Doctor (title)

This article is about the use and history of doctor as a title, for other uses see Doctor (disambiguation).

Doctor means teacher in Latin. It has been used continuously as an honored academic title for over a millennium in Europe, where it dates back to the rise of the university. This use spread to the Americas, former European colonies, and is now prevalent in most of the world. As a prefix — abbreviated "Dr." — its primary designation is a person who has obtained a doctorate (that is, a doctoral degree), which, with the exception of higher and academic doctorates, is the highest rank of academic degree awardable. Doctoral degrees may be "research doctorates," awarded on the basis of competency in research, or "taught doctorates" (also called "professional doctorates," because they are invariably awarded in professional subjects), awarded on the basis of coursework and adjunct requirements (if any) successfully completed by the conferee.

The noun "doctor" as a term used in academia and research

Throughout most of the academic world, the term "doctor" refers to an individual who earned a Doctor of Philosophy, or Ph.D. (an abbreviation for the Latin "Philosophiæ Doctor"; or alternatively Doctor philosophiæ, D.Phil., originally from the Greek Διδακτορ Φιλοσοφιας meaning Teacher of Philosophy). The Ph.D. was originally a degree granted by a university to learned individuals who had achieved the approval of their peers and who had demonstrated a long and productive career in the field of philosophy. The appellation of "Doctor" (from Latin: teacher) was usually awarded only when the individual was in middle age. It indicated a life dedicated to learning, to knowledge, and to the spread of knowledge.

The degree was popularized in the 19th century at the Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin as a degree to be granted to someone who had undertaken original research in the sciences or humanities. From there it spread to the United States, arriving at Yale University in 1861, and then to the United Kingdom in 1921. This displaced the existing Doctor of Philosophy degree in some Universities; for instance, the D.Phil. (higher doctorate in the faculty of philosophy) at the University of St Andrews was discontinued and replaced with the Ph.D. (research doctorate). However, some UK universities such as Oxford, York and Sussex retain the D.Phil. appellation for their research degrees, as does the University of Waikato in New Zealand.

Some ability to carry out original research must be documented by producing a dissertation or thesis, often of substantial length. The degree and title "doctor" is often a prerequisite for permanent (or nearly permanent) employment as a university lecturer or as a researcher in some sciences, though this varies on a regional basis. In others such as engineering or geology, a doctoral degree is considered desirable but not essential for employment. In a small but growing number of fields, the doctorate is felt to injure employment prospects by causing 'overqualification' for the job.

Medical profession

From the nineteenth century onward, "doctor" has been popularly used as a synonym for "physician" in Anglophone and many other countries; this term is commonly used as a title of address for physicians, whether or not they hold a doctorate. The primary medical qualification in the UK and in many Commonwealth countries is the 'Bachelors of Medicine and Surgery' degree (MB BS, MB ChB, BM BCh or MB BChir, depending on the University granting the award). In the UK the title "Dr" is officially conferred by the General Medical Council to graduates whose names are included on the list of 'Registered medical practitioners', a prerequisite to medical practice in the UK. After qualification, medical practitioners may read for the postgraduate research degree of 'Doctor of Medicine'. In the United States, however, the degree Medicinae Doctor (Latin, "Doctor of Medicine") is the qualifying degree. There is no prefatory undergraduate medical degree, but students theoretically may enter an M.D. programme with a baccalaureate in any subject. Practically, however, most "Pre-Med" students take their undergraduate degrees with a major/minor concentration in biology and/or chemistry. American medical schools expect a baccalaureate degree to have been completed prior to admission to a M.D. program. However, many medical schools also allow for exceptionally talented students to matriculate prior to completing their baccalaureate degree provided that they have successfully completed at least three years of undergraduate course work.

In American and Canadian parlance, "doctor" is most often used for all types of physicians and surgeons, including internists,pediatricians, psychiatrists, gynecologists, and all other surgical and nonsurgical specialists who hold M.D. degrees. The term may also apply to other fields of healthcare, to which the degree 'M.D.' is inapplicable, including doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.), doctors of Chiropractic (D.C.), doctors of Physical Therapy (D.P.T.), doctors of Podiatric Medicine (D.P.M.), doctors of Optometry (O.D.), doctors of Audiology (Au.D.) and so on. There are many other countries, such as France, where doctor is nearly always synonymous with "physician."

Note, though, that this is not the case in Germany, where a doctoral degree, and the title "Doktor" is only awarded to medical students if they complete a separate research thesis during their medical studies. The status of being a licenced physician (an "Arzt") is quite separate from this and comes from passing Medical Board Exams set by one of the German states ( Lander). A German physician who is licenced to practise medicine (passed his/her medical exams) but did not complete a research thesis would consider it inaccurate and even improper to style him/herself "Dr". They would typically write their qualifications in the form (in English): "State Med Exam (state)(year)" rather than the "MD" MBBS" or "MBCHB" familiar in Anglophone countries.

Legal profession

Academically, Law is a doctoral subject only in certain countries, the United States and all European countries among them. Centuries ago, lawyers were called "civil doctors," as distinct from the medical doctor and other types.

In United States practising lawyers are typically called "Mr." or "Ms./Mrs./Miss," regardless of whether they possess a doctoral degree or not. (Exceptions include the Channel Islands, where they bear the title of Advocate). This is a convention of the courts, of litigation and of the legal profession generally. The title Counselor is often used in courtrooms in the United States. A Judge or Justice in the United States is addressed as Judge followed by his or her surname outside the court room. In the court room, he or she is addressed as Your Honor. Practising lawyers usually are not addressed as "Doctor." An exception is when a lawyer with a doctoral degree is a witness in a proceeding, in which case that person may be addressed "Doctor" in the witness box.

Other countries as Austria, Portugal, most South American countries (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, and Uruguay) practising lawyers are called "Doctor". In France and Belgium is common to use the title "Maître".

Historically, American legal education followed the British model. Law was an undergraduate subject and a degree in law was an undergraduate degree, typically the Legum Baccalaureas (LL.B.) or Bachelor of Laws. This was the basic qualifying degree. People who wanted to teach in law school, or who wished to add to their knowledge after a few years of practice, would go on from the LL.B. to take the LL.M. or Master of Laws. The terminal degree in the sequence was the LL.D. or Doctor of Laws, the top law degree in The United Kingdom, Ireland, and throughout the Commonwealth. In the United States however, a course of events led to the LL.D. becoming a merely honorary degree, while law became considered a graduate subject and its degrees graduate-level degrees.

In most cases, an undergraduate degree in the United States is considered a basic foundation in academia, not a professional degree. Engineering is an exception. Nevertheless, as a general rule, an academic program requiring that the applicant earn an undergraduate degree prior to application for admission is considered a graduate program, and the degree conferred after completing that program is considered a graduate degree. The LL.B. degree, as a Bachelor's degree, is an undergraduate degree equal to a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science. The Juris Doctor degree became the standard legal degree, to reflect both the graduate nature of the training, and a professional standing.

By World War I, students had to complete two years or 60 credits of undergraduate coursework before admission to law school, this is still the rule enshrined in law in the State of California, though ABA-accredited law schools in the state exceed this minimum standard. Most ABA-accredited law schools require completion of a bachelor's degree for admission to law school.

The J.D./D.Jur. is a professional doctoral degree in law. By 1971, it had completely replaced the LL.B. in the American law school. Generally, one must have a bachelor's degree to be eligible for admission to a J.D. or D.Jur. programme.

Some schools issue nondoctoral graduate degrees in law in programs not meant to train lawyers. Loyola University of Chicago, for example, offers a Juris Magister or Master of Jurisprudence degree in health law, for health law professionals who require a working knowledge of law (e.g., to communicate intelligently with attorneys) but do not need to become attorneys.

The LL.M. is a post-J.D. degree and exists as a specialty for practicing tax, environment, or other specilaized areas in American law. It also exists as a special case in American legal tradition, as a conversion or adaptation of foreign legal training into qualifications to practice in the United States. Many states, for example, will accept a foreign law degree as a qualification for admission to practice if the degree is supplemented by a LL.M. degree from an American law school. A few American law schools already restrict enrollment in their LL.M. programmes to foreign-trained students.

A small number of American law schools, such as Georgetown University, offer explicitly post-J.D./LL.M. law programmes with the creation of the Scientiae Juris Doctor or S.J.D. degree (Doctor of the Science of Law). Like the Ph.D., the S.J.D requires scholarly research and the successful completion of a dissertation.

In Germany, a Doctor of Law was accorded the same privileges as a baron (including, for example, the privilege of being allowed to use the same hawk as a baron).

Other professions

Professional doctorates are many and varied, including the Doctor of Audiology, Educationis Doctor or Doctor of Education, Doctor of Business Administration, Doctor of Pharmacy, Doctor of Psychology, Doctor of Speech-Language Pathology, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Doctor of Musical Arts or Artes Musicalis Doctor, Doctor of Fine Arts, and so on. Many professional doctorates have some research and other requirements similar to the Ph.D., however, those doctorates have limited academic standing in most American academic institutions (unless they are teaching the profession). Other professional doctorates are purely "taught doctorates." Some Christian colleges award doctorates under various titles )Th.D, PhD and others); these too are of limited use outside the particular sect supported by the college itself.

The title Dr.Ing. (doctor of engineering) is a professional doctorate of high standing in Germany.

Use of "doctor" as a title of address

Those who possess a doctoral degree are generally entitled to call themselves "Doctor", although restrictions apply in some jurisdictions. Outside academia, the use of the term "doctor" as a form of address is usually limited to certain health professionals with doctoral degrees. For example medical doctors (physicians) usually use the title "Doctor" as a prefix. Dentists, podiatrists, chiropractors, osteopaths, optometrists and veterinarians are also called Doctor whether or not they possess a doctoral degree. (In the United States, however, they generally do).

In the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and other areas whose culture was recently linked to the United Kingdom, the title Doctor generally applies to both academic and clinical environment. "Registered medical practitioners" usually do not have a doctorate; rather, they have a Bachelor of Medicine. Cultural conventions exist, clinicians who are Members or Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons are an exception. As an homage to their predecessors, the barber surgeons, they prefer to be addressed as Mr, Mrs, Ms or Miss, even if they do hold a doctorate. This is first because they have normally achieved another degree - that of Master of Surgery (MCh from the Latin magister chirurgiae) from a university. When a medically-qualified person passes the notoriously difficult examinations which enable them to become a member of one or more of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons and become "MRCS", it is customary for them to drop the "doctor" prefix and take up "mister". This rule applies to any doctor of any grade who has passed the appropriate exams, and is not the exclusive province of consultant-level surgeons. In recent times, other surgically-orientated specialists, such as gynaecologists, have also adopted the "mister" prefix. Physicians, on the other hand, when they pass their "MRCP" examinations, which enable them to become members of the Royal College of Physicians, do not drop the "Doctor" prefix and remain doctor, even when they are consultants. In the United Kingdom the status and rank of consultant surgeons with the MRCS, titled "mister", and consultant physicians with the MRCP, titled "doctor", is identical. Surgeons in the USA and elsewhere remain steadfastly "doctor".

Many academic, research scientist and practioners in subjects allied to medicine also use Dr and/or their terminal degree after their last name. (Terminal degrees include Ph.D., Ed.D., or Psy.D.) In the United States when addressing formal correspondence those holding academic doctorates generally use the post-nominal, "Ph.D." but this is again a cultural convention. EU legislation recognises academic qualifications of all member states. In Germany, a recent federal law (signed by all cultural ministers) confirmed the standardisation of qualifications and recognised that non-Germans were also entitled to use the title Doctor if they possessed an equivalent and recognised qualification from within the EU. Until this law was introduced, there was no mechanism to prevent public funded bodies (such as universities) from automatically discriminating between the qualifications of people with Dr. rer. nat. compared to those with, for example, a Ph.D. Holders of doctorates from the EU are now "entitled" to use, and to be addressed as, a "Doctor" in Germany. Unfortunately, bureaucratic administrations in many public organisations, including German universities, appears to be unaware of this federal law and inavertently discriminate against people with non-German qualifications. Information regarding this German Law can be found elsewhere. Austrian academic recognition is (historically) more bureaucratic and often people are classified according to all of their qualifications. Again, this is more cultural with limited legal standing and is anyway superseded by EU law.

In Britain and other Commonwealth countries, holders of non-medical doctorates also use Dr as a form of address outside of academic settings. In formal correspondence the prefix Dr is used without a post-nominal. (In Commonwealth usage, Ph.D. is not commonly used as a post-nominal except when listing all qualifications and honours.)

Higher and Honorary doctorates

A higher doctorate is a doctoral degree that represents a higher level of achievement than a PhD (or equivalent). A higher doctorate is not based on a course of study or a thesis; rather, it is awarded after an examination of the candidate's publications since the award of the PhD. Higher doctorates generally have a different set of names from PhD--e.g. Doctor of Science (DSc), Doctor of Letters (DLitt), Doctor of Laws (LLD). A higher doctorate entitles its holder to use the prenominal Dr; however, since generally a higher doctorate must be preceded by a PhD, a recipient of a higher doctorate would be entitled to use that prenominal anyway.

An honorary doctorate is a doctoral degree awarded for service to the institution or the wider community. This service does not need be academic in nature. Often, the same set of degrees is used as for higher doctorates, but they are distinguished as being honoris causa. The degree of Doctor of the University (DUniv.) however is only awarded as an honorary degree.

Some consider it bad etiquette for recipients of an honorary degree to use the prenominal Dr unless they are otherwise entitled to do so, but some do so nonetheless. The prenominal Dr is in any case acceptable in formal contexts at the institution which granted it.

Other uses of "doctor"

In some regions such as the American South, "Doctor" is traditionally added to the first name of people (especially men) holding doctorates, where it is used in either direct or indirect familiar address, eg. "Dr. Bill" instead of "Dr. Smith."

"Doc" is a common nickname or for someone with a doctorate, or for a physician, in real life and in fiction — for example, the character "Doc" in Gunsmoke, and Doc Holliday. Also, Doc Savage, 'Man of Bronze', a series of young adult pulp fiction paperback books popular among US high school students during the 1960s and 1970s.

In Roman Catholicism, a Doctor of the Church is an eminent theologian (e.g. Thomas Aquinas) from whose teachings the whole Christian Church is held to have derived great advantage. This is not an academic title but reflects the most ancient sense of the word as "teacher".

Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum is a piano composition by Claude Debussy satirising Clementi's series of studies Gradus ad Parnassum.

In Italy the title of Dottore is awarded to the holder of any degree, even a Bachelor degree. Therefore, many Italians address each other and present themselves as Dr. even if not holding a doctorate degree.

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