Progressing a Doctorate Degree

So you want to do a doctorate degree? It is the highest level university-based academic degree qualification. 

This will enable you to use the title ‘Doctor’ or abbreviation ‘Dr’ in front of your name. Once this happens and where you are not a medical Doctor, be wary of responding to those rare announcements on the airplane when the Captain asks, “Do we have a Doctor on the plane?”. 

Actually, a medical doctor does not necessarily reflect a person that has a doctorate degree at all, unless they have a Doctor of Medicine (MD).

A doctoral degree is a post-graduate qualification, often requiring the completion of an honours degree or masters degree first. The most popular is the ‘PhD’ that stands for ‘Doctor of Philosophy’ (in Latin: philosophiae doctor or doctor philosophiae[i]). Depending on the university, it could be abbreviated as PhD, PH.D or DPhil. The first doctorate was believed to be issued in medieval Paris around 1150[ii].

A PhD is a research-based doctorate that requires a significant contribution to a particular discipline’s body of knowledge. Typically, it requires you to build on existing historic research. To build on principles that have already been academically proven and to extend that knowledge into new areas and published in a thesis. It is therefore argued that a PhD graduate is a world expert in a specific topic.

The PhD is deemed to be the pinnacle of academia, although it is only one type of doctorate degree and the other being a professional doctorate. Before we discuss that, there are generally three pathways to a Phd by: 

1.   publication of a research thesis – where a significant body of work is produced around a single research theme;

2.   publication of a series of peer reviewed journals of book chapters - this generally means someone that has a successful publication usually in a peer reviewed journal that is deemed to have enough academic rigour to meet and demonstrate expertise, and often requiring some linking information to package them all into a thesis; and

3.   public works[iii] - where there is evidence of a research theme development and already published in the public domain (e.g., journal articles, books, reports, software, artistic works).

In Australia, a citizen does not pay for PHD studies. It generally takes 3-4 years fulltime, or 6-8 years part-time.

A PhD is issued by the university. That means the person graduates with a PhD, wearing the gown of the University (using either a mortarboard cap or a hood that is prescribed by the university)., independent on the discipline of study.

The other alternative is the applied doctorate that is often associated with an expert in a profession that is called a ‘professional doctorate’. It is designed for people working in an industry that usually comprises part coursework and part research.

A professional doctorate is not issued by the university per se, it is issued by the faculty or division relating to the discipline. This means that at graduation they will generally wear the gown colours of the faculty of division they belong to as part of their gang.

Even though both doctoral degree options are deemed to have the same academic level standing, the purists will argue that for people who want to work in the industry as researchers or academics, a PhD is the pathway to follow.

The professional doctorate is recognised by the inclusion of the discipline in its name. For example, a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA), Doctor of Arts (DArts), Doctor of Engineering (DEng), Doctor of Letters (DLitt), Doctor of Laws (LLD), and Doctor of Science (DSc).

As Walden University[iv] well articulates, the professional doctorate is more focused on “applying research to practical problems, formulating solutions to complex issues, and designing effective professional practices within your field”.

Such degrees often incur a charge per unit, unlike the Phd that is a sponsored by the Government (in Australia). With the popularity of the MBA, one of the fastest ways to get a doctorate would be to continue study to attain the DBA qualification. 

A university may also issue an honorary[v] doctorate degree to outstanding experts in their field (like the founding Wiggles), which will typically include ‘Hon’ before the qualification (e.g., Hon DEng). 

There are some other confusing degree titles that are not actually doctorate degrees. For example, the Juris Doctor in the law discipline. It represents a graduate entry law degree (meaning you had to have another degree before starting the law degree). Some universities will argue that it is at a masters degree level, whereas others may deem it to be equivalent to an undergraduate bachelor of laws. Some countries use confusing terms too. For example, in Italy, you get a "Dottore" (literally meaning Doctor) when you graduate with an undergraduate bachelor degree. The actual title ‘Doctor’ can also refer to a "teacher" from the Latin word ‘doceo’, which means "I teach"). 

When selecting to do a doctoral degree, I found personally there was three key decisions to be made for those working professionals that makes it easier to do: 

1.   Passion for the Topic - it had to be a topic of great interest to you. Most people completing a PhD will say they were well and truly over the topic by the time they finished their studies. Therefore if you’re not passionate about the study upfront in the topic area then it may be very difficult to pursue it for the number of years required; 

2.   Parallel Aligned to Existing Work - having research you can do while you are working and therefore it can align to what you are doing as part of your employment. There is an area called ‘action research’ that is workplace-based research that may be worth considering. In my case, I just picked a topic that aligned to the work I was already doing as a consultant with clients; and 

3.   Aligned to Commercial outcomes - likely to be a bit more controversial for some, in my case I wanted to have a commercial outcome. This doesn’t mean that the output of the PhD was likely to be a commercial product, but may contribute to something that is commercially valuable that could later be further developed or turned into a tangible product that had a market value. Even Thomas A. Edison said, “Anything that won't sell, I don't want to invent. Its sale is proof of utility, and utility is success[vi].”  

The ‘Dr’ title reward that people often seek could be argued to be egotistical (i.e., driven by ego and image), however it does reflect the persistent and effort taken to achieve the highest of academic recognition.

About the Author

Adjunct Associate Professor Todd Hutchison teaches in MBA and Master of Engineering university programs.  He is an international bestselling business author, a nationally accredited trainer, certified speaking professional (CSP), and a global project management and behavioural specialist.

Todd has worked as an Academic Director and general staff Director and Councillor in university environments and is an adjunct with Curtin University and Edith Cowan University. He has worked in the University of Western Australia, Notre Dame University, CQUniversity, Victoria University, Deakin University, Curtin University, Edith Cowan University, Middlesex University, and the Fiji School of Medicine.

He leads the global Peopleistic Group, is a part of the executive team of the law firm Balfour Meagher and resides as the Global Chairman of the International Institute of Legal Project Management and a Board Director of Leadership Western Australia.

Todd’s PhD area is in behavioural sciences applied in business.

References

[i]     Refer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_of_Philosophy

[ii]    Allan Noble, Keith (2001). "Changing doctoral degrees: an international perspective, Society for Research into Higher Education, 1994, p. 8; Bourner, T., Bowden, R., & Laing, S. (2001). "Professional doctorates in England". Studies in Higher Education. 26 (1): 65–88. doi:10.1080/03075070020030724

[iii]    Refer https://www.mdx.ac.uk/courses/research/phd-by-public-works as an example.

[iv]    Refer https://www.waldenu.edu/online-doctoral-programs/resource/what-is-the-difference-between-a-phd-and-a-professional-doctoral-degree

[v]    A degree issued not through university work or publication, rather recognition of industry-based expertise or special standing.

[vi]   Refer https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/thomas_a_edison_149038.