What is a Ph.D. (aka PhD or Doctorate)?

Based on my specific education with the Graduate Program in International Studies at Old Dominion University, I have adapted the following information from various sources to inform my intimates about how I've been spending (and will be spending) my life these days.

Usually based on at least 3 years graduate study and a dissertation; the highest degree awarded for graduate study beyond the bachelor's or master's degree to candidates who have demonstrated their academic ability in oral and written examinations and through original research presented in the form of a dissertation.

Latin Philosophiae Doctor

1. Abbreviation of Doctor of Philosophy, a terminal research degree.
2. The highest of academic degrees conferred by a college or university.

Comprehensive examination

Ph.D. students must pass a written and an oral comprehensive examination prior to beginning their dissertation. The written examination transpires over two days and lasts six hours per day. The oral exam lasts approximately two hours. The Ph.D. comprehensive examinations may not be scheduled before students have completed all core, methodology, and language requirements, nor may the Ph.D. comprehensive examination be scheduled prior to the last semester in which regular course work is taken. Ph.D. examinations are scheduled twice a year, at the beginning of the Fall and Spring semesters. If Ph. D. students fail the written comprehensive examination on the first attempt, they may retake the written comprehensive examination only once, no earlier than one semester later. Note: Ph.D. students can only advance to the oral part of the comprehensive examination after passing the written portion.

Dissertation

A dissertation (also called thesis or disquisition) is a document that presents the author's research and findings and is submitted in support of candidature for a degree or professional qualification. In some United States doctoral programs, the term "dissertation" can refer to the major part of the student's total time spent (along with two or three years of classes), and may take years of full-time work to complete. At most universities, dissertation is the term for the required submission for the doctorate and thesis refers only to the master's degree requirement. The completion of a book-length project of independent research is the sine qua non of the Ph.D. program. The Ph.D. dissertation is also a significant and important life achievement that will serve as the defining product of your doctoral career. Preparing a doctoral dissertation is a complex and demanding process which may at times seem quite overwhelming. By definition a dissertation project is an effort at independent and individual work, so there can be considerable variation in how the process works for different students. Nonetheless, there are some basic procedures and minimum standards that apply to all dissertation writers. These guidelines were developed to help clarify that common process.

Dissertation Defense

In North America, the dissertation defense or oral defense is the final examination for doctoral candidates. The examining committee normally consists of the dissertation committee, usually a given number of professors mainly from the student's university plus his or her primary supervisor, an external examiner (someone not otherwise connected to the university), and a chair person. Each committee member will have been given a completed copy of the dissertation prior to the defense, and will come prepared to ask questions about the thesis itself and the subject matter. Doctoral defenses are open to the public. The typical format will see the candidate giving a short (20-40 minute) presentation of his or her research, followed by one to two hours of questions.