Who is the ‘doctor’ in America? Academic degree confusions in U.S.

For the last three years, I have been writing various topics in financial economics for the Texarkana Gazettes. Occasionally, however, I like to venture outside my training as an academic financial economist and peruse everyday life issues that are often misunderstood. This is one of those occasions where I want to discuss a highly confused subject: academic and professional degrees in America. Some of you might argue this is better done by a specialist in education with an “Ed.D.”. It is not different than saying that “a biochemist can’t analyze cooking because he’s not a chef”, as the actor portraying Alfred Kinsey says in the “Kinsey” movie.

While you may assume that professors, college administrators and those working at universities are very familiar with the plethora of degrees offered at American universities, the reality is that, based on my numerous conversations with them and observations over the years, many of us are just as perplexed as others outside academia. The confusion stems from the unique American higher educational system awarding professional degree programs, which are professionally equivalent to the Bachelor’s degrees in those fields outside the US, with diplomas containing the term “Doctor”. Traditionally, a doctor is someone who has a doctoral (research) degree which requires successful competition and defense of a dissertation (sometimes called a graduate thesis) in his or her field of study. The PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) is the most common and is the highest academic degree offered in the United States. Its equivalents, according to the National Science Foundation include Doctor of Arts (D.A.), Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.), Doctor of Church Music (D.C.M.), Doctor of Canon Law (J.C.D./D.C.L.), Doctor of Design (D.Des.), Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Doctor of Engineering (D.Eng./D.E.Sc./D.E.S.), Doctor of Fine Arts (D.F.A.),

Doctor of Hebrew Letters (D.H.L.), Doctor of Industrial Technology (D.I.T.), Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D./S.J.D.), Doctor of Music (D.M.), Doctor of Musical/Music Arts (D.M.A.), Doctor of Music Education (D.M.E.), Doctor of Modern Languages (D.M.L.), 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 Sacred Theology (S.T.D.), Doctor of Science (D.Sc./ Sc.D.), Doctor of Social Work (D.S.W.), Doctor of Theology

(Th.D.).

It is important to note that even though professional degrees in the

U.S. contain the term

“Doctor”, they are not considered equivalent to the PhD. For example, the US “MD” (Doctor of Medicine) is considered equivalent to the Bachelorsof Surgery/ Medicine in most countries outside the U.S. In fact, physicians in the U.S. having such foreign degrees are entitled to carry the title “MD” after their names.

American trained physicians (possessing a doctorate in medicine) must, in order to apply to the European Research Council to become a Principal Investigator, ascertain PhD equivalency by providing a medical degree and a PhD or its equivalents (professorship or post-doctoral fellowships) in addition to research experience such as journal publications. Similarly, the “DDS” or “DMD” (Doctor of Dental Surgery or Doctor of Dental Medicine, respectively) are comparable to the Bachelor of Dental Surgery or Medicine in many countries.

Another popular degree is the “JD” (Jurist Doctor), commonly known as the “LLB” in many countries and several American universities, is the first degree in law.

It is not equivalent to the

PhD in law, the “SJD” or “JSD” (Doctor of Juridical Science). Other popular professional degrees in the U.S. are Doctor of Chiropractic (D.C. or

D.C.M.), Doctor of Optometry (O.D.), Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine/Osteopathy (D.O.), Doctor of Nursing Practice (D.N.P.), Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.), Doctor of Physical Therapy (D.P.T), Doctor of Podiatric Medicine/Podiatry (D.P.M., D.P., or Pod.D.), and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.).

It should be recognized that there are advanced degree programs in these fields conferring PhD-equivalent degrees. For instance, pharmacists wishing to obtain an advanced degree in this field can obtain a PhD in Pharmacology or Pharmacokinetics, DMD or

DDS holders can further their training in the profession by enrolling in an “Master of Science” or PhD in Dental Science, and optometrists (those holding an O.D.) can train for the PhD in Optical Sciences.

The major differences are the longer training period for the PhD and the production of a publishable doctoral dissertation which contributes to the existing knowledge of the field.

So next time someone tells you that all doctoral degrees are the same, as most of my physician/dentist/optometrist friends often insist, please be patient to them! Perhaps, they are not aware of the idiosyncrasy of our tertiary education.