Use of Degree Initials

If someone earns a degree from Great Britian/South Africa, is it considered acceptable to use the American/Canadian version of the initials. For example, D.Phil/Ph.D. or D.th/Th.D. Or is the standard practice to use the initials/designation as they are used in the country where the degree came from.

I realize there are not any etiquette police but I thought I would ask.

North

 

My opinion: It is ethical to use either, so long as the unabbreviated degree title is the same.


Peace,

------------------
Tom Head
www.tomhead.net

 

Having browsed through more college/university/seminary catalogs than I care to count, using the letters as they are designated by the awarding school is what I have most often noticed.

I don't know that there is a generally accepted practice (GAP) on this issue, but like you would be interested to know!

Russell

 

I know no one with a DPhil who would use the letters "PhD" (only DPhils I can think of are Oxon and York, and I think, Sussex). Likewise an MPhil or MLitt: usually I just say "masters." The question would arise for the funky UNISA DLitt et Phil (or is it vice-versa?); I'd just use the SA designation.

jon
---
who translated his wife's Belgian "Licentiate in de Rechten" as "Doctor of Laws" on her CV. No abbreviations.

 

The diploma would say Doctor of Philosophy, wouldn't it, not D.Phil. If that's the case, what's the difference how you abbreviate it?

Scott

 

Very good question. I share the opinion that a degree title like DLitt et Phil should not be tampered with because there is no other abbreviation that quite corresponds to it. For example, one prominant graduate of UNISA's DLitt et Phil in New Testament, a gentleman who was formerly on the faculty of Liberty University and remains an adjunct there, commonly prints his degree title (he is widely published) as DPhil (eliminating the "Litt et"). This really bothers me for the simple reason that this man did not earn the DPhil (also, because when people in theological circles see "DPhil" they usually automatically make an association with Oxford); he earned the DLitt et Phil. Another thing that I encounter from time to time is UNISA DTh grads that want to refer to their degree as a PhD. Of course, the UNISA Faculty of Theology website indicates that the DTh essentially corresponds to a PhD at other institutions. However, UNISA has not chosen to offer the PhD in Theology, they offer the DTh. This being so, one should not claim to have a PhD in theology from UNISA, for no such thing exists.

Now, of course the question about DPhil/PhD applies primarily to the UK (most South African institutions seem to offer the PhD, although individual faculties within a few South African institutions do offer DPhil's). And in the UK, there is really only one institution that is set apart by the DPhil nomenclature--Oxford (although I do believe that Essex or Sussex or Surrey or somewhere like that does offer the DPhil in certain faculties). I agree with what has been said above that anyone with an Oxford doctorate is not going to want to change the way it is abbreviated.

Now, the question about DTh/ThD seems to apply pretty exclusively to South African institutions. Apart from Greenwich School of Theology, which has structured its degree programs to articulate with those of the the South African Potchefstroom University, no other UK school offers ThD's or DTh's. And, Australian schools seems pretty unanimously to offer the ThD (just as is the case in the US and Canada, where you shouldn't find a single DTh on offer). Where South African doctorates are concerned, I'd say that there probably is some room to use DTh and ThD interchangeably. Occasionally, I see American UNISA grads listing their credential as a ThD. They do this, I assume, primarily because the ThD abbreviation is more familiar and understandable to the American eye. However, I do sense the need to be somewhat cautious. For example, no one graduating from a German or Swiss institution with a DTheol would ever represent this degree as a ThD (I have never seen this, ever.); although these two degrees likely would correspond to one another in character. Similarly, within South Africa, certain institutions (like PUCHE) offer the ThD, while other institutions (like Stellenbosch and UNISA) offer the DTh. While, as an outsider looking in in the situation, I can't perceive any real distinction in the nature of these degrees (perhaps apart from the fact, for example, that a PUCHE ThD requires one to have a background in Biblical languages regardless of the subject area in which one wishes to undertake research, whereas a UNISA DTh does not require a language background for anyone studying in areas other than NT, OT, and Religious Studies), South Africans do not seem to use these abbreviations interchangeably. If you look at the faculty list of pretty much any South African institution, you will note that those who received a DTh are listed with this credential, and those who earned the ThD (whether in SA or the Netherlands, which seems, understandably, to be a doctoral Mecca for Dutch Reformed scholars in SA)are listed with this credential. This being so, when we endeavor to earn degrees on foreign soil, we need to be careful that we understand the cultural traditions or heritage attached to their academic categories and show proper respect. So, I guess the proper thing might be to ask South Africans whether they deem it appropriate to use the ThD and DTh interchangeably.

Anyhow, that's my two cents worth.

By the way, this very question has had tremendous bearing in my own search for a doctorate. I, ultimately, have come to the conclusion that, if I am going to earn a foreign doctorate that I wish to use within the American academic community, the PhD is going to be the most "marketable". At least, this seems to be the advice that I am receiving from many in "the know," and is the very reason, from what I understand, that an institution like Dallas Theological Seminary, for decades a prominent granter of ThD's, has begun offering the PhD in recent years (not to suggest, of course, that the ThD is no longer acceptable or of value within theological circles; the PhD is simply a more versatile credential). Anyhow, if I want to access the breadth of opportunities that a PhD will provide, I shouldn't attempt to earn some other degree (such as a DLitt et Phil) and then spend my years trying to eliminate confusion or suspicion by passing it off or misrepresenting as a PhD, regardless of whether my degree corresponds to a PhD.

 

The seeming sensitivity of South Africans to this matter of degree abbreviations is illustrated well by the faculty list at UNISA's Faculty of Theology. One might think that, because they offer the DTh, they might be prone to abbreviate all similar degrees in this same manner. However, this isn't so. For example, within the Dept. of Missiology, N. A. Botha is listed as possessing the "DrsTh" from Utrecht and the DTh from UNISA; within the Dept. of NT, I. J. du Plessis is listed as possessing the ThD from Kampen in the Netherlands; within the Dept. of OT, J. A. Loader is listed as possessing the DLitt from Pretoria, the ThD from Groningen, and the DTh from UNISA; in the Dept. of Rel. Studies, J. S. Krueger is listed as possessing the "Drs.Teol" from Free University in Amsterdam, and the DTh from UNISA; Erasmus van Niekerk of the Dept. of Systematic Theology is listed as possessing the DrsTh from Kampen, and the DTh from UNISA. Clearly, these distinctions must matter somewhat to these scholars if they take such care to distinguish between them. So, again, perhaps the best thing would be to consult South Africans about this matter.

 

When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

Bill H

 

Like so many other great questions in life I think that there is a definite answer to your question, and it is: It depends.

When it comes down to it, what isthe reason for changing the abrieviation? If, on the one hand, it is for clarity (e.g., Ph.D. and DPhil are both "Doctor of Philosophy") I think you have no problem. After all the title is the name of the degree, not the little letters after your name.

If, on the other hand, you are trying to misrepresent the degree you have (say a Th.D. as a Ph.D.) because of a perceived increase in your prestige, it would certainly be out of line.

I think Bill said it well in a lot fewer words than me.

 

For the most part I agree that it doesn't matter much in the grand scheme of things. However, I am quite certain that the folks at Oxford, for example, would not be privy to having their Doctor of Philosophy degree abbreviated as PhD. For generations, the DPhil abbreviation has been a significant, cherished part of Oxford's distinctive identity. It is to Oxford what the "Z" is to Zorro. In all seriousness, I believe that, in the eyes of most Oxford folk, representing the DPhil as the PhD would be like buying a Rolls Royce, tearing off the hood ornament, and replacing it with a Mercedes Benz ornament. Of course, both are excellent cars; yet, in doing this, you are compromising something that is a cherished symbol of the Rolls Royce tradition. So, we need to bear in mind that, in similar fashion, many other institutions have traditions just as strong. This being so, if we choose to affiliate ourselves with a particular institution, we need to be willing to support the tradition of that institution, despite the fact that this grossly violates our pragmatic, utilitarian American tendencies. And, within the academic community, I think that this sort of thinking would be widely supported.

 

I don't disagree with you. What I'm saying is that, if the degree is awarded as "Doctor of Philosophy," it should be up to the holder to determine how he wants to abbreviate it.

Scott

 

Even if one chooses such unorthodox letters as: DoPh, PhoD, Dr.P., P.Dr., etc.?

 

That would be their business, if they want to have to keep explaining it. More likely one would choose between Ph.D. and D.Phil., depending on circumstances.

Scott

 

Some schools do have an approved abbreviation for their degrees. The UWS Master os Astronomy abbreviation is approved as per the web link:
http://www.uws.edu.au/profile/general/courses?location=10148

John

 

Interesting, John. I wonder who "approves" the abbreviation? Does the Australian government, or an agency thereof, approve it, or the school itself? If the former, is this common in other countries?

Scott

 

Interesting questions. I do not know if it is the school, gov., or some other entity. I may ask. If there are some Aussie educators out there that know the answer please let us know?

Thanks,

John

 

Interesting link John. That is surely one of the strangest designations (cracked me up).

Incidentally, it was mentioned by someone that the D.Phil is somewhat limited to certain British schools. It appears that at least one SA school also uses the designation.

North

 

You are quite right. UNISA, for example, offers the PhD in the hard sciences, but the DPhil in the social sciences. Pretoria offers the PhD in most areas, but the DPhil in psychology, or something (it's listed in Bear's guide). I'm sure this must be the case in numerous other South African universities. However, their is no South African institution that offers the DPhil across the board as their only, or primary, degree abbreviation. This is interesting, because, if from faculty to faculity within individual South African institutions, they differentiate between the PhD and the DPhil, they must understand there to be some hard and fast distinction between these two abbreviations. In other words, to them, these abbreviations must really mean something distinct. Perhaps it just says something about the various academic traditions out of which these various degree areas were born.

 

That difference within insitutions is interesting. Does anyone happen to know why that difference exists??

North

 

There are also political reasons for the use of particular degree initials. I believe that there has been a long-standing tradition in many US universities (exclusively Ivy?)to use the initials AB/AM/ PhD to distinguish their degrees from those of British universities.

Regards,

Jeffrey