British Degree Abbreviations - Doctor's Degrees

Doctor's Degrees

Due to the flexibility of Latin word order, there are two schools in the abbreviation of doctor's degrees. At Cambridge, D follows the faculty (e.g. PhD, LittD.), while at Oxford the abbreviation D precedes the faculty (e.g. DPhil, DLitt). Most universities in the UK followed Oxford for the higher doctorates but followed international precedent in using PhD for Doctor of Philosophy. Doctor of Medicine (MD or DM) is sometimes a professional (e.g. in the US and others) and sometimes a research doctorate (e.g. in the UK and some of the Commonwealth). However, the MD/DM research degree often requires a shorter period of study than, for example, a PhD and is considered to be more on par with an MPhil than a doctorate proper (e.g. the University of Manchester); it can simply consist of the submission of a number of multi-authored publications, where authorial responsibility is unclear. Doctor of Philosophy is normally reserved for doctorates awarded on the basis of original research, other doctorates (typically professional doctorates) have substantial taught elements. Higher doctorates are normally awarded as honorary degrees (honoris causa), but can also be awarded on the basis of published work. DUniv is only ever an honorary degree. The sorting between doctorates below is dependent on the granting institution.

See also Doctorate.