Today, it seems like more students than ever are pursuing and finishing doctoral degrees in their academic field, but many – myself included – never had a discussion with their teachers about what a doctoral degree really is, it’s history, or what it means to hold the title of “doctor”. So, that’s what I’ll address in this post. This is by no means a comprehensive discussion of the subject, but I’ll at least hit a few highlights.
History
During the Middle Ages, universities began first as networks of students and professors and only later created the first “campuses” or physical locations. Their ability to grant degrees was derived from state, regional, or religious authorities. The doctoral degree was essentially a license to teach at the university level granted first by the church and then by universities. These degrees acquired recognition in 12-century Europe, with the University of Bologna and University of Paris being the first institutions to award the degree in the fields of theology, law, and medicine. Many of the earliest doctoral students were members of the clergy or well-to-do families. Their studies were geared toward philosophy or theology, and – like today – these students and universities were sometimes criticized for pursuits of learning that were rather impractical from an economic perspective.
Gradually, doctoral degrees were conferred in other fields, a trend that accelerated in the 18th century with increased focus on rationality, new research methods, the natural sciences, and industrial knowledge. The German approach to research and advanced scholarship developed at the University of Berlin and emphasized original research and the production of a dissertation, and the “Doctor of Philosophy” (PhD) concept. This spread to the U.S. and U.K. and of course influences how most doctoral programs still work today. As an aside, the PhD degree was conferred in mathematics, sciences, history, and other fields, with “philosophy” referring to the value of wisdom in the ancient Greek sense. These days, a doctoral degree is the most advanced degree one can achieve and usually takes years of extensive research.
Commentary
In the modern day, it seems that having a doctoral degree suggests a person has a certain amount of “authority” in their field. While this is fine, I remember a conversation I had with one of my mentors while I was preparing for my oral examination, the final step in finishing the doctorate. Referring to the members of the exam committee, he said, “they want to see that you are a scholar”. This always resonated with me because I’ve frankly never felt like I’ve “had it all together” or “knew enough” and his comment indicated that having a doctoral degree meant you had the skills to undertake a high level of scholarship to contribute something to the field. This is an ongoing process, not an end goal or destination, and it actually means that we probably don’t have as many authoritative answers to problems or questions as we’d like to believe. If anything, curiosity, humility, sound and meaningful research, and service to others is what it’s all about.
Comments