Doctor of Philosophy Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === Medieval and early modern Europe === In the [[Medieval university|universities of Medieval Europe]], study was organized in four faculties: the basic faculty of arts, and the three higher faculties of theology, medicine, and law ([[canon law]] and [[civil law (legal system)|civil law]]). All of these faculties awarded intermediate degrees (bachelor of arts, of theology, of laws, of medicine) and final degrees. Initially, the titles of master and doctor were used interchangeably for the final degrees—the title ''Doctor'' was merely a formality bestowed on a Teacher/Master of the art—but by the late [[Middle Ages]] the terms Master of Arts and Doctor of Theology/Divinity, Doctor of Law, and Doctor of Medicine had become standard in most places (though in the German and Italian universities the term ''Doctor'' was used for all faculties).<ref>Ruano-Borbalan, Jean-Claude. (23 July 2022). [https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12522 ''Doctoral education from its medieval foundations to today's globalisation and standardisation'']. [[Wiley (publisher)]] online library.</ref> The doctorates in the higher faculties were quite different from the current PhD degree in that they were awarded for advanced scholarship, not original [[research]]. No [[thesis|dissertation]] or original work was required, only lengthy residency requirements and examinations. Besides these degrees, there was the [[Licentiate (degree)|licentiate]]. Originally this was a license to teach, awarded shortly before the award of the [[Master degree|master's]] or doctoral degree by the diocese in which the university was located, but later it evolved into an [[academic degree]] in its own right, in particular in the continental universities. According to Keith Allan Noble (1994), the first doctoral degree<!--Keith 1994 does not specify the exact type of the first doctorates--> was awarded in medieval Paris around 1150<!--"at the University of Paris circa 1150"-->.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Allan Noble |first=Keith |title=''Changing doctoral degrees: an international perspective'', Society for Research into Higher Education, 1994, p. 8; Bourner, T., Bowden, R., & Laing, S. (2001). "Professional doctorates in England |year=2001 |volume=26 |pages=65–88 |doi=10.1080/03075070020030724 |issue=1 |work=Studies in Higher Education}}</ref> The doctorate of philosophy developed in Germany as the terminal [[teacher's credential]] in the 17th century (circa 1652).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://erhard-weigel-gesellschaft.de.dedi2970.your-server.de/biographie-weigels/ |title=Erhard-Weigel-Gesellschaft: Biographie Weigels |website=Erhard-weigel-gesellschaft.de |access-date=2016-10-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161114124147/http://erhard-weigel-gesellschaft.de.dedi2970.your-server.de/biographie-weigels/ |archive-date=2016-11-14 }}</ref> There were no PhDs in Germany before the 1650s (when they gradually started replacing the MA as the highest academic degree; arguably, one of the earliest German PhD holders is [[Erhard Weigel]] (Dr. phil. hab., Leipzig, 1652).{{citation needed|date=February 2017}} The full course of studies might, for example, lead in succession to the degrees of [[Bachelor of Arts]], [[Licentiate of Arts]], [[Master of Arts]], or [[Bachelor of Medicine]], Licentiate of Medicine, or [[Doctor of Medicine]], but before the early modern era, many exceptions to this existed. Most students left the university without becoming masters of arts, whereas regulars (members of monastic orders) could skip the arts faculty entirely.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pedersen |first=Olaf |title=The first universities: Studium generale and the origins of university education in Europe |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-521-59431-8}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=de Ridder-Symoens |first=Hilde |title=A history of the university in Europe: Universities in the Middle Ages |title-link=A History of the University in Europe |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-521-36105-7}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Rashdall |first=Hastings |title=The Universities of Europe in the Middle Ages |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1964}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page