http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree of the highest level. The term comes from the Latin doctor, meaning "teacher." It originated in Medieval Europe as a license to teach at a university. In this sense doctoral training was a form of apprenticeship to a guild. The traditional term of study before new teachers were admitted to the guild of "Masters of Arts," seven years, was the same as the term of apprenticeship for other occupations. Originally the terms "master" and "doctor" were synonymous, but over time the doctorate came to be regarded as a higher qualification than the master's degree.
Types of doctorate
Since the Middle Ages, there has been considerable evolution and proliferation in the number and types of doctorates awarded by universities throughout the world, and practices vary from one country to another. Broadly speaking, though, doctorates may be loosely classified into the following categories.
Research doctorates
Research doctorates are awarded in recognition of academic research that is in principle publishable in a peer-refereed context (such as a research journal or monograph) and represents at least a modest contribution to human knowledge. The research is usually assessed by submission and defense of a thesis or dissertation, or of a suitable body of published work.
The most common example of this type is the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), which has become particularly widespread over the past century. Other examples include the Doctor of Engineering (EngD) in the United States and United Kingdom and the Doctor rerum naturalium (Dr.rer.nat.) in Germany.
Minimum periods for research doctorates vary considerably: In the UK and USA the minimum time for completing a Ph.D. is usually three years following the completion of a master's degree, however there is an increasing trend in the UK for students obtaining first class honours degrees to progress straight into a Ph.D. programme. Although completions within this period are possible, most candidates take considerably longer: anywhere from five to ten years. During the late 1990s, the UK research councils introduced penalties (in the form of a reduction of future funding) for departments whose students regularly failed to submit their thesis within four years (full time) from initial registration. Students in the physical sciences typically have shorter completion times than students in the arts due to their better access to funding sources. In the USA, the research doctorate normally requires two to three years of coursework and a minimum of three years of research. Coursework is increasingly becoming a required component in research doctorates around the world.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_of_Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated Ph.D. for the Latin Philosophiæ Doctor, meaning "teacher of philosophy," (or, more rarely, D.Phil., for the equivalent Doctor Philosophiæ) is an advanced academic degree. In the English-speaking world it has become the most common denomination for a research doctorate and applies to graduates in a wide array of disciplines in the sciences and humanities. The Ph.D. has become a requirement for a career as a university teacher or researcher in many fields. In addition, many Ph.D graduates go on to careers in government departments, NGOs, or in the private sector.[1]
The detailed requirements for award of a Ph.D. vary throughout the world; however the common factors are that the candidate must submit a thesis consisting of a suitable body of original academic research, which is in principle worthy of publication in a peer-refereed context, and must defend this work before a panel of expert examiners appointed by the university. There is usually a prescribed minimum period of study (typically two and a half years full time) which must take place before submission of the thesis (this requirement is usually waived for academic staff submitting a portfolio of peer-reviewed published work).
Another common requirement is that the candidate must also successfully complete a certain number of advanced courses relevant to their area of specialization. In some countries (the US and Canada, for example), all universities require coursework for Ph.D. degrees. In many other countries (especially those, such as the UK, which have a greater degree of specialisation at undergraduate level) there is no such condition in general; however it is not uncommon for individual universities or departments to specify analogous requirements for students not already in possession of a master's degree. Universities in the non-English-speaking world have begun adopting similar standards to those of the Anglophone Ph.D. for their research doctorates (see, for example, Bologna Process).[2]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bologna_Process
The purpose of the Bologna process (or Bologna accords) is to create the European higher education area by making academic degree standards and quality assurance standards more comparable and compatible throughout Europe. It is named after the place it was proposed, the University of Bologna with the signing, in 1999, of the Bologna declaration by ministers of education from 29 European countries in the Italian city of Bologna. This was opened up to other countries, and further governmental meetings have been held in Prague (2001), Berlin (2003) and Bergen (2005); the next meeting will take place in London in Spring 2007.
Before the signing of the Bologna declaration, the Magna Carta Universitatum had been issued at a meeting of university rectors celebrating the 900th anniversary of the University of Bologna - and thus of European universities - in 1988. One year before the Bologna declaration, education ministers Claude Allegre (France), Jürgen Rüttgers (Germany), Luigi Berlinguer (Italy) and the Baroness Blackstone (UK) signed the Sorbonne declaration in Paris 1998, committing themselves to "harmonising the architecture of the European Higher Education system". French officials in particular therefore often refer to the La Sorbonne/Bologna process.
The Council of Europe and UNESCO have jointly issued the Lisbon recognition convention on recognition of academic qualifications as part of the process, which has been ratified by the majority of the countries party to the Bologna process.
