doctorate

doctorate — noun

1. the highest degree that a university awards to someone who has completed a long

1.nounB2
Definition

the highest degree that a university awards to someone who has completed a long period of advanced study and original research, usually resulting in a written thesis or dissertation on a specialized topic

Example

Aiko is working on her doctorate in environmental science at Kyoto University.

pattern: work on + doctorate + in [field]

The university awarded an honorary doctorate to the Nobel-winning physicist.

collocation: honorary doctorate

Common collocations
  • earn a doctorate
  • pursue a doctorate
  • award a doctorate
  • complete a doctorate
  • doctorate in [subject]
  • honorary doctorate
  • doctorate programme
  • doctorate candidate
Synonyms
  • PhD

    the most common type of research doctorate; used informally and interchangeably with 'doctorate' in everyday speech

  • doctoral degree

    more formal and broader term that includes PhDs, EdDs, and other doctorates

  • doctor's degree

    less common; used mainly in formal American English statistics and academic records

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

hold/have/receive + doctorate

doctorate + in + field

pursue/work on + doctorate

Usage Note

Often combined with the preposition 'in' to specify the academic field, as in 'a doctorate in astrophysics.' The term 'doctorate' already means the degree, so 'doctorate degree' is redundant. In informal speech, 'PhD' is often used instead for research doctorates.

Common Mistakes

She is doing a doctorate degree in biology.
She is doing a doctorate in biology.
'doctorate' already means 'degree,' so adding 'degree' is redundant.
He received a doctorate of law from Harvard.
He received a doctorate in law from Harvard.
The correct preposition is 'in,' not 'of,' when naming the field.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Doctorate is the general term for the highest academic degree awarded by a university. PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) is the most common and widely recognized type of research doctorate, originally covering all academic fields. Someone might say 'I have a PhD in history' or 'I have a doctorate in history' with the same practical meaning, though PhD is more specific about the type of degree. Doctoral degree is a broader, more formal term that includes PhDs as well as professional doctorates like the EdD (Education) or the JD (Law in the United States). Doctor's degree is the least common of the three and appears mainly in formal American English classifications such as government education statistics. If a university awards an honorary doctorate, it is not usually called a PhD — the general term 'doctorate' or 'honorary doctorate' is used instead.

PhDdoctoral degreedoctor's degree

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • doctorate in [field]
  • doctorate from [university]
  • hold a doctorate
  • complete a doctorate

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinEnglish

The word 'doctorate' comes from the Latin 'doctor' meaning 'teacher' (from 'docēre', 'to teach'), combined with the suffix '-ate' which forms nouns indicating an office or rank. In medieval European universities, the doctorate was originally a license to teach. The modern research-focused doctorate developed in 19th-century German universities and spread worldwide. The term has been used in English since the 1600s.