Thanks Ken, for a typically complete summary of different doctors. One reason I
brought this subject up was that I was pleased to find that professional
doctorates were likely to be more akin to research degrees than to advanced
taught degrees.

Ken said
>The first reason has to do with education for professional practice.
>Professional doctorates may allow individuals to develop advanced
>professional skills and training at a level higher than the MFA or
>the advanced professional degree of other kinds. In the increasingly
>complex world of design, this may include advanced study to develop
>knowledge and skills that are not always developed through active
>professional practice.

I am worried about qualification inflation. To start with, what is wrong with
"mastery" of a profession?  I was amused by a colleague's account of the ever
more high-faluting degrees in business following the huge growth in MBAs, not
all of postgraduate standard. He suggested that the Doctor of Business
Administration would only hold the line for so long before there was a need to
ratchet things up one more step. Eventually the only qualification worth having
would be the "Galactic Emperor of Business Administration"

A well-constituted Masters Degree should address the most advanced state of the
art in the field that it serves. It should be informed by current research and
should prepare students for a career of questioning and pushing forward the
"arts" of their profession. If not all taught postgraduate degrees do that, it
is a cause for regret and greater effort.

The fact that universities in some countries feel that they can employ only
doctors as teachers is a serious problem and self-defeating as Ken's account
shows. Few universities can claim to be in pursuit only of advanced knowledge
and some of the countries which have such restrictions have also the most
utilitarian view of higher education. If institutions were allowed to employ
and reward both professional and research-based experience/knowledge they would
be able to approach each problem (eg of who should supervise PhD's) on its
merits.

Of course there remains the most thorny problem of all - the MD.  Who can doubt
that the most persuasive reason for aspiring to a doctoral degree is that, out
there on the street, landlords, bank managers, relatives etc etc all admire and
respect doctors.  Why is this..............because doctors are clever and save
lives (even if they have never done any research).  Master of Medicine doesn't
really sound the same does it?

Best wishes from Sheffield
Chris Rust
MA Design Programme Leader (best job I've ever had)

*******************************************
Professor Chris Rust
Art and Design Research Centre
Sheffield Hallam University UK
www.shu.ac.uk/design

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