What is a doctorate?

What is a doctorate?

A doctorate is a level 8 education qualification and the highest level you can achieve. This postgraduate qualification shows your dedication to your studies and the exceptional level of understanding you've reached in your field.

Once you complete your doctorate, you'll receive your qualification and hold the title "Doctor". This doesn't have to be in a medical setting but can be achieved across many different fields of study.

There are a few different ways of obtaining a doctorate. The most common types of doctorate are:

• Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)
• Doctor of Education (EdD)
• Doctor of Engineering (EngD)
• Doctor of Medicine (MD)
• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

PhD vs a Doctorate

A PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) is a type of doctorate and is one of the most well-known. PhDs tend to be more theoretical and involve lots of research to generate new knowledge in a chosen field. A PhD is typically more academic while a doctorate is more practical and geared towards applying research to a role such as Medicine and Engineering.

Professional doctorates

In the UK, a professional doctorate degree covers vocational sectors including education, healthcare, engineering and manufacturing. Some of these are also accredited by professional bodies like the Health and Care Professional Council (HCPC) and the British Psychological Society (BPS).

These doctorate degrees tend to involve a mixture of taught lectures and a research project that's on a smaller scale than a PhD.

How long is a doctorate?

On average, a doctorate can take four years to complete and up to eight years if studied part-time. However, the length may vary depending on the doctorate type as well as the specific university you choose.

Why study for a doctorate?

Studying for a doctorate isn't for the faint-hearted - it can be an intense few years that will see you challenge your understanding of a chosen subject area and develop particular skills to apply to your career after graduation.

When thinking about studying for your doctorate, take some time to consider why you want to do it, how it supports your career and if you wish to stay in academia.

Some of the benefits that doctorate graduates list are:

• Having extensive knowledge in a specific area that you can use in a specialist role
• Have the skills to lead and run in-depth research
• Gain publication credits in reputable research journals
• Have the skills to continue a career in research, academia or a specialised field

It's an immense achievement to complete a doctorate and something you'll be proud of for years to come. Ensure you're doing it for the right reasons and it'll be a challenging but incredibly rewarding experience!

How to apply for a doctorate

The process for applying for a doctorate will look very different from applying for your undergraduate degree. There isn't one place to apply, like UCAS, and the application process can involve more, in-depth steps.

Most likely, you'll need to apply directly to an individual university and submit a research proposal that outlines the topics you want to explore and what you're planning to research.

You will come across funded programmes where earning a place at the university will come with the funding you need, as well as yet-to-be-funded programmes where you'll first apply to the university and then apply for funding separately. With the processes being slightly different, once you've decided on studying for a doctorate, the individual universities will have more details to help you out.