Research doctorates in the United States
The most common research doctorate is the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.). This degree was first awarded in the U.S. at the 1861 Yale University commencement. The University of Pennsylvania followed shortly thereafter in 1871,while Cornell (1872), Harvard (1873), and Princeton (1879) also followed suit. Unlike the introduction of the professional doctorate M.D., there was considerable controversy and opposition over the introduction of the Ph.D. into the U.S. educational system, even through the 1950s, as it was seen as an unnecessary artificial transplant from a foreign educational system (that of Germany), which corrupted a system based on the Oxbridge model of England.
The requirements for obtaining Ph.D.s and other research doctorates in the U.S. typically entail successful completion of pertinent classes, passing of a comprehensive examination, and defense of a dissertation.
The mean number of years to completion of doctoral degrees for all fields in the US is seven. Students are often discouraged from taking unnecessarily long to graduate by having their financial support (stipends, research funds, etc.) relinquished and/or by being required to re-take comprehensive exams. Furthermore, doctoral applicants were previously required to have a master's degree, but many programs will now accept students immediately following their undergraduate studies. Many programs simply gauge the potential of a student applying to their program and will give them a master's degree upon completion of the necessary Ph.D course work. When so admitted, the student is expected to have mastered the material covered in the masters degree even though the student does not officially hold a masters degree. Once the person has finished Ph.D qualifying exams he/she is considered a Ph.D candidate, and may begin work on his/her dissertation.
The International Affairs Office of the U.S. Department of Education lists over 20 frequently awarded research doctorate degree titles accepted by the National Science Foundation (NSF) as representing degrees equivalent in research content to the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree. They are:
Doctor of Arts (D.A./D. Arts), 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 Health Science (D.H.Sc.), 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 Management (D.M.), Doctor of Music (D.M.), Doctor of Musical/Music Arts (D.M.A./A.Mus.D./D.Mus.A.), Doctor of Music Education (D.M.E.), Doctor of Modern Languages (D.M.L.), Doctor of Nursing Science (D.N.Sc.), Doctor of Occupational Therapy (O.T.D.) Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Doctor of Public Administration (D.P.A.), Doctor of Physical Education (D.P.E.), Doctor of Public Health (Dr.P.H.), Doctor of Sacred Theology (S.T.D.), Doctor of Biblical Studies (D.B.S.), Doctor of Science (D.Sc./Sc.D.), Doctor of Social Work (D.S.W.), and Doctor of Theology (Th.D.).
Professional doctorates in the United States
In the United States numerous fields of study have professional doctorates, such as law, education, medicine, teaching, naturopathic medicine, osteopathic medicine, dentistry, advanced practice registered nurse, optometry, chiropractic, pharmacy, physical therapy, psychology, health science, public health and many others that usually require such degrees for licensure. Some of these degrees are also termed "first professional degrees," since they are also the first degree in their field.
Professional doctorates were developed in the United States in the 19th century during a movement to improve the training of professionals by raising the requirements for entry and completion of the degree necessary to enter the profession. These first professional degrees were created to help strengthen professional training programs. The first professional doctorate to be offered in the United States was the M.D. in 1767 by Columbia University which was nearly one hundred years before the first Ph.D. was awarded in the U.S. in 1861. The Juris Doctor (J.D.) was subsequently established by Harvard University for the same reasons that the M.D. was established. A Doctor of Pharmacy is awarded as the Terminal/Professional degree in Pharmacy replacing BS in Pharmacy. It is the only Professional Pharmacy Degree awarded in the US and the Pharmacy School needs accreditation of American Council on Pharmacy Education (ACPE). Pharmacy programs vary in length between 4-6 years depending if a matriculating student has earned a BS/BA or not.
Recently there has been a trend for introducing professional doctorates in other fields as well, including the Doctor of Audiology in 2007. Advanced Practice Registered Nurses are expected to completely transition to the Doctor of Nursing Practice by 2015 and physical therapy to the Doctor of Physical Therapy by 2020.