Doctor of Letters

==Britain, the Commonwealth and the Republic of Ireland==
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In the United Kingdom, Australia, India, and Ireland, the degree is a [[higher doctorate]], above the [[Doctor of Philosophy]] (Ph.D.) or [[Doctor of Education]] (Ed.D.), for example, and is awarded on the basis of high achievement in the respective field or a long record of research and publication. The D.Litt. degree is awarded to candidates whose record of published work and research shows conspicuous ability and originality and constitutes a distinguished and sustained achievement. University committee and board approval is required, and candidates must provide documented mastery{{clarify|date=July 2020}} of a particular area or field. The degree may also be awarded [[honorary degree|''honoris causa'']] to such individuals as the awarding institution deems worthy of this highest academic award.

At the [[University of Oxford]], the degree was established in 1900 as part of the development of graduate-level research degrees that began with the introduction of the [[Bachelor of Letters|B.Litt.]] and [[B.Sc.]] degrees in 1895. Until then, Oxford had focused on undergraduate teaching, with the doctorates, such as those in divinity ([[D.D.]]) and medicine ([[Doctor of Medicine|D.M.]]) traditionally reserved for established scholars. The German paradigm, adopted by the Americans, that created a demand for the ''philosophiae doctor'' ([[Ph.D.]]) degree as a basic qualification for an academic career, was not immediately adopted at Oxford, but it did create pressure for Oxford to offer a degree for this purpose.<ref>[[M.G. Brock]] and M.C Curthouys, eds., ''The History of the University of Oxford.'', vol. VII, part 2: ''Nineteenth Century Oxford'', (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), p. 619.</ref> Rather than use the D.Litt. degree, Oxford eventually created its doctor of philosophy ([[D.Phil.]]) degree in 1915, deliberately using a distinctive English, rather than a Latin, title and abbreviation for it. The D.Phil. became an accelerated, supervised, degree of lower status than the D.Litt. When it was established in 1900, the Oxford Doctor of Literature (D.Litt.) degree could be awarded to individuals who had a standing of thirty-four terms from the award of a [[Bachelor of Letters|B.Litt.]] degree, or of thirty-nine terms (thirteen academic years) from the award of an Oxford master of arts [[Master of Arts|M.A.]] degree, providing they could provide "fitness for the degree in published books or papers, containing an original contribution to the advancement of learning."<ref>Brian Harrison, ed., ''The History of the University of Oxford'', vol. VIII: ''The Twentieth Century'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994), p. 125.</ref> The required number of terms changed over the years, depending on the prior Oxford degree that a candidate held, and the requirements became more specific.

By 2015, ''The Oxford University Examination Regulations'' called for a faculty board at Oxford to "appoint judges to consider the evidence submitted by any candidate, and to report thereon to the board. In making their report, the judges shall state whether the evidence submitted constitutes an original contribution to the advancement of knowledge of such substance and distinction as to give the candidate an authoritative status in some branch or branches of learning."<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/examregs/2015-16/doladoctofscie/ |title=University of Oxford. Examination Regulations. |access-date=15 November 2015 |archive-date=19 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019023215/https://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/examregs/2015-16/doladoctofscie/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Between 1923 and 2016, Oxford awarded 219 D.Litt. degrees, of which 196 were awarded to men and 23 to women. Among the six higher doctoral degrees at Oxford ([[D.D.]], [[Doctor of Medicine|D.M.]], [[D.C.L.]], [[D.Litt.]], [[D.Sc.]], [[D.Mus.]]), the D.Litt. comprised 27.5% of the higher doctorates awarded during this 93-year period.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/media/global/wwwadminoxacuk/localsites/educationcommittee/documents/Higher_Degrees_Report.pdf |title=''Report of the Review of Higher Degrees'', University of Oxford, 2016, table 1, page 8. |access-date=7 August 2016 |archive-date=11 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160711235704/http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/media/global/wwwadminoxacuk/localsites/educationcommittee/documents/Higher_Degrees_Report.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In June 2016, the Oxford D.Litt. was suspended, pending a reform of the higher doctorates.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ox.ac.uk/gazette/2015-2016/16june2016-no5137/notices/#234506 |title=''Education Committee: Suspension of higher degrees,'' Oxford University Gazette vol. 146 no. 5137 (16 June 2016) |access-date=21 June 2016 |archive-date=13 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160713133633/http://www.ox.ac.uk/gazette/2015-2016/16june2016-no5137/notices/#234506 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The reforms were completed in June 2018 and applications reopened in September 2018. The new regulations reduced the number of higher doctorates to five by dropping the [[Doctor of Medicine]] as a higher doctorate. The standards for the remaining doctorates, including the D.Litt. (now also referred to as "Doctor of Letters" rather than Doctor of Literature<ref>{{cite web |title=Higher Doctorates |url=https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/higher-doctorates |website=University of Oxford}}</ref>), require the judges "to consider whether the evidence submitted demonstrates excellence in academic scholarship and is:
* a)	of the absolute highest quality;
* b)	substantial in scale and in the contribution it has made to knowledge;
* c)	sustained over time and showing current and continued contribution to scholarship;
* d)	authoritative, being able to demonstrate impact on the work of others;
* e)	of global reach and international importance within the field; and
* f)	of such breadth or covering such branches of knowledge appropriate to the field and in line with disciplinary norms and expectations."<ref>[https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/higher-doctorates?wssl=1 University of Oxford Regulations for Higher Doctorates]</ref>