Doctor Medicinae (Danish and Norwegian degree)

Doctor Medicinae, also spelled Doctor Medicinæ and abbreviated Dr. Med., is a doctoral degree (a research doctorate) in medicine awarded by universities in Denmark and formerly in Norway. The degree can only be obtained by physicians. It is regarded as a higher doctorate and is the equivalent of the British Doctor of Medical Science (Med.Sc.D.).

Dr. Med. (Danish: dr.med.) is now by law a higher degree than the Ph.D. (Danish: ph.d.-graden). A Dr.Med. degree requires a cand.med. degree (6–7 years of studies) or equivalent, a substantial body of research (usually in the form of published articles) and public defence of a dissertation. Until the 19th century, the licentiate degree was also a prerequisite for obtaining the Dr.Med. Today, the recently introduced Danish Ph.D. degree (officially the successor and equivalent of the former licentiate degree) is sometimes obtained before the Dr.Med. degree. According to the Danish Agency for International Education, "mature researchers may obtain the traditional higher Danish doctoral degree (doktorgrad), usually after a minimum of 5–8 years of individual and original research (following a candidatus degree [...] or a ph.d. degree in the relevant field of study) and public defence of a dissertation." The Dr.Med. degree is seldom obtained before the age of 40.

The degree has existed ever since the establishment of the University of Copenhagen in 1479, which was for centuries the only university of Denmark-Norway. The degree was first awarded by Norway's newly established Royal Frederick University in 1817 according to the regulations of the University of Copenhagen (despite Denmark and Norway no longer being in a personal union) and the Norwegian degree was a direct continuation of the Copenhagen degree, with Denmark and Norway largely sharing their degree system until 2003–2008, mutually recognizing the degrees as equivalent. In Norway, the Danish-based dr.med. degree was last awarded in 2008.

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