How difficult is it to get a doctorate?

Question

I just completed my Master's degree and it wasn't too difficult. I've been debating going for a doctorate eventually, but I don't want to start something that's too tough for me to finish. I'm pretty good at writing papers, but the idea of writing a 200 page book scares me. Do all doctoral programs involve writing a huge thesis? Also, I'm employeed full-time and I've got a baby at home, so I wouldn't be able to devote hours and hours to it every day. Is getting a doctorate a full-time job or is it similar to getting a master's degree? Also, this might be a stupid question, but what's the difference between a doctorate and a PHD?

Answer 1

It would have helped if you had told us the field.

A PhD is a doctorate. Not all doctorates are PhDs (there are EdD, MD, DDS, DVM, etc). However, the PhD is the highest academic degree that you can get.

Since you have a master's, you will probably hav eto do the followoing to get a PhD:

1. About two years of classes (more if you didn't have the Master's).

2. A written exam at the end of your second year (Mine was a two day exam on material covered in six graduate level courses).

3. An oral exam some time during your third year.

4. A written dissertation. This is usually 100 pages or more for the sciences and several hundred pages in the arts. Mine was about 130 pages (for Finance).

5. At most schools, you have to defend your thesis. This is often a formality. I got my PhD at Berkeley -- which does not require a thesis defense. I just had to get the members of my committee to sign off on my thesis.

The degree is full time and takes abut four years in the sciences -- more if you are in the arts.

I know a number of women who had kids while in graduate school. Much of the dissertation can be written at home -- giving them time to spend with their kids.

There is one thing I will tell you -- if you are not interested in doing research, don't get a PhD. The dissertation is not the end of your work in research -- it is the beginning.

Answer 2

A doctoral program requires a dissertation -- some sort of original research. It depends on the program to know how long the work has to be. I've heard Ph.D. dissertations that were 60 pages and others were 400+ pages.

Yes, doctoral programs require that you write a dissertation and then defend it.

You could do a doctoral program part-time. Check with the school; I'm sure that they could accommodate.

A doctorate is the degree after a master's degree. One type of doctorate is Ph.D.. There is also an Ed.D., D.M.A., etc. It's been said that the Ph.D. is the "top" of the types of doctorate degrees.

If you are good at writing research papers, AND enjoy doing it, then check out doctoral programs. They're a bit harder than master's programs because they require more work but they ARE do-able.

Answer 3

The "book" (dissertation) is the whole point of a Ph.D., and writing it is the easy part. The course work will be similar to your Masters program, maybe even a bit less. The difficult part is doing the research and then defending it after you've written the dissertation. The research must contribute something new to the field of study (hence you understand the underlying philosophy of the field).

There are several types of doctorates (M.D., Pharm.D., D.Sci., Ph.D., etc.). Professional doctorates (M.D., Pharm.D.) don't require dissertations, but Ph.D.s and D.Sci. generally do.

Answer 4

from what i heard, getting a docrate is not really hard if you are passionated about what are you doing. but it also depends on your major. if you want Ph.D in biology, it would usually take more than 5 years, if not more. as i said earlier, if you are really interested in your subject of study, writing a 200 pages thesis isn't really that hard. remember, you have more 5 years to write it!
finally, Ph.D is just a general term for doctorate degree. Ph.D stands for doctorate in philosophy. doctorate in some fields aren't Ph.D, such as M.D is doctorate in medicine.