There is a huge number of people who have obtained their master’s degrees and looking forward to further enhancing their knowledge in their respective fields of study. For a lot of people, a master’s degree is the top-most degree that they can get, but for some knowledge-hungry people who want to learn more and reach the top-most level of the knowledge in their subjects, there are further options for education as well. One such option is a doctoral degree. This is a degree that you do once you have obtained your master’s degree and have done substantial work in your field.

What is a Doctorate’s Degree?

A doctorate’s degree is the most advanced degree in any field of study that you obtained after a master’s degree. This is a degree that is only obtained once you have mastered a specific area of knowledge in a field. For example, a doctorate’s degree in nuclear physics means that this person has mastered nuclear physics. Apart from that, it also demonstrates that the person who has obtained this degree has done a lot of research work in his/her particular subject as well. In most countries, the doctorate is the highest level of education in a subject that you can reach. Some degrees can be done after a doctorate. But still, reaching this level means you have obtained the most advanced and accurate knowledge in your field.

A lot of people get the job of teaching or research work after they complete their subjects. For example, a person who has completed his doctorate in the field of fundraising part in business administration can teach at different universities about his/her research. Most of the time people who obtain doctorate degrees have done substantial research in their respective fields. This research can help them earn a distinction and name for themselves in that field. If your research can help humanity in any way, you will be rewarded greatly. Awards like the Nobel prize in science are mostly given to the doctoral candidates who have presented their research and their research proved to be very helpful in helping humankind in any way.

For example, Godfrey Hounsfield and Allan MacLeod Cormack, their research led to the invention of Computerized Axial Tomography, which was very helpful in the diagnosis of different illnesses and founded the basis for CT scan and MRI technology. Both of them shared a Nobel prize in the field of medicine for their research and invention of CAT scan. This is an example of how you can excel in your field after a doctorate. Your doctorate provides you knowledge, and expertise in your field, and intrigues you to find the answers to unanswered questions. From these examples, you can get a better idea about what a doctorate is and what it can do for you and your career.

Types

Most people get confused while thinking about a doctorate, as the people who have completed a doctorate are also called doctors. They are not doctors of medicine, but still, they are called doctors. There is a reason behind this, the word doctor, and the doctor is Latin words that translate into a teacher. As the latest education system is mostly a derivation of the Latin education system of the early British Empire days, these words and their meanings still haven’t changed and the people who complete their doctoral degrees are called doctors.

There are three different types of doctoral/doctorate programs. Below is complete detail about these three degrees and how they are different from each other.

• Research Oriented – Ph.D.: This Doctorate is research-oriented and it is known as the Ph.D.or doctor of philosophy. It is awarded to a person who has not only completed a substantial amount of research in his field but also has completed all the requirements for a Ph.D. degree. It is known as the most advanced degree in any field, including science, commerce, education, and many general fields. After the master’s degree, you pick a subject from your field and enroll yourself in Ph.D. with the purpose of research, and innovation in that subject.
  
  After that during the time of your degree, you work hard to give the answers to the questions in your field to open new horizons of research work. Once your research is complete, you are awarded a doctorate or a Ph.D.degree in your subject of study. Now, you will be considered an authority in that subject or area of study, and you will be eligible to teach that subject to others at the university level. Apart from teaching, you can continue your research in your field as well.
  
  People who reach this level of education do not have to worry about finding a job, as most of the time universities and research institutions invite such people to work with them. Your research work can also lead you into landing multiple awards, and certificates from national and international research bodies. If your work is somehow helping any industry, for example, people with a Ph.D. in AI are helping google and other computer and AI-based companies into how they can improve their services. So, work and research at the Ph.D. level also have an important impact on industries around the world as well.

• Professional Doctorate – ProfDoc: A professional doctorate, or ProfDoc for short, is a professional doctorate that you can obtain in your profession. Think of a doctor of pharmacy degree, it is an example of a professional doctorate. Unlike the Ph.D., his degree is more field work-oriented. It is also known as an alternative for the Ph.D.in some fields. People who pursue these degrees have an aim at learning the implementation of new technologies, and knowledge in their respective fields.
  
  For example, a person with a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) degree, would learn about the skills related to the business and new ways to enhance the exposure of the business, or will learn about innovations in business processes to further enhance his/her expertise. It is different from the Ph.D.level degree as it does not always involve a huge amount of research while studying, although it requires research and innovation as well. Another difference between a research doctorate and a professional doctorate is that professional doctorates are more career-oriented and professional orientated. Meanwhile, the Ph.D.degrees is more research-oriented.

• Honorary Doctorate: This is an informal and honorary degree awarded by universities to the people who have done a lot of philanthropist work or have worked in a specific field of science that deserve a degree. It is given to them to honor their work.

How Does a Doctorate Study Program Work?

A lot of people are unaware of the doctorate basics, such as how your doctorate course of study would work. This is simple and complex at the same time. Simple in a way that if you have done prior research in your subject of study and difficult in a way that if you have will have to go through a different academic procedure as compared to your previous education. Normally in a school, college, and university level education, you are assigned a certain book and topic to read about, and then your understanding of these subjects is tested through the exams.

But in doctorate degrees, this is not the case most of the time. In doctorate degrees, you select a core subject for your research and study everything about it. You will not be tested based on your exam numbers, but based on your understanding of the topic, and what new research you have performed while studying for your doctoral degree. Here are four major steps that you need to know about for a doctoral degree.

• The Research Core: It is the first step in your doctorate. Your research core can also be considered a review of your knowledge in the field so that you can learn more about it. Your research core classes will take you from fundamental knowledge of your subject to the most advanced understanding of the subject of interest. Think of it as a foundation for your future research. Apart from it, you also learn the required skills for the research or implementation in case you are doing a professional doctorate and not a research doctorate.
  
  Apart from learning about your field of study basics and advancements, you also learn about writing a research paper. You learn about the specific formats that are used for everything in the research paper. You also learn about conducting experiments, driving results, analyzing these results, and making conclusions based on the experiment data. All of this is crucial for the next steps in your doctorate.

• Mastering Major Focus Areas: After completing your first step in the doctorate you move towards mastering your major focus areas of study. We all know that all fields of science and arts are attached to other fields. Everything in the knowledge base is connected to multiple other fields. For example, computer science involves mathematics, physics, and a doctor of medicine needs to learn about surgery, medicine, chemistry, biology, and other subjects. Similarly, a doctorate candidate needs to master all the focus areas of his/her field of study.
  
  If you are doing a doctorate in particle physics, you will have to master the mathematics related to that particular physics. Or if you are doing a Ph.D. in Latin literature, you will have to learn about the history of your subject. This is a very important part of your doctoral degree. As in this step, you learn about the context of your subject and how it relates to other fields of study. This knowledge helps you determine how your research or applied work can improve this field that is connected to your field.

• Elective Subjects: During your studies, you will also have to take some elective subjects. These subjects are related to your field, but they come as electives because you also have other options to choose from. For example, if you are learning natural language processing in AI, you can learn about subjects such as machine learning and data sciences as elective subjects. Apart from these, there are other subjects as well that you can take according to your choice. Not Just in Ph.D. programs but also in the professional doctoral programs also have these elective subjects that you have to take. For example, a doctor of medicine would need to undertake elective subjects such as communication.

• Dissertation: This is the most important part of your Ph.D. or professional doctorate. This is the part where you write your thesis work. A dissertation is defined as the official document that a doctoral candidate submits to the relevant authority in the university as his/her work. All of your work from learning fundamentals about a topic, and doing complete research, and presenting your findings comes under this. Your dissertation or thesis determines your knowledge of the subject, the authenticity of your research, and your ability to analyze the data and produce the result in the right way.
  
  You should write your thesis or dissertation by yourself, or if you are a group of people, you should work on parts of it that are relevant to you and give proper credit to anyone who has helped you through your project. For example, if you have used equations from someone else’s derivation, you should give them credit in your thesis that you were about to complete that part of your work with the help of this person’s derived methods. Your dissertation determines if you are eligible for a Ph.D. or doctoral degree or not.

Requirements for Dissertation

As you have learned in the above paragraph the dissertation is the most important part of your doctoral degree. It is very important to fulfill all of its requirements. But you can only fulfill these requirements if you are fully aware of them. Here is a complete guide into the dissertation requirements for a Ph.D. Level degree.

• First thing is that you make sure that your prior work is complete, you have completed learning your elective subjects, a major area of focus, and you are completely aware of the foundation of your area of study.
• Second thing, you should know that each institute has its format for the dissertation, but the five-chapter format is the most common for many doctoral programs. These five chapters of the dissertation are broken down into three different phases.
• You will have to submit a proposal or prospectus related to your dissertation to the authorities in your university. This will be accepted by the authority and you will be given a green light to continue your research.
• In the second phase, you complete collecting the data related to your dissertation and you also prepare your first chapter.
• In the third phase, you start writing your thesis and complete it. Apart from writing it, you also learn about verbally defending your work. This is very important as your work may be challenged by the expert. So, you should prepare for that and make sure that you have covered all the basics and know what you are presenting.
• But if you are applying for a doctorate in a profession, you will have to find the solution to a real-world problem. For example, if your topic was fundraising, you will have to come up with a unique approach to raise funds. That is not only scientifically correct but also has a better chance at success than any other technique. Or if you are doing it in neurosurgery, you will have to come up with a solution to some problem that was part of your major study.
• Another important requirement of your dissertation is that your work should be 100% your creation, and you should not have used any plagiarized material. If you used someone’s work in your paper, you should give them proper credit. Apart from that, there is a limit to how much work from other people you can take. Make sure that you do not cross that limit while writing your thesis.

The dissertation should be written with great care so that there are no mistakes, as it would seem unprofessional. You can use different tools to detect and rectify the errors in your written work.

Admission Requirements Doctorate Degree

Here are some of the basic requirements for a doctorate.

1. You must have a bachelor’s and master’s degree in the relevant fields.
2. You must have secured more than 60% marks in each of your degree programs, especially the subject in which you want to do a Ph.D. For example, if you are doing a Ph.D. in Artificial intelligence, you must have a background in computer science education. Apart from that, you must have secured more than sixty percent GPA in your subject of study.
3. You should have a complete application form, that you will submit online, or offline in some cases. Your form must include all the basic documents that your educational institute has instructed you to bring.
4. You will also have to produce your result cards of entry tests, GRE, or GMAT depending on your degree. You should take these tests before applying and carry your results while applying for admission to Ph.D.

These are the basic requirements for you to complete before applying for admission. Make sure that you are carrying all your documents, and submit everything properly before the deadlines. After that, you will be given admission and you can continue your doctorate.

How Much Does a Doctorate Degree Cost?

The cost of a doctorate varies greatly in the United States. The reason behind this is that a lot of the students who attempt fail in the first four to five attempts. This leads to them spending a lot more time than they anticipated. The extra time that you will spend at your university will cost you more. The average cost per year for a doctorate in the United States can cost 30000$. You can multiply this by the time you will be spending in university. For example, if you spend 4 years on your doctorate, you will be spending 120,000$ in total. But if you spend more time, as per average doctoral degree time, 8 years, you will be paying almost 240,000$ in total.

But, the good news is that most of the time the cost of your degree and studies is partially or fully covered by the funds. There are a lot of funds in different fields that offer doctoral degree funding. You can apply for that and get funding, but if you can’t you should be ready because apart from these costs, you may also need a lot more money to spend on your project or dissertation. Because collecting data at a huge scale requires a lot of resources and you will have to spend a lot more money on your dissertation, research, and project than you can assume. It is a high-cost degree, but it will set you up for your career. So, it is a good investment into your future if you can.

How Long Does it Take to Get Your Doctorate?

There is no specific timeline for a doctorate program as there is a timeline for master, and bachelor’s degrees. The reason behind this no specific timeline is that students need more time to concentrate and work on their thesis. Some students can complete their thesis during their studies, which normally lasts four to five years, but some students need a lot more time than that.

The average time spent in university to earn a Ph.D. degree is 8 years, which means some students can cover it before eight, and some students need further extensions. This is a very long time that you will have to spend in your college or university as you will have to do research, and study, or find the solution and test them in the real world. But there is a solution to this long-timing problem. A lot of experts in academics suggest that you should start your study before you even apply for a Ph.D. or doctoral degree. This will give you extra time before the start of your degree. You can utilize this time to master fundamentals.

When to Seek a Doctorate Degree?

You should not directly jump from a master’s to a doctorate, you should first complete some work in your field. Fieldwork would enhance your knowledge and understanding of the practical implementation of your knowledge. This can help you during your studies. Apart from that, by having practical experience, you will be aware of real-world problems and you will be able to identify and solve them.

This will help you in your research, and all other parts of your course of study. Applying for a doctorate without any field knowledge can be disastrous for you. For that reason, you should work in your field, understand the norms, and then start your preparation for a doctorate. As you are aware of the fact that a Ph.D. degree would cost you a lot of money and time, you should prepare for that as well. Make sure that you have enough that can last for 6 to 8 years, and you can spare time so that you can study.

Importance In your Career and Benefits

Having a doctorate can alter the course of your career. It is the most advanced degree and that means you become an authority figure in your relevant subject. For example, if you have a doctorate in business administration, you will be appointed as a head of a department, or as the CEO of a company and not just an employee. Only a few people reach the doctorate level and complete it successfully, this gives you a complete distinction among your peers and your competitors. This competitive edge helps you build a successful career.

Here are some benefits of a doctorate:

• You will learn the most advanced skills and obtain the highest level of knowledge in your relevant field. You can utilize these skills and knowledge to improve your field. Not only that, your research will be helping a lot of people from your field as it will be providing the answers to many problems.
• It will create an opportunity for you to become an academic and teach your research to the students. People who have doctorate degrees, mostly teach at universities and higher educational institutes.
• You can help others in your field to learn about your research and benefit from it. For example, if you researched artificial intelligence, you can teach the companies who work in that field so that they can benefit from your research.
• You will no longer have to look for jobs, as after your doctorate, you will most likely be called by institutes worldwide to deliver the knowledge you have gained through your research to other researchers or share the solution to real-world problems that you found.

There is a huge list of career benefits for the people who complete their doctorate studies in any field. I have listed a few above to give you an idea.

Summary and Conclusion

A doctorate is the most academic degree in any field of study and it is awarded by universities to the people who research to find the solutions to real-world problems during that course of study. There are three basic types of doctorate degrees, first one requires research such as Ph.D., and the next one is known as the professional doctorate in which you find the solution to a problem in the real world. The third one is an honorary degree that is awarded to the people to honor their philanthropist work or work in their field of study.

A doctoral degree takes on average 4 to 8 years to complete. During this time, you will learn about the fundamentals of your subject of study. Apart from fundamentals, you will also learn about elective subjects, and core subjects related to your field. This knowledge will be crucial for you when you start writing your dissertation. A dissertation is a thesis or a paper that you write about your research. Your degree depends on your research paper or your dissertation, and that is why you should give it full time. There are specific requirements for your dissertation that you need to fulfill.

Having a doctorate is very beneficial for your career as it can help you land a high-profile job in teaching, or implementing knowledge in the real world.  You can be a guide in your field and teach others about your work. So, your doctorate can change your life the same way it changes your career.