Academic Support

Differences Between a Professional Doctorate and a Ph.D

July 2, 2024

A Ph.D. is suitable for those who want to pursue a career in academic research and teaching, while a Professional Doctorate is suitable for those who want to apply knowledge in practical settings and take on leadership roles.

Ph.D (Doctor of Philosophy):

Main Objective: Focuses on academic research and theory, aiming to create new knowledge and contribute to a specific research field.
Curriculum: Involves extensive research, writing a dissertation, and frequently publishing academic papers.
Career Opportunities: Suitable for research positions, teaching at universities, research institutes, or academic organizations.
Completion Time: Typically takes around 3-5 years.

Professional Doctorate:

Main Objective: Focuses on applying knowledge and research to practical professional settings, aiming to solve real-world problems within the specific industry.
Curriculum: Includes specialized courses, practical projects, and a dissertation related to specific professional issues.
Career Opportunities: Suitable for leadership and management positions in companies, non-profit organizations, or government agencies.
Completion Time: Typically takes around 2-5 years.

Commonalities:

Both are the highest degrees in the higher education system.
Require significant commitment of time and effort.
Both require a final dissertation or project to complete the program.

This table will show the differentiation of Professional Doctorate and Doctor of Philosophy in details:

No.	Criteria	PhD	Professional Doctorate
1	Name	Doctor of Philosophy in [majors]	Doctor of Business Administration, Doctor of [majors]
2	Classification	Doctorate	Professional Doctorate
3	Level	Level 8 EQF	Level 8 EQF
4	Years of traning	From 3 to 5 years	From 2 to 5 years
5	Learning and research goals	Forming a new theoretical framework	Forming a new theoretical framework or applied solutions
6	Publish paper in ISI/SCOPUS	Encouraged	Must have or Encouraged
7	Subject requirements	research-intensive subjects	Research-intensive subjects and/or Compulsory doctoral-level subjects
8	Thesis Requirements	High level of academic and theory	High level of application content
9	Recognition after graduation	Doctoral (Dr.)	Doctoral (Dr.)
10	Degrees	Doctor of Philosophy in [majors]	Doctor of Business Administration; Doctor of Education; Doctor of [majors]
11	Career	Teaching, Researching	Teaching, Managing, Researching
12	Academic Development Pathway	Post Doctoral Programs	Ph.D & Post Doctoral Programs