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It typically takes around 4-6 years to complete a doctoral degree, depending on the field of study, research requirements, and program structure. Some programs may take longer due to the complexity of the research involved.

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1w ago
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10y ago

It totally depends on the actual degree and school but you can assume between three and five years as a general guideline. Medical degrees may take longer due to the internship and residency requirements. Another factor that may effect the time in school is whether or not you already have a master's degree. I would suggest you check out the websites for the schools you're thinking about attending or even calling their admissions office directly.

In the United States, "first professional (doctoral) degrees" (eg MD/ DO; DDS/ DDM; DPM; DPharm; JD; DVM; OD etc) are different from academic research doctorates (the PhD or equivalent - EdD; DA etc). Professional doctoral degrees are the first stage of training for entry to specific professions: focused & practical. There'll be research elements in the courses of study, but they're not about making original or significant contributions to academic/ scientific knowledge, but rather teaching the essentials to prospective professional practitioners - doctors, dentists, vets, podiatrists, optometrists, lawyers etc..

Most professional doctoral degrees require 3-4 years in an accredited professional school; generally a 4 year bachelor degree is a prerequisite of admission to such schools, plus passing other entry tests/ meeting subject requirements etc (eg English, Biology, Chem, Math, Physics, Social Science for medical; English/ Communication, Ethics, Logic/ Reasoning, Social Science etc for legal).

Medical degrees of all types (MD; DO; DDS/DDM; DVM; DPM) take 4 years, usually incorporating the first stages of practice licencing exams into the syllabus. This will be followed, after graduation, by extensive further training (internship year & final stage of basic licencing exam; residency/ specialty training & assessment etc) - usually at least 3, but often 5+ years, in order to qualify as an independent practitioner. In short, simply having a medical degree does not a fully qualified/ licenced medical practitioner make.

Pharmacists usually get the DPharm after 3 years at pharmacy school; after, of course, earning a 4 year BA/ BS. But they too must complete at least an internship year, & pass final licencing exams, before entering unsupervised practice.

Lawyers earn the Juris Doctor (JD) after 3 years at law school (again, bachelor degree needed for admission), but can not practice as lawyers without passing the Bar Exam of the state in which they aim to practice. The JD degree is not a prerequisite of taking most state Bar Exams, nor do you need it to practice as a lawyer, but these days most take the JD route.

Academic research doctorates are usually earned after at least 4-5 years in Graduate School: qualifying courses & exams have to be taken & passed en route, & final assessment is based on successful submission of a dissertation or "thesis"; a substantial piece of research, fit for publication, which makes an original contribution to knowledge/ understanding or interpretation of the subject researched. It is possible to earn the PhD in 3 years, but such candidates will have already undertaken substantial "coursework" (eg done Master's degrees; learned languages etc) or research (perhaps working in a drug company laboratory; fieldwork/ travel; assisting academic researchers etc) prior to entering grad school. One (now world famous) mathematician did go to CalTech directly from undergraduate work at Oxford, & earned his PhD in under 2 years, but it's safe to assert he was a freak case!

Medical students on joint DO/PhD or MD/ PhD programs (a select few who are exceptionally academically able, & who wish to follow careers in research medicine) will complete a PhD in 3 years (intercalated between years 2 & 3 of med school), but these are exceptions who are following a highly specialised "track" designed for those of exceptional ability & commitment!

5 years is probably about the norm for completion of a PhD - following, of course, at least 4 years of undergrad school. Many, however, take longer: 6-7 years is not unusual, especially in Humanities & Social Sciences which often require very lengthy periods of trawling through archives or undertaking fieldwork. Math, Science & Engineering researchers generally get the work done more quickly: by their nature such fields tend to be more focused/ specific problem oriented, & researchers frequently work in larger research groups where a lot of data gets shared, & thus time saved. Also, research students in math/ science/ engineering fields are more likely than humanities/ social science students to have done master's degrees or worked in industry/ research labs prior to starting a PhD.

Most universities set upper limits of 7-10 years (depending on fields) for academic research doctorates: if candidates can't meet requirements & submit viable dissertations within the times stated, they're "time expired" & failed.

In Great Britain (UK) things are different: there is no such thing as a "first professional (doctoral) degree". For historical reasons the MD or DM (Doctor of Medicine) is a research degree in clinical medicine or surgery awarded after a minimum of 2-3 years' research (& writing/ defence of a dissertation or thesis making an original contribution to knowledge) by a fully qualified medical doctor. Essentially, it's the same as a PhD, but its focus is clinical medicine rather than medical science. Some academic/ research focused medical doctors do PhDs as well (& as in the USA there are joint medical degree/ PhD programmes in some medical schools for very able students aiming for research careers), but these will be in "pure science" that's medically related (eg biochemistry, genetics, pharmacology, physiology etc) rather than medical practice.

Most prospective doctors, dentists, vets etc go to medical school directly from secondary (high) school, which lasts at least a year longer than is generally the case in the USA. Prospective medical/ dental/ veterinary students have to do very well in the General Certificate of Secondary Education (a national exam taken age 16), & then achieve high grades in a Maths/ Science based General Certificate of Education Advanced Level course taken over 2 years between 16 & 18. Entry to medical school also requires good performance in aptitude tests such as the BMAT (Biomedical Sciences Aptitude Test) & the Clinical Aptitude Test. There are 4 year medical degree courses at some medical schools for people who've done a bachelor's degree first (usually in something scientific) & can pass the GMSAT (Graduate Medical School Aptitude Test), but this route caters for a minority (20%), & most enter med school by the "traditional" route at age 18.

For most, therefore, Medical School lasts 5-6 years, and on graduation the degree awarded is The Bachelor of Medicine & Surgery (abbreviated variously as MBBS; BMBS; MBBChir; MBChB, or just BM - it's the same degree, but different universities use slightly varied titles: it's historical!), possession of which gives the holder provisional registration (licencing) as a medical doctor. Just as in the USA, however, further training is required. First come 2 years of "Foundation Training": year 1 is the internship (called in the UK "Junior House Officer") in general internal medicine & surgery. Successful completion of this year (competency tests etc) earns the junior doctor full medical registration (licencing). Year 2 comprises 4 blocks of experience in a range of specialties, one of which must be family medicine (called "General Practice" in the UK), & at the end of this year the "House Officer" applies for a specialty training scheme. Following this are a minimum of 3 (and in some areas like surgery 5-7) years of training as a "Registrar" (equivalent of US "Resident") in order to qualify in a medical specialty. Generally, after this training, a doctor interested in medical research or teaching will do research for an MD, & the research will focus on some aspect of their on-going medical practice - eg diabetes; infection & inflammation; heart failure; geriatrics or whatever.

So, most medical doctors in the UK do not have an MD in the North American sense. Same is true of vets, dentists etc: the veterinary degree is called Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine/ Science, & vets qualify by passing the membership exams/ competency tests of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. Dentists generally hold a BDS, & are licenced by the Faculty of Dental Surgeons of the Royal College of Surgeons. As with the British MD, the DDS is a research degree awarded to already qualified dentists who've done clinical research & submitted/ defended a substantial dissertation.

Lawyers in the UK usually do an undergraduate degree in law (LLB), or take an undergraduate degree in something else followed by a 2 year "law conversion" diploma. This is followed by an intensive (and notoriously hard - often 50% "knock-out" rate!) 1 year "legal practice" course at one of the accredited Colleges of Law (sometimes these are "stand alone" institutions; others are part of the Law Faculties of universities), & then a minimum 2 year training period as a "pupil barrister" or trainee solicitor working with experienced lawyers, during which time they must also pass final qualifying Law Society/ Bar exams & assessments. There are two types of lawyer in the UK: those specialising in advocacy in higher courts & legal research ("Barristers" in England, Wales & N Ireland; "Advocates" in Scotland), & "Solicitors", who work in more general practice dealing with most lower court advocacy, commercial, & family law etc.. For most people, "a lawyer" means a solicitor, who deals with the majority of general legal work; barristers will be called in by solicitors if specialist legal opinion is required, or if a client is likely to require representation in higher courts, or is facing very serious criminal charges!

The DJuris & LLD are academic research degrees undertaken by lawyers who want to teach in university law faculties, or make a career in high level legal research/ writing. They're the same as a PhD in terms of research requirements, academic status etc..

Most pure academic research degrees (PhD etc) in the UK take 3-4 years to complete, & there are usually tight time limits set for completion. Most PhD candidates are required to have a relevant master's degree before starting research; this to some extent explains the shorter timeframe than is often the case in the USA.

That stated, many people undertake academic doctoral research "part-time": they're registered as research students in a university; attend regularly for seminars/ tutorials, conferences etc, but continue working in their fields whilst researching. Typical examples might include microbiologists working in public health or hospital laboratories; technician grade scientists in forensic science labs; archivists in record offices & museums; chemists working for pharmaceutical companies; field archaeologists; engineers in industry etc.. Such candidates' academic research will be related to/ drawn from their everyday work, and in such cases it's the norm for the PhD to take 6-8 years to complete.

Whilst there are examples of similar working in the USA, it's much less common than in the UK. Largely it's a matter of where the money is! In Britain many private companies & public bodies prefer to keep useful staff on-roll & fund them to research in association with universities; in the USA there is a much greater tradition of private business & wealthy entrepreneurs endowing universities (often establishing research institutions within them) & financially underpinning large scale academic research. Things are changing in the UK, but there is not yet anything like the same level of private endowment of academic research activity.

The British EdD is specifically tailored to meet the needs of practising teachers/ educational leaders & administrators: candidates are always "part-time" in the sense they continue working whilst using their schools/ institutions as their "research labs". Most EdDs take 5-6 years to complete, & a Master's in Education (usually 3 years "part-time") is generally a prerequisite for starting the research course.

Finally, many British universities award "higher doctorates" (eg DLitt; ScD) - these are more prestigious than the PhD, & are awarded in recognition of sustained & significant publication that has advanced knowledge & understanding. Most higher doctorates are awarded to people (usually academics) who already hold PhDs or equivalent, but it is possible for someone who's never done a PhD to submit a portfolio of published work (it would have to be major monographs/ books, not just articles, research reports etc) and thereby be awarded a DLitt or ScD.

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10y ago

This will depend upon the country you are in the and the specific degree you are working towards. In the United States, most doctoral degree programs are 3-5 years in length, with the majority of the variation due to how long it takes for different students to complete the research and dissertation portion of the program.

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16y ago

It depends on what kind of doctorate. In general, a doctorate will take approximately eight years beyond high school completion.

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14y ago

it takes 4 years dependig

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