2 or 3 years PhD

Hi everybody. I used to know that PhD programs last for 3 years but recently I learned about programs offered in 2 years. What do you think? Are they acceptable?

 

The time-in-program requirement alone should have no bearing on the acceptability of the resulting degree. But these things are seldom considered in isolation.

 

Most doctoral programs require a minimum of 2 years. The question is, can you finish it in two years? Can you come up with an original contribution to your field with results that can be published in a decent journal in two years? Most of the time takes just 3 years to publish in a serious journal from the time you have the results to publication and for this reason many take 5 years to complete a PhD that requires publications for graduation.

You might argue that just need the doctor title in a resume and can care less about research and publication. There are some of the called "professional doctorates" that are not meant to train researchers but practitioners that many times do not require publications but just an applied project, this type of doctorate might be able to be finished in 2 years but doesn't really lead to academic careers but just boosting resumes for professional careers.

So it depends a lot on what you want to do with your doctorate. Zero publications means that you will not be able to apply for an academic or research job.

 

Oh, I don't know. From what I've learned, these degrees do a lot more than burnish resumes. That's been my experience, anyway.

 

I agree, but they are marketed as executive doctorates that can be finished really fast and are mainly for people interested in executive and not research careers and for this reason the reduced times. The reality is that most people with these doctorates end using them for adjunct positions or full time teaching careers at teaching schools that do not require research oriented profiles but the doctorate becomes the icing on the cake that can make a difference.

I am yet to see a study that shows that an executive doctorate can actually lead to executive careers that pay 150K plus. Executive careers do not need people that can write essays but people that can deliver results, this normally requires a proven record of success that has little to do with a doctorate that requires reading a bunch of articles.

 

Can you provide an example of a degree being advertised as an "executive doctorate"? I haven't seen that.

My personal experience was that a professional doctorate was an experience comparable to a PhD, so I'm a bit confused.

I'm not clear that a professional doctorate would be intended for the pursuit of an executive career. The only degree like that I've ever heard of is the executive MBA, but that degree is largely for people who are already executives.

 

Executive Doctorate in Business Administration | Fox School of Business | Temple University | Philadelphia, PA

 

Penn GSE ExecDoc Program - Homepage Content - 2 year program

The Executive Doctorate in Business - Executive Doctorate - 3 year program

Executive Doctoral Program | Lubin School of Business | Pace University - 3 year program

 

Thanks, perfect example. This is a 3 years part time program, my MBA took longer than this.

There are quite few more like this one, I believe the OP was making a reference to this type of program.