Professional doctorate

A doctorate (from Latin docere, "to teach") or doctor's degree (from Latin doctor, "teacher") or doctoral degree (from the ancient formalism licentia docendi) is an academic degree awarded by universities that is, in most countries, a research degree that qualifies the holder to teach at the university level in the degree's field, or to work in a specific profession. There are a variety of doctoral degrees, with the most common being the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), which is awarded in many different fields, ranging from the humanities to the scientific disciplines. There are also some doctorates in the US, such as the Juris Doctor (JD), Doctor of Medicine (MD) and Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO), which are generally regarded internationally as professional degrees rather than doctorates, as they are not research degrees and no defense of any dissertation or thesis is performed. Many universities also award honorary doctorates to individuals who have been deemed worthy of special recognition, either for scholarly work or for other contributions to the university or to society.

The term "doctor" derives from the Latin docere meaning "to teach". The doctorate (Latin: doctum, "[that which is] taught") appeared in medieval Europe as a license to teach Latin (licentia docendi) at a university. Its roots can be traced to the early church in which the term "doctor" referred to the Apostles, church fathers, and other Christian authorities who taught and interpreted the Bible.

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