Reply to Why are some professional degrees masters and some "doctorates"?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]What makes a JD or PharmD, say, an MLS, MBA, MSW, MFA, M.Arch. etc. so fundamentally different that they get "doctoral" degrees?  There is no original research component for any of these degrees.  Degree inflation?[/quote]

You do a thesis for doctoral degree; you don't for master degrees:
http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-a-phd.htm

It really all depends on what you want to be when you grow up.  [/quote]

Nope, not true at all.  Many MA programs will allow you to do 30 hours of coursework for the degree but some still require a thesis, which is considered the equivalent of two classes.  I wrote a thesis for my MA and a dissertation for my PHd.[/quote]

+1. Most master's require a thesis. DH's STEM masters was a 3 year program. I think a PhD was only a year more of coursework.

Lawyers are not doctors. Truly only academic teachers/professors and MDs should hold that title. [/quote]

Your obsession with lawyers are not doctors is just weird. Who really cares what they are called?  I'm a JD/MA (English) and in formal legal settings (briefings & correspondence  to the Court) other attorneys sometimes put "Esquire" after my name. In the 20 years since I have graduated from law school (and passed 3 bars), exactly no one has called me Dr. My Last Name. In fact, I've never head of any JD being referred to as Dr. Last Name. That would be weird and I would correct them.    It's not an academic doctorate, it's a professional one, and no one is pretending otherwise. That said, law school is a very tough path that prepares you for direct entry into professional practice (after passing the bar, of course). Saying it it less rigorous than an MA in liberal arts makes you look ridiculous.  I did a 4 year JD/MA joint program, and put 85% of my time and effort in the JD piece. JD/MBAs were also common in my school, and, once again, it was 3 tough years of JD (with some business law classes to cross count) and a "slacker" year to finish the MBA. [/quote]

Np here. In other parts of the world, lawyers are called Dr. Last Name.  I don't know exactly which countries do this or why, but I worked for an immigration lawyer while I was an undergrad and his South American clients called him Dr. Last Name.  [/quote]

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