If a person earns a PhD in X with a specialization in Y, can that person say that they have a PhD in X or a PhD in Y depending on what best fit the situation? Is this stretching the truth or is this an acceptable practice?
Do you mean, for example, a PhD in Education but the area of specialty is specifically Higher Education Administration? Seems to me that common practice in that case is to refer to it as a PhD in Education when the specialty isn't important and as a PhD in Higher Education Administration when the specific study is pertinent to the situation.
Consider this. Suppose an individual earns a PhD in Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences with concentration in History and Literature at the Union Institute and University (supposing said concentrations survive the current changes). As Chairman of the Department, which presentation of said individual's resume would you find to be the more informative ? PhD, Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences, Union Institute & University, 2010 OR PhD, History & Literature, Union Institute & University, 2010
That is exactly what I mean. Say someone earns a PhD in Business Administration with a specialization in Operations Research...would it be an acceptable practice to either state PhD in Business Administration or PhD in Operations Research depending on what is more pertinent to the situation? I'm just not sure if these two topics specifically are closely related enough to state one or the other or does this really matter? If your transcripts state both the major and the specialization, I would think you could go with which one is more pertinent.
To me it would likely depend on whether I thought the person to whom I was speaking would actually understand the distinction. In general I would say that the more specific the reply the more accurate the reply. Jack
I would think if you listed a PhD in Operations Research it would be a misrepresentation. When I complete my PhD it will be a PhD in Business Administration / Management. I would never list it as a PhD in Management. Just my opinion.
It is acceptable practice to mention either X or Y. Someone who earned a PhD in business administration with a specialization in operations management could say, quite legitmately, that they have a doctorate in business administration or a doctorate in operations management. Mentioning that the specialization or major was operations management would be most precise, but that level of precision is typically not necessary in common practice. Tony Piña, Ed.D. Administrator, Northeastern Illinois University
Most universities do not list the disipline of the degree on the official diploma. For example, the degree will just say that John Doe has been granted the degree of "Doctor of Philosophy" or "Doctor of Business Administration". Period. For exclusively research-based degree with no coursework requirements, something like the following would be appropriate. Ph.D., Judge Institute of Management University of Cambridge Theis Title: "Organizational Behaviour in Project Based Teams"
This is exactly what I do. I have a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Higher Education and a specialization in Nontraditional Higher Education. I've used all three as they were relevant. When someone asks what I got my Ph.D. in, I usually say something like, "in Higher Ed.; I specialized in nontraditional higher education, looking at accreditation, diploma mills, distance education, etc."
