Does one ever need more than one doctorate?

I loved alarmingidea's response. Cambridge, Mass, eh? Possibly associated with one of the academies said to be in that town?

When I did a Google search for 'dual doctorates' there were quite a few intriguing hits. Here are two:

1. This lady (http://tinyurl.com/ysfbg) earned two quite separate Ph.D. degrees on the same day this week at the U. of Florida -- two sets of courses, two dissertations, two defenses, etc. Communication and Political Science. That might well be a first. (And she only started learning to speak English seven years ago.)

2. The link to the msnshopping was at first a mystery. Michelle Copeland has a very expensive line of skin creams. The claim is that she was the first person to earn two doctorates at Harvard: medicine and biochemistry.

(Aside: Why do the doctors with things to sell us have simple, memorable, pronounceable names. Dr. Copeland. Dr. Atkins. Dr. Graham. Dr. Ornish. Dr. Chopra. Where is Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski's Political Calming Lotion?)

 

How do you conclude that?

 

It would be more effective to simply get a graduate-level certificate with 18 credits in the field that you want to specialize in.

 

Hi Jennifer - Don't worry about Ted. I understand what you mean.

 

I have one professor on my committee who has a PhD in Economics and a PhD in Geography. I've had a class with another that had PhDs in Finance and Economics. I've asked both if it benefited them have 2 PhDs, and they both said, "no."

When I come across faculty on campus with more than one PhD, often they are from outside the US and their first PhD was from their home country, and the other from a US school.

At UF and other institutions, it is possible to "double major" if you take the coursework and pass the quals for the both departments. Fortunately, you only have to write one dissertation, as long as it satisfies the requirements of both departments.

 

Another twist on two doctorates

One of the benefits I have experienced from Nova Southeastern is the ability to return to school and complete additional work in their DBA program. I graduated in August '96 with their baseic DBA. Later I returned and completed their IT management concentration. Now, I'm returning to take a set of accounting courses at the doctoral level.

This really isn't "two doctorates" - but for me a form of continuing education.

Regards - Andy

 

Originally Posted by cookderosa
>>

That such a person doesn't bring as much to the table as he takes.

Hi Jennifer - Don't worry about Ted. I understand what you mean.
>>


LOL...that's fine. I think Ted was just asking "for a friend."

Ok, Ted. I'll have to go back a while- it's been 17 years since I've been courted....but I don't recall any girlie chats where we all sat around longing for a handsome young man that would never be home, would be perpetually unfulfilled with his accomplishments, would spend the nest egg on himself, and eagerly acquire new debt at warp speed! Imagine the contentment and happiness of a wife that gets to work two jobs so the family can pay for little Billy's Etnies, iPod, and community college.

 

It is 2007, I think you have been watching too much Leave It To Beaver. A woman coworker of mine makes over $400,000 per year, more than enough for her husband to pursue academic passions if he so chooses. Many people these days inherit millions. A great opportunity to go teach some kindergartners and expand your mind with a couple PhDs.

Hi Ted - Don't worry about Kiz and Jennifer. I understand what you mean.

 

Yep, I'll side with Jennifer. Juggling job, MBA and 7 month old boy is taxing for me, but possibly more so for my wife, as on yet another sunny Sunday afternoon I have to explain that yes, I would love to go and have ice-cream at the beach, but studying marginal costing takes priority...my MBA is my terminal degree for sure, not becuase I would not ever want to do a doctorate, but because I value the time with my family far higher.

Selah,

Dave C.

 

It is 2007, I think you have been watching too much Leave It To Beaver. A woman coworker of mine makes over $400,000 per year, more than enough for her husband to pursue academic passions if he so chooses. Many people these days inherit millions. A great opportunity to go teach some kindergartners and expand your mind with a couple PhDs.

Hi Ted - Don't worry about Kiz and Jennifer. I understand what you mean.>>


OH!!!!!!!! Well, you didn't say he was a millionaire, of course he's married.

 

Yep, I'll side with Jennifer. Juggling job, MBA and 7 month old boy is taxing for me, but possibly more so for my wife, as on yet another sunny Sunday afternoon I have to explain that yes, I would love to go and have ice-cream at the beach, but studying marginal costing takes priority...my MBA is my terminal degree for sure, not becuase I would not ever want to do a doctorate, but because I value the time with my family far higher.

Selah,

Dave C.
>>


I am sure your wife is happy to give a little of you away for the bigger picture down the road. (security, advancement, salary) I think many wives gladly take this kind of trade off in stride if it's temporary.

Steve mentions the guy is home if he's doing distance learning, yes, but in the article sited this guy wasn't doing distance learning. Someone here searched his degrees and found them all very B&Mish. (the "closet millionaire" theory is still on the table- that would totally trump everything in my previous post for most women)
I was asked why I thought this guy takes more from the table than he brings- to a marriage- not to business or academia as a scholar. Asked and answered.

June,
Wife to Ward

 

Would you have thought of this if the above story was about a woman obtaining two PhD's? My guess is no.

- Tom

 

Would you have thought of this if the above story was about a woman obtaining two PhD's? My guess is no.

- Tom>>

Sorry Tom, i know you don't know me, but I am staunchly conservative- so you guessed wrong!!!

 

I'm giving the point to Jennifer, but then, like all the rest of you, I have my biases. I can only say that the reaction to her comments is pretty much what you'd expect from a male-dominated discussion board.

 

Despite what Jennifer stated above, I highly doubt that she would have posted the original comment had the story been about a woman. But hey, maybe she would have, who knows. And come to think of it - who really cares?! Opinions are like a-holes, everyone has one and we all know they stink (myself included, of course).

I think the real point here (sniff-sniff) is not the fact that this discussion board is male-dominated (sadly, you are likely correct in that assessment). Rather, the point (to me anyway) is why certain members of a discussion board focused on education, would make off-handed remarks about someone's pursuit (and successful completion) of any (accredited) degree.

 

And, of course, some of us wonder whether you would have made such a rude comment had you been on the winning side of the argument.

 

Not convincing.

 

At Fielding Graduate University we have a number of students who are pursuing a second doctorate in clinical psychology. Most of these folks are doing so for career change purposes or for the challenge and for intellectual growth. One person I know has a Ph.D. in the biomedical sciences from a British university and she came to the United States to set up and run a gastroenterology research lab. She discovered in her biomedical research that the life stories of her research participants sparked an interest in psychology. So she decieded to get a second Ph.D. in clinical psychology. Fielding has a fair number of lawyers with JD degrees who want to work as forensic psychologists due to their legal background. Sounds like a good mix of training for a forensic psychologist to me.

One of my fellow doctoral students is an MD with a specialization in neurology who decided to get a Ph.D. in clinical psychology out of an interest in abnormal behavior. When I asked her why she did not just spend a couple years doing a psychiatry residency, she said that clinical psychologists have such broader and more meaningful training than psychiatrists. I just gotta love that!! Many middle-aged, mid-career people find spending a few years getting an additional doctoral degree an important investment for personal and professional reasons which go beyond money. As I am discovering as I move into my 40's, middle age is often a time to reinvent oneself. So why not get a second doctorate. Of course it helps if you are single and have no social life

 

What a strange post. if you don't care, don't comment, it's that easy. I also wonder what value the last comment in your first paragraph added...still, it's good fun making mental notes of which posters make comments worth reading or otherwise...