Doctor of Science
Encyclopedia
Doctor of Science usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D. or Dr.Sc., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries Doctor of Science is the name used for the standard doctorate in the sciences, elsewhere the Sc.D. is a "higher doctorate" awarded in recognition of a substantial and sustained contribution to scientific knowledge, beyond what is required for e.g. a Ph.D.
, the formally recognized traditional Doctor of Science is an academic research doctoral
degree awarded by research universities. The academic research Sc.D. (or D.Sc.) is recognized by both the United States Department of Education
and the National Science Foundation
to be equivalent to the more commonly awarded Ph.D.
The first North American Sc.D. was inaugurated by Harvard University
in 1872, when graduate studies first began at Harvard, and where the Ph.D. and Sc.D. degrees were first introduced in the same year. The Doctor of Science research degree is earned with the formal dissertation defense and approval of a committee on the basis of original research and publications, and it is awarded predominantly in doctoral-level science programs, such as engineering, medical and health sciences, and health economics.
Although rarer than the Doctor of Philosophy, the Doctor of Science research degree has been awarded by institutions, such as Harvard University
, Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, Robert Morris University
and Tulane University
.
A few doctoral research programs offer both the Sc.D and Ph.D. degrees in the same academic field at the same university, such as Johns Hopkins University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, with identical requirements for obtaining either. Currently, research programs that offer the formal research Sc.D. but not the Ph.D. degree for the same field include several doctoral programs at Harvard University
http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2008/06.05/42-degrees.html, Boston University
, The George Washington University, Capitol College
http://www.capitol-college.edu/academics/graduate-academics/information-assurance-dsc, and Dakota State University
.
There are also programs where the Sc.D. and Ph.D. have different degree requirements, though the two degrees are officially considered equivalent. The Engineering school at Washington University in St. Louis
, for example, requires four more graduate courses in the D.Sc program than in the Ph.D program, while the Ph.D requires teaching assistance services. The Johns Hopkins University
also offers both Ph.D. and Sc.D. in certain programs http://www.jhsph.edu/academics/academicprograms/doctoral/, with only minor differences in university administration of the degrees. In some institutions, the Sc.D. has even been converted to the Ph.D. For instance, the doctoral degree in biostatistics
at Harvard recently converted from Sc.D. to Ph.D., even though the doctoral degree structure and requirements have remained identical.
In Ireland
, the United Kingdom
and the countries of the Commonwealth
, such as India
, the degree of Doctor of Science is one of the Higher Doctorates. In some older universities it typically has precedence after Divinity, Laws or Civil Law, Medicine, and Letters, and above Music. The degree is conferred on a member of the university who has a proven record of internationally recognised scholarship. A candidate for the degree will usually be required to submit a selection of their publications to the board of the appropriate faculty, which will decide if the candidate merits this accolade. The degree is only exceptionally and rarely awarded to a scholar under the age of forty. The first University to admit an individual to this degree was the University of London
in 1860. In 1893 Maria Ogilvie
was the first woman to receive this degree.
In former times the doctorate in science was regarded as a greater distinction than a professorial chair and hence a professor who was also a D.Sc. would be known as Doctor. The Doctor of Science may also be awarded as an honorary degree, that is, given to individuals who have made extensive contributions to a particular field and not for specific academic accomplishments. It is usual to signify this by adding (h.c.) for honoris causa after D.Sc.
the formal title Doctor of Science would be attributed to different fields of the hard or soft sciences. To get into an Argentine PhD program the applicant must have experience in research and at least an Engineering, Licentiate
or Master degree:
, Austria
, and the German-speaking part of Switzerland
, the most common doctoral degrees in Natural Sciences are the following:
In these countries there are some related doctoral degrees with very similar names, these are the:
All these doctoral degrees are equivalent to the Ph.D. but are considered to be separate degrees and should not be confused with the actual Dr.Sc. Until German Reunification
, universities in East Germany also awarded the Dr.Sc. However, the East German Dr.Sc. wasn't equivalent to the Ph.D since it was adopted to replace the German Habilitation
and therefore was equivalent to this German qualification. After reunification the Habilitation was reintroduced at universities in eastern Germany.
The procedure of habilitation is normally required to receive officially the "venia docendi", which entitles the candidate to lecture at Universities. The academic degree after the successful habilitatation is f.e. Dr.rer.nat.habil., by adding the suffix "habil." to the earlier received Doctors degree.
In Switzerland
, the Dr.Sc. is a doctoral degree awarded only by the two Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology. The Swiss Dr.Sc., like the D.Sc. in the US, is equivalent to the Ph.D., is earned with the approval of a committee on the basis of original research, publications, and extensive applied professional contributions and is awarded in doctoral level science and technology programs. Since 2004 the Dr.Sc. is the only doctoral degree awarded by the ETH Zurich
. The École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne
awards several different doctoral degrees, including Docteur ès sciences techniques and Docteur ès sciences, abbreviated Dr. ès. sc. tech. and Dr. ès. sc., respectively. However, all doctoral titles currently awarded by the EPFL are translated into English as Ph.D.
Doctorate (Doctor of Science) is always translated into English as PhD. Just like in Germany and Austria - habilitation (doktor habilitowany or dr hab.) in Poland is the higher academic qualification, sometimes translated as DSc. The highest scientific degree in Poland is professorship (profesor), which is called a scientific title of professor.
and Slovakia
"Doctor of Sciences" (DrSc. behind the name) is equivalent to the degree of Doctor of Science in the sense in which the DSc is used in the Commonwealth and is the highest academic qualification. Since 2006 a "Doctor of Sciences" degree (DSc. behind the name) is awarded not by Universities but by the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
mostly for research in the field of natural or formal science. In Slovakia, "Doctor of Sciences" (DrSc.) is awarded by the Academy of Sciences of the Slovak Republic.
In former Yugoslavia
, the Serbian, Slovenian, etc. title doktor nauka (literally 'doctor of science') is used in a much broader sense than DSc, simply referring to a field of academic study – from art history (Sln. doktor znanosti s področja umetnostne zgodovine), philosophy (Sln. doktor znanosti s področja filozofije), and literary studies (Sln. doktor znanosti s področja literarnih ved) to hard sciences such as molecular biology (Sln. doktor znanosti s področja molekularne biologije). It is therefore formally recognized as a PhD in Western Bloc, but also counts as PostDoc since it usually takes 10 years to obtain it after "Magister of Science" title has been obtained first.
In Finland, most doctoral degrees awarded in the fields of natural sciences, technology and economics are D.Sc. degrees with a suffix indicating the field of study. For example, the proper translation for the doctorate in technology (Tekniikan tohtori) would be D.Sc. (Tech.), whereas a doctorate in economics and business administration (Kauppatieteiden tohtori) would be translated as D.Sc. (Econ.). When conversing or writing in English, the prefix Dr. may be used to address a holder of a doctoral degree awarded in Finland.
In France the Doctor of Sciences degree (doctorat ès sciences also called doctorat d'État) was a higher doctorate in the fields of experimental and natural sciences, superseded in 1984 by the habilitation
.
, as well as in some of the former Communist Bloc countries, the status of Russian Doktor nauk
(literally 'doctor of sciences') is a post-doctoral degree and has no American
equivalent but does have a Western
equivalent in the degree of Doctor of Science in the sense in which the D.Sc. is used in the Commonwealth.
also grant D.Sc. degrees. As an example, the National University of Uzbekistan and the Uzbekistan Academy of Sciences offer D.Sc. in various fields.
This kind of doctorate is obtained in Graduate School after satisfactory evaluation of knowledge, research accomplishment, and thesis defense. This doctorate is comparable to a PhD program found in other countries. In the state of São Paulo, the doctorate title is the second highest academic title given by the state's universities (University of São Paulo - USP, State University of Campinas - UNICAMP and São Paulo State University - UNESP). The highest academic title is the Livre-Docência. No Brazilian University awards the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree, except in the strict meaning (i.e. philosophy proper).
generally grant Ph.D. for research doctoral degree, except some universities such as Chulalongkorn University
award D.Sc. In exception, Mahidol University
can grant both Ph.D. and D.Sc. Doctoral students in Faculty of Science are always awarded Ph.D., but some other programs award D.Sc.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
United States
In the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the formally recognized traditional Doctor of Science is an academic research doctoral
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
degree awarded by research universities. The academic research Sc.D. (or D.Sc.) is recognized by both the United States Department of Education
United States Department of Education
The United States Department of Education, also referred to as ED or the ED for Education Department, is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government...
and the National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
to be equivalent to the more commonly awarded Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
The first North American Sc.D. was inaugurated by Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1872, when graduate studies first began at Harvard, and where the Ph.D. and Sc.D. degrees were first introduced in the same year. The Doctor of Science research degree is earned with the formal dissertation defense and approval of a committee on the basis of original research and publications, and it is awarded predominantly in doctoral-level science programs, such as engineering, medical and health sciences, and health economics.
Although rarer than the Doctor of Philosophy, the Doctor of Science research degree has been awarded by institutions, such as Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
, Robert Morris University
Robert Morris University
Robert Morris University is a private, coeducational university in suburban Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1921, the school was named for Robert Morris, who signed the Declaration of Independence, and helped finance the ensuing war with the British.-History:Robert Morris...
and Tulane University
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
.
A few doctoral research programs offer both the Sc.D and Ph.D. degrees in the same academic field at the same university, such as Johns Hopkins University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
, with identical requirements for obtaining either. Currently, research programs that offer the formal research Sc.D. but not the Ph.D. degree for the same field include several doctoral programs at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2008/06.05/42-degrees.html, Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
, The George Washington University, Capitol College
Capitol College
Capitol College is a private, non-profit, and non-sectarian college located just south of Laurel, Maryland, in unincorporated Prince George's County. It was founded in 1927 as the Capitol Radio Engineering Institute, changed its name to the Capitol Institute of Technology in 1964, and assumed its...
http://www.capitol-college.edu/academics/graduate-academics/information-assurance-dsc, and Dakota State University
Dakota State University
Dakota State University is a public university located in Madison, South Dakota. The university has a technology centric focus with programs in computer and information science, business, education, physical sciences, among other graduate and undergraduate programs...
.
There are also programs where the Sc.D. and Ph.D. have different degree requirements, though the two degrees are officially considered equivalent. The Engineering school at Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis is a private research university located in suburban St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1853, and named for George Washington, the university has students and faculty from all fifty U.S. states and more than 110 nations...
, for example, requires four more graduate courses in the D.Sc program than in the Ph.D program, while the Ph.D requires teaching assistance services. The Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
also offers both Ph.D. and Sc.D. in certain programs http://www.jhsph.edu/academics/academicprograms/doctoral/, with only minor differences in university administration of the degrees. In some institutions, the Sc.D. has even been converted to the Ph.D. For instance, the doctoral degree in biostatistics
Biostatistics
Biostatistics is the application of statistics to a wide range of topics in biology...
at Harvard recently converted from Sc.D. to Ph.D., even though the doctoral degree structure and requirements have remained identical.
The United Kingdom, Ireland and the Commonwealth
In Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the countries of the Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
, such as India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, the degree of Doctor of Science is one of the Higher Doctorates. In some older universities it typically has precedence after Divinity, Laws or Civil Law, Medicine, and Letters, and above Music. The degree is conferred on a member of the university who has a proven record of internationally recognised scholarship. A candidate for the degree will usually be required to submit a selection of their publications to the board of the appropriate faculty, which will decide if the candidate merits this accolade. The degree is only exceptionally and rarely awarded to a scholar under the age of forty. The first University to admit an individual to this degree was the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
in 1860. In 1893 Maria Ogilvie
Maria Gordon
Maria Matilda Ogilvie Gordon was a 19th century Scottish scientist.-Biography:Maria Ogilvie was born in Monymusk, Aberdeenshire in 1864, the eldest daughter of educationalist Rev. D. A. Ogilvie and Maria Matilda Nichol. She had five brothers and two sisters...
was the first woman to receive this degree.
In former times the doctorate in science was regarded as a greater distinction than a professorial chair and hence a professor who was also a D.Sc. would be known as Doctor. The Doctor of Science may also be awarded as an honorary degree, that is, given to individuals who have made extensive contributions to a particular field and not for specific academic accomplishments. It is usual to signify this by adding (h.c.) for honoris causa after D.Sc.
Argentina
In ArgentinaScience and technology in Argentina
The most important aspects of science and technology in Argentina are concerned with medicine, nuclear physics, biotechnology, nanotechnology, space and rocket technology and several fields related to the country's main economic activities....
the formal title Doctor of Science would be attributed to different fields of the hard or soft sciences. To get into an Argentine PhD program the applicant must have experience in research and at least an Engineering, Licentiate
Licentiate
Licentiate is the title of a person who holds an academic degree called a licence. The term may derive from the Latin licentia docendi, meaning permission to teach. The term may also derive from the Latin licentia ad practicandum, which signified someone who held a certificate of competence to...
or Master degree:
Applied Sciences
- Doctorate of Agronomic Sciences (U of BA, NU of LP, NU of C, NU of R, NU of MP)
- Doctorate of Sciences in Nutriment Technology (NU of the S)
- Doctorate of Sciences in Lacteal Technology (NU of the L)
- Doctorate of Sciences in Material Technology (NU of the S, NU of MP)
- Doctorate of Computer Sciences (U of BA, NU of C, NU of SL)
- Doctorate of Engineering Sciences (NU of C, NU of Cu, NU of RC, ITBA)
- Doctorate of Geological Sciences (NU of C, NU of Cu, NU of SJ, NU of SL)
- Doctorate of Informatics Sciences (NU of LP)
- Doctorate of Basic Sciences Applied (NU of Q)
- Doctorate of Science and Technology (NU of GS)
- Doctorate of Geological Sciences (U of BA)
- Doctorate of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (NU of SAM)
Basic Sciences
- Doctorate of Biological Sciences (U of BA, NU of LP, NU of C, NU of R, NU of the L, NU of Cu, NU of RC, NU of MP)
- Doctorate of Biological Chemistry Sciences (U of BA)
- Doctorate of Molecular Biology Sciences (U of BA)
- Doctorate of Mathematics Sciences (U of BA, NU of LP, NU of SL)
- Doctorate of Chemistry Sciences (NU of LP, NU of R NU of C, NU of RC, NU of MP)
- Doctorate of Physics Sciences (U of BA, NU of LP, NU of MP, NU of SAM)
- Doctorate of Natural Sciences (U of BA, NU of LP)
Germany, Austria, Switzerland
In GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, and the German-speaking part of Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, the most common doctoral degrees in Natural Sciences are the following:
- Dr. rer. nat. - Doctor rerum naturalium, literally "Doctor of the things of nature"
- Dr. sc. nat. - Doctor scientiae naturalis, Doctor of Natural Sciences (less often used)
- Dr. phil. nat. - Doctor philosophiae naturalis, used only by Goethe University Frankfurt instead of Dr. rer. nat.
- Dr.-Ing. - Doctor of Engineering, commonly awarded from Technical Universities only.
- Dr. mont. - Doctor rerum montanarum, used only by Montanuniversität Leoben instead of Dr.-Ing.
In these countries there are some related doctoral degrees with very similar names, these are the:
- Dr.sc.agr. - Doctor scientiarum agrariarum, Doctor of Agricultural scienceAgricultural scienceAgricultural science is a broad multidisciplinary field that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. -Agriculture and agricultural science:The two terms are often confused...
- Dr.sc.hum. - Doctor scientiarum humanarum, Doctor of Humanistic Sciences
- Dr.sc.inf.med. - Doctor scientiarum informaticarum medicæ, Doctor of Science in Medical Informatics
- Dr.sc.inf.biomed. - Doctor scientiarum informaticarum biomedicæ, Doctor of Science in BiomedicalBiomedicineBiomedicine is a branch of medical science that applies biological and other natural-science principles to clinical practice,. Biomedicine, i.e. medical research, involves the study of physiological processes with methods from biology, chemistry and physics. Approaches range from understanding...
Informatics - Dr.sc.math. - Doctor scientiarum mathematicarum, Doctor of MathematicsMathematicsMathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
- Dr.scient.med - Doctor scientiæ medicæ, Doctor of MedicalMedicineMedicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
Sciences - Dr.sc.mus. - Doctor scientiae musicae, Doctor of MusicologyMusicologyMusicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
- Dr.sc.oec. - Doctor scientiarum oeconomicarum, Doctor of EconomicsEconomicsEconomics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
- Dr.sc.pol. - Doctor scientarium politicarum, Doctor of Political Sciences
- Dr.sc.soc. - Doctor scientiae socialis, Doctor of Social SciencesSocial sciencesSocial science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
All these doctoral degrees are equivalent to the Ph.D. but are considered to be separate degrees and should not be confused with the actual Dr.Sc. Until German Reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
, universities in East Germany also awarded the Dr.Sc. However, the East German Dr.Sc. wasn't equivalent to the Ph.D since it was adopted to replace the German Habilitation
Habilitation
Habilitation is the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit in several European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate, such as a PhD, habilitation requires the candidate to write a professorial thesis based on independent...
and therefore was equivalent to this German qualification. After reunification the Habilitation was reintroduced at universities in eastern Germany.
The procedure of habilitation is normally required to receive officially the "venia docendi", which entitles the candidate to lecture at Universities. The academic degree after the successful habilitatation is f.e. Dr.rer.nat.habil., by adding the suffix "habil." to the earlier received Doctors degree.
In Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, the Dr.Sc. is a doctoral degree awarded only by the two Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology. The Swiss Dr.Sc., like the D.Sc. in the US, is equivalent to the Ph.D., is earned with the approval of a committee on the basis of original research, publications, and extensive applied professional contributions and is awarded in doctoral level science and technology programs. Since 2004 the Dr.Sc. is the only doctoral degree awarded by the ETH Zurich
ETH Zurich
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich or ETH Zürich is an engineering, science, technology, mathematics and management university in the City of Zurich, Switzerland....
. The École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne
École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne
The École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne is one of the two Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology and is located in Lausanne, Switzerland.The school was founded by the Swiss Federal Government with the stated mission to:...
awards several different doctoral degrees, including Docteur ès sciences techniques and Docteur ès sciences, abbreviated Dr. ès. sc. tech. and Dr. ès. sc., respectively. However, all doctoral titles currently awarded by the EPFL are translated into English as Ph.D.
Poland
In Poland "Doctor of Sciences" (pl doktor nauk) is the equivalent to PhD. Doctoral degrees in Poland are similar to degrees awarded in Germany.Doctorate (Doctor of Science) is always translated into English as PhD. Just like in Germany and Austria - habilitation (doktor habilitowany or dr hab.) in Poland is the higher academic qualification, sometimes translated as DSc. The highest scientific degree in Poland is professorship (profesor), which is called a scientific title of professor.
Other European Union countries
In Czech RepublicCzech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
and Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
"Doctor of Sciences" (DrSc. behind the name) is equivalent to the degree of Doctor of Science in the sense in which the DSc is used in the Commonwealth and is the highest academic qualification. Since 2006 a "Doctor of Sciences" degree (DSc. behind the name) is awarded not by Universities but by the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
The Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic was established in 1992 by the Czech National Council as the Czech successor of the former Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences. The Academy is the leading non-university public research institution in the Czech Republic...
mostly for research in the field of natural or formal science. In Slovakia, "Doctor of Sciences" (DrSc.) is awarded by the Academy of Sciences of the Slovak Republic.
In former Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, the Serbian, Slovenian, etc. title doktor nauka (literally 'doctor of science') is used in a much broader sense than DSc, simply referring to a field of academic study – from art history (Sln. doktor znanosti s področja umetnostne zgodovine), philosophy (Sln. doktor znanosti s področja filozofije), and literary studies (Sln. doktor znanosti s področja literarnih ved) to hard sciences such as molecular biology (Sln. doktor znanosti s področja molekularne biologije). It is therefore formally recognized as a PhD in Western Bloc, but also counts as PostDoc since it usually takes 10 years to obtain it after "Magister of Science" title has been obtained first.
In Finland, most doctoral degrees awarded in the fields of natural sciences, technology and economics are D.Sc. degrees with a suffix indicating the field of study. For example, the proper translation for the doctorate in technology (Tekniikan tohtori) would be D.Sc. (Tech.), whereas a doctorate in economics and business administration (Kauppatieteiden tohtori) would be translated as D.Sc. (Econ.). When conversing or writing in English, the prefix Dr. may be used to address a holder of a doctoral degree awarded in Finland.
In France the Doctor of Sciences degree (doctorat ès sciences also called doctorat d'État) was a higher doctorate in the fields of experimental and natural sciences, superseded in 1984 by the habilitation
Habilitation
Habilitation is the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit in several European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate, such as a PhD, habilitation requires the candidate to write a professorial thesis based on independent...
.
Russia and other post-Soviet states
In Russia and various other post-Soviet statesPost-Soviet states
The post-Soviet states, also commonly known as the Former Soviet Union or former Soviet republics, are the 15 independent states that split off from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in its dissolution in December 1991...
, as well as in some of the former Communist Bloc countries, the status of Russian Doktor nauk
Doktor nauk
Doktor nauk is a higher doctoral degree, the second and the highest post-graduate academic degree in the Soviet Union, Russia and in many post-Soviet states. Sometimes referred to as Dr. Hab. The prerequisite is the first degree, Kandidat nauk which is informally regarded equivalent to Ph.D....
(literally 'doctor of sciences') is a post-doctoral degree and has no American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
equivalent but does have a Western
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
equivalent in the degree of Doctor of Science in the sense in which the D.Sc. is used in the Commonwealth.
Uzbekistan
The higher education institutes in UzbekistanUzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
also grant D.Sc. degrees. As an example, the National University of Uzbekistan and the Uzbekistan Academy of Sciences offer D.Sc. in various fields.
Brazil
In Brazil only the Doctor in Science (D.Sc.) category is recognized as a higher doctorate, generally followed by the concentration area (program field).This kind of doctorate is obtained in Graduate School after satisfactory evaluation of knowledge, research accomplishment, and thesis defense. This doctorate is comparable to a PhD program found in other countries. In the state of São Paulo, the doctorate title is the second highest academic title given by the state's universities (University of São Paulo - USP, State University of Campinas - UNICAMP and São Paulo State University - UNESP). The highest academic title is the Livre-Docência. No Brazilian University awards the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree, except in the strict meaning (i.e. philosophy proper).
China, Japan, South Korea
In these countries usually ScD/DSc is equivalent to US PhD in science and obtained in Graduate School after satisfactory evaluation of knowledge, research accomplishment, and thesis defense.Thailand
Higher education institutes in ThailandThailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
generally grant Ph.D. for research doctoral degree, except some universities such as Chulalongkorn University
Chulalongkorn University
Chulalongkorn University is the oldest university in Thailand and is the country's highest ranked university. It now has nineteen faculties and institutes. Regarded as the best and most selective university in Thailand, it consistently attracts top students from around the country...
award D.Sc. In exception, Mahidol University
Mahidol University
Mahidol University is a public research university in Bangkok, Thailand. Established back in 1888 as School of Medical Practitioners, Siriraj Hospital and reorganized in 1943 as University of Medical Sciences . The university originally focused on Health Sciences but also expanded to other...
can grant both Ph.D. and D.Sc. Doctoral students in Faculty of Science are always awarded Ph.D., but some other programs award D.Sc.