Dear Jeremy,
Thanks for your note.
The point that there is more to do than get a PhD is vital. The fact that
the PhD is a qualification and a union card for a research career gets back
to the earlier thread of a basis in compentencies and demonstrated abilities.
The higher doctorates are not simply honorary, though. They may be earned.
Swinburne, for example, does not award the higher doctorate honoris causa.
It is an earned degree. Our own graduates may earn it on submission no
earlier than ten years after earning a PhD. Our staff may earn the award on
submission. Those who have earned a doctorate at another university may also
apply to Swinburne for the higher doctorate. While the specifics vary by
university, this is effectively the way that higher doctorates are awarded
in the UK as ordinary degrees.
These are "ordinary" degrees in the sense that universities award them to
those who earn them much as any degree may be earned, but they are
extraordinary in terms of the standard of evidence required for the award.
Yours,
Ken
On Tue, 8 Dec 2009 15:43:00 -0500, jeremy hunsinger <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
--snip--
I also was reminded more recently of them because there were some awarded in
Australia, which I thought strange until i understood that they were honoris
causa as you explain below. However, my point still stands, that there are
positions that require a good deal of work after the ph.d. much like some
graduate faculties require.
--snip--
>On Dec 8, 2009, at 3:19 PM, Ken Friedman wrote:
The degree above a PhD is known as the higher doctorate. These are such
degrees as DSc, DLitt, or DSocSci. The degree may be earned or awarded
honoris causa. When earned, it is generally earned well after one has
completed the PhD. Generally, one submits a body of significant research
work demonstrated through high level publications assembled over an extended
period. Some universities only award the higher doctorate to scholars that
have already earned a first doctorate at that institution. Others also make
the award to members of their own staff that have applied for the degree or
been nominated for the degree by their faculty. When the higher doctorate is
awarded honoris causa, it is generally awarded for an extended body or work
or an extended contribution to a field of sufficient quality to earn the
higher doctorate the ordinary way.
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