As I understand Ph.D is a terminal degree for some one who is looking for "teaching credential" i.e to be professor and teach in the university. Its a research and publication for teaching. Doctorate is terminal degree for some one who get an Applied degree, i.e something that can be applied to the profession not only in theory but in practical way. DBA, JD, Psy.D are examples of "Applied" degrees. Learner takes the degree to use in career, advancement and use it maybe for new career, so practicality is the focus. Psy.D has more clinical, counseling and apply therapy. Looks to me that Applied Doctorate is more desirable? Appreciate your comments.
I think people read too much into minor distinctions. Both types require significant original research. -=Steve=-
Lerner - I think that you have a few different misconceptions going on here. First, they're ALL doctorates. PhD, DBA, PsyD, EdD etc. are all doctoral degrees. Second (as Steve said) there may not be any difference between an EdD and a PhD in Education. There may not be any difference between a DBA and a PhD in Business.
"Doctorate" is the broader term. A PhD is a doctorate. An Ed.D. is a doctorate. An Ed.D. is not a PhD.
I think I should have worded difference between Doctorates. Anyway here is an example of what I mean: Psy.D. Doctorate in Psychology stands for a “practitioner-scholar” model, It focuses more on the clinical aspect of psychology rather than the research. Individuals with this type of degree mostly pursue careers in clinical settings such as mental institutions, family therapy clinics, and hospitals. They also can be hired by Universities. In the academic world, currently someone with Ph.D. may be hired before a person with the Psy.D. Also if you want to pursue research, a Psy.D. program does not prepare someone on the level for this so in this case a Ph.D. would be a better choice The real decision comes down to what career you are aiming for. If you want to be in the area of research then the obvious choice would be Ph.D. If you rather work hands on in the clinical setting and will not move forward with research then your opportunity will await with the Psy.D. Norcross, J. C., Sayette, M. A., & Mayne, T. J. (2002). Insider's Guide to Graduate Programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology (2002-2003 ed.). New York: Guilford Press. I think maybe in Business world the Doctorates are closer. J.D is first professional degree, its more professional and Ph.D would be more research oriented.
I think you are correct in general, but I doubt that a person with a doctorate other than a PhD would be denied the ability to do research as long as he/she was pursuing a valuable subject. Being only about halfway done with my doctorate, I'm no expert on the subject, but it is my understanding that the distinction between doctorates has blurred over the years. Dr Pina has indicated some research that supports the growing equality between the various kinds of doctorates.
I'm sure that thee are people with PhDs in Clinical Psychology who are primarily Psychotherapists. I would be surprised if you couldn't find PsyDs teaching at the college level and doing research. I'm sure that PsyDs have to do some sort of dissertation or doctoral level project that requires research and that they are capable of doing post-doctoral research. I think that you may be exaggerating the distinctions between these sorts of degrees.
According to the U.S. Dept. of Education, the Ph.D., Ed.D., DBA, Th.D., S.J.D. and several others, are research doctorates, generally entered into after completing a masters degree and requiring an independent and original research proejct (dissertation). The J.D., M.D., DDS, DMD, PharmD, DVM, DPM, OD, DO and several others, are first professional degrees that qualify for entrance into specific professions. These are generally entered into after completing the bachelors degrees. Those wishing to seek a masters will do so after earning a first professional degree. Those with first professional degrees are generally called "doctor," although attorneys with a J.D. usually do not use that title, unless they are teaching. There has been little research comparing the Ph.D. in business with the DBA, so I am currently conducting a study along with a Degreeinfo regular who shall be named later. Studies comparing the Ph.D. in education with the Ed.D. have not found the degrees to differ much from each other (except in people's perceptions).
Perception is important. In general, unless your DBA is from Harvard, the general perception is that a DBA is inferior to a PhD. It doesn't help that most of the new online programs are DBA, DM, etc so the general perception is that the "Doctor of" in business tend to be the light version of the PhD. Some schools like NCU and Walden have both (PHD and DBA) and the DBA tends to be the less quantitative version of the PhD (PhD less stats, research methods, etc). For academic careers, the name and the reputation of the school matters more than the designation of the degree. It won't matter much if DBA or PhD if you are an accomplished professor that generate grants and publish frequently. The name of the school is also important for academic careers as this will appear in the University's catalog so many schools tend to only hire people from known places.
The school can, indeed, be quite important and, for full-time tenure-track faculty at graduate business programs, AACSB accreditation is also important. So far, out research does not seem to indicate that the DBA is less quantitative than the PhD or that it is PhD lite, but we are still in the data collection phase. We'll see what happens when we perform the data analysis. What we do know is that the regional accrediting agencies, the three specialized accrediting bodies (AACSB, IACBE and ACBSP) do not distinguish between the DBA and PhD in their published accreditation procedures and consider faculty with either degree to be "doctorally qualified" to teach in their accredited schools of business.
Whose perception are you talking about? My perception is that a DBA is more difficult to achieve than a PhD.
