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The full-dress robes of a Doctor of Music at Cambridge.

The Doctor of Music degree (D.Mus., D.M., D.Mus.A., Mus.D. or Mus.Doc.), like other doctorates, is an academic degree of the highest level. The D.Mus. is intended for musicians and composers who wish to combine the highest attainments in their area of specialization with doctoral-level academic study in music. (In the UK, apart from only a few universities (such as those of Oxford and Cambridge) and some music conservatories, the majority of doctoral level qualifications in music are styled with the generic doctoral title of PhD).

D.Mus. students complete advanced studies in one of typically three musical areas: performance (including conducting); musical composition; or musicology. Assessment varies with subject matter and University. A musicologist would be expected to produce a thesis on a specialised subject matter, whilst a performer would give recitals, and a composer would present a portfolio of compositions. Once obtained, D.Mus performers and composers may expect to be able to progress into their associated professional careers, whilst musicologists may continue with post-doctoral research.

In the United Kingdom, Ireland and some Commonwealth countries, the DMus is a higher doctorate, awarded on the basis of a substantial portfolio of compositions and/or scholarly publications on music. Most universities restrict candidature to their own graduates or staff, which is a reversal of the practice in former times, when (unlike higher degrees in other faculties) candidates for the degree were not required to be a Master of Arts. While most graduate programs in the United States offer a D.M.A. degree, Indiana University has been issuing the DMus degree since 1953.^[1]

The Doctor of Music degree has also been awarded honoris causa when presented to musicians and composers such as Joseph Haydn,^[2] Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Joan Baez, Matthew Bellamy, Richard Strauss, Daniel Barenboim, Bruce Dickinson,^[3] Bob Dylan, Kenny Garrett, Billy Joel, Mark Knopfler, David Gilmour, Jon Lord and Sir Paul McCartney. It has also been awarded as an honorary degree to musical artists who were not composers, including the ballet dancers Dame Alicia Markova and Dame Beryl Grey, as well as female royalty regardless of their experience in music^{[citation needed]}.

See also[link]

• Doctor of Musical Arts

References[link]

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Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil (for the Latin philosophiae doctor or doctor philosophiae), in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities. The academic level of degrees known as doctorates of philosophy varies considerably according to the country, institution, and time period, from entry-level research degrees to higher doctorates. A person who attains a doctorate may be referred to as a doctor.

A University of Oxford DPhil in full academic dress.

In the context of academic degrees, the term "philosophy" does not refer solely to the field of philosophy, but is used in a broader sense in accordance with its original Greek meaning, which is "love of wisdom". In most of Europe, all fields other than theology, law and medicine were traditionally known as philosophy. The doctorate of philosophy as it exists today originated as a doctorate in the liberal arts at the Humboldt University of Berlin, and was eventually adopted by United States universities, becoming common in large parts of the world in the 20th century.^[1] In many countries, the doctorate of philosophy is still awarded only in the liberal arts, which is known as "philosophy" in continental Europe.

History[link]

In the universities of Medieval Europe, study was organised in four faculties: the basic faculty of arts, and the three higher faculties of theology, medicine and law (canonical and civil). 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, but by the late Middle Ages the terms Master of Arts and Doctor of Theology/Divinity, Doctor of Laws and Doctor of Medicine had largely become standard. The doctorates in the higher faculties were quite different from the current Ph.D. degree in that they were awarded for advanced scholarship, not original research. No dissertation or original work was required, only lengthy residency requirements and examinations. Besides these degrees there was the licentiate. Originally this was a license to teach, awarded shortly before the award of the master or doctor 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. So in theory the full course of studies might lead in succession to the degrees of e.g. Bachelor of Arts, Licentiate of Arts, Master of Arts, Bachelor of Medicine, Licentiate of Medicine, Doctor of Medicine. There were many exceptions to this however, e.g. most students left the university before becoming masters of arts, whereas regulars (members of monastic orders) could skip the arts faculty entirely.^[2][3][4]

This situation changed in the early 19th century through the educational reforms in Germany, most strongly embodied in the model of the Humboldt University. The arts faculty, which in Germany was labelled the faculty of philosophy, started demanding contributions to research, attested by a dissertation, for the award of their final degree, which was labelled Doctor of Philosophy (abbreviated as Ph.D.) - originally this was just the German equivalent of the Master of Arts degree. Whereas in the Middle Ages, the arts faculty had a set curriculum, based upon the trivium and the quadrivium, by the 19th century it had come to house all the courses of study in subjects now commonly referred to as sciences and humanities.^[5]

These reforms proved extremely successful, and fairly quickly the German universities started attracting foreign students, notably from the United States. The American students would go to Germany to obtain a Ph.D. after having studied for a bachelor's degrees at an American college. So influential was this practice that it was imported to the United States, where in 1861 Yale University started granting the Ph.D. degree to younger students who, after having obtained the bachelor's degree, had completed a prescribed course of graduate study and successfully defended a thesis/dissertation containing original research in science or in the humanities.^[6] This research degree of doctor of philosophy was the first to be given. ^[7] The current triple structure of bachelor-master-doctor degrees in one discipline was therefore created on American soil by fusing two different European traditions - the medieval B.A. and M.A. degrees, awarded after a course of study and inherited from the British Universities, and the research based Ph.D. taken over from the early 19th century German educational reforms. Even though in Germany the name of the doctorate was adapted accordingly after the philosophy faculty started being split up - e.g. Dr. rer. nat. for doctorates in the faculty of natural sciences - in the Anglo-Saxon world the name of Doctor of Philosophy was retained for research doctorates in all disciplines.

From the United States, the degree spread to Canada in 1900, and then to the United Kingdom in 1917.^[8][9] This displaced the existing Doctor of Philosophy degree in some universities; for instance, the DPhil (higher doctorate in the faculty of philosophy) at the University of St Andrews was discontinued and replaced with the Ph.D. (research doctorate). Oxford retained the DPhil abbreviation for their research degrees. Some newer UK universities, for example Buckingham (est. 1976), Sussex (est. 1961), and, until a few years ago, York (est. 1963), chose to adopt the DPhil, as did some universities in New Zealand.

Requirements[link]

The detailed requirements for award of a Ph.D. degree vary throughout the world and even from school to school. In some schools in the US, Canada and Denmark, for example, many universities require coursework in addition to research for Ph.D. degrees. In other countries (such as the UK) there is generally no such condition. It is not uncommon, however, for individual universities or departments to specify additional requirements for students not already in possession of a bachelor's degree or equivalent or higher.^{[citation needed]} In most of central and northern Europe, e.g. in Finland, a degree equivalent to a Master's degree is required in all occasions.

In schools requiring coursework there is sometimes a prescribed minimum amount of study — typically two to three years full time, or a set number of credit hours — which must take place before submission of a thesis. This requirement is sometimes waived for those submitting a portfolio of peer-reviewed published work. The candidate may also be required to successfully complete a certain number of additional, advanced courses relevant to his or her area of specialization.

A candidate must submit a project or thesis or dissertation often consisting of a body of original academic research, which is in principle worthy of publication in a peer-refereed context.^[10] In many countries a candidate must defend this work before a panel of expert examiners appointed by the university; in other countries, the dissertation is examined by a panel of expert examiners who stipulate whether the dissertation is in principle passable and the issues that need to be addressed before the dissertation can be passed.

Some universities in the non-English-speaking world have begun adopting similar standards to those of the Anglophone PhD degree for their research doctorates (see the Bologna process).^[11]

A Ph.D. student or candidate (abbreviated to Ph.D.c)^[12] is conventionally required to study on campus under close supervision. With the popularity of distance education and e-learning technologies, some universities now accept students enrolled into a distance education part-time mode.

In a "sandwich Ph.D." program, Ph.D. candidates do not spend their entire study period at the same university. Instead, the Ph.D. candidate spend the first and last periods of the program at their home university, and in between conduct research at another institution or field research.^[13] Occasionally a "sandwich Ph.D." will be awarded by two universities.^[14] A number of Ethiopian universities have "capacity-building" Ph.D. arrangements with various Western universities.^[15]

Value and criticism[link]

PhD students are often motivated to pursue the PhD by the desire for further education beyond the undergraduate level, scientific and humanistic curiosity, the desire to contribute to the academic community, service to others, or personal development. A career in academia generally requires a PhD, though in some countries, e.g. the United Kingdom, it is possible to reach relatively high positions without a doctorate. The motivation may also include increased salary, but in many cases this is not the result. Research by Casey suggests that, over all subjects, PhDs provide an earnings premium of 26%, but notes that masters degrees provide a premium of 23% already. While this is a small return to the individual (or even an overall deficit when lost earnings during training are accounted for), he claims there are significant benefits to society for the extra research training.^[16] Some research suggests that overqualified workers are often less satisfied and less productive at their jobs.^[17] These difficulties are increasingly being felt by graduates of professional degrees, such as law school, looking to find employment. PhD students do not often have to take on debt to undertake their degree.^[18]

The Economist published an article citing various criticisms against the state of PhDs. Richard B. Freeman explains that, based on pre-2000 data, at most only 20% of life science PhD students end up getting jobs specifically in research. In Canada, where the overflow of PhD degree holders is not as severe, 80% of postdoctoral research fellows end up earning less than or equal to the average construction worker (roughly $38,000 a year).^[17] Only in the fastest developing countries (e.g. China or Brazil) is there a shortage of PhDs. Higher education systems often offer little incentive to move students through PhD programs quickly (and may even provide incentive to slow them down). Germany is one of the few nations engaging these issues, and it has been doing so by reconceptualizing PhD programs to be training for careers, outside of academia, but still at high-level positions. This development can be seen in the extensive number of PhD holders, typically from the fields of law, engineering and economics, at the very top corporate and administrative positions. To a lesser extent, the UK research councils have tackled the issue by introducing, since 1992, the EngD. Mark C. Taylor opines that total reform of PhD programs in almost every field is necessary in the U.S., and that pressure to make the necessary changes will need to come from many sources (students, administrators, public and private sectors, etc.). These issues and others are discussed in an April 2011 issue of the journal Nature.^{[18][19][20][21]}

Doctor of Philosophy degrees across the globe[link]

Paragraph 262 International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) 2011 (document № 36 C/19), states that "Programmes to be classified at ISCED level 8 are referred to in many ways across the world such as PhD, DPhil, D.Lit, D.Sc, LL.D, Doctorate or similar terms. However, it is important to note that programmes with a similar name to “doctor” should only be included in ISCED level 8 if they satisfy the criteria described in Paragraph 263. For international comparability purposes, the term “doctoral or equivalent” is used to label ISCED level 8."

Argentina[link]

• Admission In Argentina, the admission to a PhD program at public Argentinian University requires the full completion of a Master's degree or a Licentiate's degree. Non-Argentinian Master's titles are generally accepted into a PhD program when the degree comes from a recognized university.

• Funding While a significant portion of postgraduate students finance their tuition and living costs with teaching or research work at private and state-run institutions, international institutions, such as the Fullbright Program and the Organization of American States (OAS), have been known to grant full scholarships for tuition with apportions for housing.^[22]

• Requirements for completion Upon completion of at least two years' research and course work as a graduate student, a candidate must demonstrate truthful and original contributions to his or her specific field of knowledge within a frame of academic excellence.^[23] The doctoral candidate's work should be presented in a dissertation or thesis prepared under the supervision of a tutor or director, and reviewed by a Doctoral Committee. This Committee should be composed of examiners that are external to the program, and at least one of them should also be external to the institution. The academic degree of Doctor, respective to the correspondent field of science that the candidate has contributed with original and rigorous research, is received after a successful defense of the candidate’s dissertation.^[24]

Australia[link]

• Admission Admission to a PhD program within Australia requires a Masters degree or a Bachelors honours degree (first or second class, upper division), or equivalent, and demonstrated capacity to undertake significant research in the proposed doctoral field.

Framework for Best Practice in Doctoral Research Education in Australia

• Scholarships PhD students are sometimes offered a scholarship to study for their PhD degree. The most common of these in Australia is the government-funded Australian Postgraduate Award (APA), which provides a living stipend to students of approximately A$ 22,500 a year (tax free). APAs are paid for a duration of 3 years, while a 6 month extension is usually possible upon citing delays out of the control of the student.^[25] Some universities also fund a similar scholarship that matches the APA amount. In recent years, with the tightening of research funding in Australia, these scholarships have become increasingly hard to obtain. However, APAs have become less competitive as the number of scholarships were to be doubled by 2012.^[26] Due to a continual increase in living costs, many PhD students are forced to live under the poverty line.^[27] In addition to the more common APA and University scholarships, Australian students have other sources of scholarship funding, with options listed on the JASON Postgraduate Scholarship Database.
• Fees Australian citizens and other eligible PhD and Research Masters students in Australia are generally not charged course fees as these are paid for by the Australian Government under the Research Training Scheme^[28] International students and Coursework Masters students must pay course fees, unless they receive a scholarship to cover them.
• Requirements for completion Completion requirements vary. Most Australian PhD programs do not have a required coursework component. The 72 credit points attached to the degree are all in the product of the research, which has to make a significant new contribution to the field. The PhD research product is sent to external examiners, experts in the field of research, who have not been involved in the work. In Australia a formal oral defense is generally not part of the doctoral examination (largely because of the distances that would need to be traveled by the overseas examiners). Examiners are nominated by the candidate's University (often by the Head of Department or Research Office), and their identities are often not officially revealed to the candidate until the examination is complete. Many New Zealand Universities have retained the oral examination requirement, but often external examiner's report is presented by one of the internal examiners.

The Australasian Digital Theses Program provided access to PhDs produced recently, as there are generally automatically digitalised and added to this database, which is accessible through the National Library of Australia at http://trove.nla.gov.au/.

Canada[link]

• Admission

Admission to a PhD program at a Canadian university usually requires completion of a Master's degree in a related field, with sufficiently high grades and proven research ability. In some cases, a student may progress directly from an Honours Bachelor's degree to a PhD program; other programs allow a student to fast-track to a doctoral program after one year of outstanding work in a Master's program (without having to complete the Master's).

An application package typically includes a research proposal, letters of reference, transcripts, and in some cases, a writing sample or GRE scores. A common criterion for prospective PhD students is the comprehensive or qualifying examination, a process that often commences in the second year of a graduate program. Generally, successful completion of the qualifying exam permits continuance in the graduate program. Formats for this examination include oral examination by the student's faculty committee (or a separate qualifying committee), or written tests designed to demonstrate the student's knowledge in a specialized area (see below) or both.

At English-speaking universities, a student may also be required to demonstrate English language abilities, usually by achieving an acceptable score on a standard examination (e.g., Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)). Depending on the field, the student may also be required to demonstrate ability in one or more additional languages. A prospective student applying to French-speaking universities may also have to demonstrate some English language ability.

• Funding

While some students work outside the university (or at student jobs within the university), in some programs students are advised (or must agree) not to devote more than ten hours per week to activities (e.g., employment) outside of their studies, particularly if they have been given funding. For large and prestigious scholarships, such as those from NSERC, this is an absolute requirement.

At some Canadian universities, most PhD students receive an award equivalent to part or all of the tuition amount for the first four years (this is sometimes called a tuition deferral or tuition waiver). Other sources of funding include teaching assistantships and research assistantships; experience as a teaching assistant is encouraged but not requisite in many programs. Some programs may require all PhD candidates to teach, which may be done under the supervision of their supervisor or regular faculty. Besides these sources of funding, there are also various competitive scholarships, bursaries, and awards available, such as those offered by the federal government via NSERC, CIHR, or SSHRC.

• Requirements for completion

In general, the first two years of study are devoted to completion of coursework and the comprehensive examinations. At this stage, the student is known as a "PhD student" or "doctoral student". It is usually expected that the student will have completed most of his or her required coursework by the end of this stage. Furthermore, it is usually required that by the end of eighteen to thirty-six months after the first registration, the student will have successfully completed the comprehensive exams.

Upon successful completion of the comprehensive exams, the student becomes known as a "PhD candidate". From this stage on, the bulk of the student's time will be devoted to his or her own research, culminating in the completion of a PhD thesis or dissertation. The final requirement is an oral defense of the thesis, which is open to the public in some, but not all, universities. At most Canadian universities, the time needed to complete a PhD degree typically ranges from four to six years^{[citation needed]}. It is, however, not uncommon for students to be unable to complete all the requirements within six years, particularly given that funding packages often support students for only two to four years; many departments will allow program extensions at the discretion of the thesis supervisor and/or department chair. Alternate arrangements exist whereby a student is allowed to let their registration in the program lapse at the end of six years and re-register once the thesis is completed in draft form. The general rule is that graduate students are obligated to pay tuition until the initial thesis submission has been received by the thesis office. In other words, if a PhD student defers or delays the initial submission of their thesis they remain obligated to pay fees until such time that the thesis has been received in good standing.

Denmark and Norway[link]

Denmark and Norway were some of the first countries to introduce the Doctor of Philosophy degree, inspired by the German university system, in 1824. The degree was written as Doctor Philosophiae, abbreviated dr. Phil. or dr. philos. The two countries' systems of higher education were more or less identical at that time; following the dissolution of Denmark-Norway in 1814, the only university of Norway (the Royal Frederick University) nonetheless followed the regulations of the only university of Denmark (and for centuries the only university of both countries), the University of Copenhagen, for several years.

The dr. phil. degree was used for all other fields than theology, law and medicine, which had separate degrees: doctor theologiae, doctor juris and doctor medicinae. In the 20th century new degrees were created in the fields of natural sciences, humanities and social sciences, but it was still possible to obtain the dr. phil. degree in any field. Most people who started at a doctoral degree had already studied for six or seven years and obtained a Candidate degree (six years) or a Magister degree (seven years), sometimes a Licentiate (a "smaller doctorate"). The former were considered entry-level degrees required before finding permanent employment as a researcher, while the dr. phil. degree was often obtained by people who were already well established academics, sometimes even full professors.

Following reforms in the late 1990s and early 2000s (decade), both countries introduced a new Doctor of Philosophy degree, based upon the American PhD and written as Philosophiae Doctor (PhD). In Norway the PhD replaced all other doctoral degrees except dr. philos., while in Denmark, the traditional doctorates are still awarded. In Norway the new PhD and the dr. philos. are equivalent. In Denmark, the original dr. phil. degree is today considered a higher doctorate, as opposed to the PhD, which is considered a "smaller doctorate" at the same level as the former Licentiate. All licentiates had their degrees renamed PhD. Unlike the PhD, the dr. phil. degree is not a supervised degree, does not include any coursework and requires a much larger degree of independent research in both countries.

France[link]

Admission[link]

Students pursuing the PhD degree must first complete a Master's degree program, which takes two years after graduation with a Bachelor's degree (five years in total). The candidate must find funding and a formal doctoral advisor (Directeur de thèse) with an habilitation throughout the doctoral program.

The Masters program is divided into two branches: "master professionnel", which orientates the students towards the working world, and Master of Research (Master-recherche), which is oriented towards research. The PhD admission is granted by a graduate school (in French, "école doctorale"). A PhD Student has to follow some courses offered by the graduate school while continuing his/her research at laboratory. His/her research may be carried out in a laboratory, at a university, or in a company. In the last case, the company hires the student as an engineer and the student is supervised by both the company's tutor and a labs' professor. The validation of the PhD degree requires generally 3 to 4 years after the Master degree. Consequently, the PhD degree is considered in France as a "Bac +8" diploma. "Bac" stands for Baccalauréat which is the French High-school diploma.

Funding[link]

The financing of PhD studies comes mainly from funds for research of the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research. The most common procedure is a short-term employment contract called doctoral contract : the institution of higher education is the employer and the PhD candidate the employee. However, the student can apply for funds from a company who can host him/her at its premise (as in the case where PhD students do their research in a company). Many other resources come from some regional/city projects, some associations, etc.

India[link]

Admission[link]

In India, a Masters degree is required to gain admission to a doctoral program. In some subjects, doing a Masters in Philosophy (M.Phil) is a prerequisite to start a PhD. For funding/fellowship it is required to qualify ‘National Eligibility Test for Lectureship and Junior Research fellowship(NET for LS and JRF)^[29] conducted by the federal research organisation 'Council of Scientific and Industrial Research'(CSIR) and ‘University Grants Commission'(UGC) .

In the last few years, there have been many changes in the rules relating to PhDs in India^{[citation needed]}. According to the new rules, most universities conduct entrance exams in general ability and the selected subject. After clearing these tests, the short-listed candidates need to appear for an interview by the available supervisor / guide. The students are required to give presentations of the research proposal at the beginning, need to submit progress reports, give pre-submission presentation and finally defend the thesis in an open defence viva voce.

Germany[link]

Admission[link]

In Germany an advanced degree (Master, Diploma, Magister or Staatsexamen) and above-average grades are often required to gain admission to a doctoral program. The degree should usually be in a related field. The candidate must also find a tenured professor or Privatdozent to serve as the formal advisor and supervisor (Betreuer) of the dissertation throughout the doctoral program. This supervisor is informally referred to as Doktorvater/Doktormutter (literally 'doctor's father/mother').

The regular period of study of doctorate programs strongly depends on the subject. Often three to five years of full-time research work are required. On average doctorate degrees are awarded with age 32.7 ^[30]. There are usually no formal classes or lectures to attend, and the doctoral candidate (Doktorand/-in) mainly conducts independent research under the tutelage of a single professor or advisory committee.

Many doctoral candidates work as teaching or research assistants and are thus actually doing most of the research and teaching activities at their home institutions, but are not paid a reasonably competitive salary for that (in most cases, only a half position is granted). However, external funding by research organisations and foundations is also common. Furthermore, many universities have established research-intensive Graduiertenkollegs, which are graduate schools that provide funding for doctoral theses.

Other countries[link]

In German-speaking countries, most Eastern European countries, the former Soviet Union, most parts of Africa, Asia, and many Spanish-speaking countries the corresponding degree is simply called "doctor" (Doktor), and is distinguished by subject area with a Latin suffix (e.g. "Dr. med." for doctor medicinae, "Dr. rer. nat." for doctor rerum naturalium — Doctor of Natural Science, "Dr. phil." for doctor philosophiae, "Dr. iur." for doctor iuris, etc.).

USSR, Russian Federation and former Soviet Republics[link]

In countries with a two-tier system of doctoral degrees, the degree of Kandidat Nauk (Кандидат наук) should be considered for recognition at the level of the first doctoral degree. In countries with only one doctoral degree, the degree of Kandidat Nauk should be considered for recognition as equivalent to this degree.

According to "Guidelines for the recognition of Russian qualifications in the other countries" in countries with a two-tier system of doctoral degrees, the degree of Doktor Nauk (Доктор наук) should be considered for recognition at the level of the second doctoral degree. In countries in which only one doctoral degree exists, the degree of Doktor Nauk should be considered for recognition at the level of this degree.

According to par.262 International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) 2011, for purposes of international educational statistics 1. PhD is equivalent to Kandidat Nauk, 2. DPhil to Doktor Nauk/Philosophy, 3. D.Lit to Doktor Nauk in Literature, 4. D.Sc to Doktor Nauk of Natural Science, 5. LL.D to Doktor Nauk of Legal Science.

About 88% of Russian students studying at state universities study at the expense of budget funds^[31]. The average stipend in Russia (as of August 2011) is $430 a year ($35/month)^[32]. The average tuition fee in graduate school is $2,000 per year^[33].

Italy[link]

The Dottorato di ricerca (research doctorate), abbreviated to "Dott. Ric." or "Ph.D.", is an academic title awarded at the end of a course of not less than three years, admission to which is based on entrance examinations and academic rankings in the Bachelor of Arts ("Laurea Triennale") and Master of Arts ("Laurea Magistrale" or "Laurea Specialistica"). While the standard Ph.D follows the Bologna process, the MD/PhD programme may be completed in two years.

The first institution in Italy to create a doctoral program (PhD) was Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa in 1927 under the historic name "Diploma di Perfezionamento".^[34][35] Further, the research doctorates or PhD (Italian: Dottorato di ricerca) in Italy were introduced with law and Presidential Decree in 1980 (Law of February 21, 1980, No. 28 and the Presidential Decree No. 382 of 11 July 1980), referring to the reform of academic teaching, training and experimentation in organisation and teaching methods.^[36][37]

Hence, the Superior Graduate Schools in Italy (Grandes écoles)^[38] (Italian: Scuola Superiore Universitaria),^[39] also called Schools of Excellence (Italian: Scuole di Eccellenza)^[38][40] such as Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa and Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies still keep their reputed historical "Diploma di Perfezionamento" PhD title by law^[35][41] and MIUR Decree.^[42][43]

Doctorate courses are open, without age or citizenship limits, to all those who already hold a "laurea magistrale" (master degree) or similar academic title awarded abroad which has been recognised as equivalent to an Italian degree by the Committee responsible for the entrance examinations.

The number of places on offer each year and details of the entrance examinations are set out in the examination announcement.

Poland[link]

A doctor's degree (pl. Doktor), abbreviated to Phd (pl. dr) is an advanced academic degree awarded by universities in most fields ^{[44][45][46][47][48]} as well as by the Polish Academy of Sciences,^[49] regulated by the Polish parliament acts^[50] and the government orders, in particular by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Poland. Commonly, students with a master's degree or equivalent are accepted to a doctoral entrance exam. The title of Phd is awarded to a scientist who 1) completed a minimum of 3 years of Phd studies (pl. studia doktoranckie), 2) finished his/her theoretical and/or laboratory’s scientific work, 3) passed all Phd examinations, 4) submitted his/her dissertation- a document presenting the author's research and findings,^[51] 5) successfully defended his/her doctoral thesis. Typically, upon completion, the candidate undergoes an oral examination, always public, by his/her supervisory committee with expertise in the given discipline.

Scandinavia[link]

The doctorate was introduced in Denmark-Norway in 1479 and awarded in theology, law and medicine, while the Magister's degree was the highest degree at the Faculty of Philosophy, equivalent to the doctorate.

Scandinavian countries were among the early adopters of a modern style doctorate of philosophy, based upon the German model. Denmark and Norway both introduced the dr. phil(os). degree in 1824, replacing the Magister's degree as the highest degree, while Uppsala University of Sweden renamed its Magister's degree Filosofie Doktor (Fil.Dr.) in 1863. These degrees, however, became comparable to the German Habilitation rather than the doctorate, as Scandinavian countries did not have a separate Habilitation.^[52] The degrees were uncommon and not a prerequisite for employment as a professor; rather, they were seen as distinctions similar to the British (higher) doctorates (D.Litt., D.Sc.). Denmark introduced an American-style PhD in 1989; it formally replaced the Licentiate degree, and is considered a lower degree than the dr. phil. degree; officially, the PhD is not considered a doctorate, but unofficially, it is referred to as "the smaller doctorate", as opposed to the dr. phil., "the grand doctorate".^[53] Currently Denmark and Norway are both awarding the traditional (higher) dr. phil(os). degree, and American-style PhDs. In Sweden the PhD degree is often named after the traditional faculty such as teologie doktor (doctor of theology, PhD Faculty of Theology), medicine doktor (doctor of medical sciences, PhD Faculty of Medicine), farmacie doktor (doktor of pharmaceutical sciences, PhD, Faculty of Pharmacy), and juris doktor (PhD Faculty of Law), or after specific lower degrees such as agronomie doktor (doctor of agronomical sciences), teknologie doktor (doctor of technological sciences) and ekonomie doktor (doctor of economical sciences). Most degrees fall under the designation filosofie doktor (doctor of philosophy) which represents the traditional Faculty of Philosophy and encompases subjects from biology, physics and chemistry, to languages, history and social sciences.

Spain[link]

Doctor Degrees are regulated by Royal Decree (R.D. 778/1998),^[54] Real Decreto (in Spanish). They are granted by the University on behalf of the King, and its Diploma has the force of a public document. The Ministry of Science keeps a National Registry of Theses called TESEO.^[55]

All doctoral programs are of a research nature. A minimum of 4 years of study are required, divided into 2 stages:

1. A 2-year-long period of studies, which concludes with a public dissertation presented to a panel of 3 Professors. If the projects receives approval from the university, he/she will receive a "Diploma de Estudios Avanzados" (part qualified doctor, Literally: Diploma of Advanced Studies).
2. A 2-year (or longer) period of research. Extensions may be requested for up to 10 years. The student must write his thesis presenting a new discovery or original contribution to Science. If approved by his "thesis director", the study will be presented to a panel of 5 distinguished scholars. Any Doctor attending the public presentations is allowed to challenge the candidate with questions on his research. If approved, he will receive the doctorate. Four marks can be granted (Unsatisfactory, Pass, "Cum laude", and "Summa cum laude"). Those Doctors granted their degree "Summa Cum Laude" are allowed to apply for an "Extraordinary Award".

A Doctor Degree is required to apply to a long-term teaching position at the University.

The social standing of Doctors in Spain is evidenced by the fact that only PhD holders, Grandees and Dukes can take seat and cover their heads in the presence of the King.^[56] All Doctor Degree holders are reciprocally recognized as equivalent in Germany and Spain ("Bonn Agreement of November 14, 1994").^[57]

United Kingdom[link]

See also UK Doctorate

Admission[link]

Universities admit applicants to PhD programmes on a case-by-case basis; depending on the university, admission is typically conditional on the prospective student having successfully completed an undergraduate degree with at least upper second-class honours, or a postgraduate master's degree, but requirements can vary.

In the case of the University of Oxford, for example, "The one essential condition of being accepted...is evidence of previous academic excellence, and of future potential."^[58] Commonly, students are first accepted on to an MPhil programme and may transfer to PhD regulations upon satisfactory progress and is referred to as APG (Advanced Postgraduate) status. This is typically done after one or two years, and the research work done may count towards the PhD degree. If a student fails to make satisfactory progress, he or she may be offered the opportunity to write up and submit for an MPhil degree.

In addition, PhD students from countries outside the EU/EFTA area are required to comply with the Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS), which involves undergoing a security clearance process with the Foreign Office for certain courses in medicine, mathematics, engineering and material sciences.^[59][60] This requirement was introduced in 2007 due to concerns about terrorism and weapons proliferation.^[60]

Funding[link]

In the United Kingdom, funding for PhD students is sometimes provided by government-funded Research Councils or the European Social Fund, usually in the form of a tax-free bursary which consists of tuition fees together with a stipend of around £13,000 per year for three years (higher in London),^[61] whether or not the degree continues for longer. Scientific studentships are usually paid at a higher rate, for example, in London, Cancer Research UK, the ICR and the Wellcome Trust stipend rates start at around £19,000 and progress annually to around £23,000 a year; an amount that is tax and national insurance free. Research Council funding is sometimes 'earmarked' for a particular department or research group, who then allocate it to a chosen student, although in doing so they are generally expected to abide by the usual minimum entry requirements (typically a first degree with upper second class honours, although successful completion of a postgraduate master's degree is usually counted as raising the class of the first degree by one division for these purposes). However, the availability of funding in many disciplines (especially humanities, social studies, and pure science^{[citation needed]} subjects) means that in practice only those with the best research proposals, references and backgrounds are likely to be awarded a studentship. The ESRC (Economic and Social Science Research Council) explicitly state that a 2.1 minimum (or 2.2 plus additional masters degree) is required – no additional marks are given for students with a first class honours or a distinction at masters level. Since 2002, there has been a move by research councils to fund interdisciplinary doctoral training centres which concentrate resources on fewer higher quality centres.

Many students who are not in receipt of external funding may choose to undertake the degree part time, thus reducing the tuition fees, as well as creating free time in which to earn money for subsistence. Students may also take part in tutoring, work as research assistants, or (occasionally) deliver lectures, at a rate of typically £25–30 per hour, either to supplement existing low income or as a sole means of funding.^[62]

Completion[link]

There is usually a preliminary assessment to remain in the programme and the thesis is submitted at the end of a 3- to 4-year program. These periods are usually extended pro rata for part-time students. With special dispensation, the final date for the thesis can be extended for up to four additional years, for a total of seven, but this is rare.^{[citation needed]} Since the early 1990s, the UK funding councils have adopted a policy of penalising departments where large proportions of students fail to submit their theses in four years after achieving PhD-student status (or pro rata equivalent) by reducing the number of funded places in subsequent years.^[63]

There has recently been an increase in the number of Integrated PhD programs available, such as at the University of Southampton. These courses include a Masters of Research (MRes) in the first year, which consists of a taught component as well as laboratory rotation projects. The PhD must then be completed within the next 3 years. As this includes the MRes all deadlines and timeframes are brought forward to encourage completion of both MRes and PhD within 4 years from commencement. These programs are designed to provide students with a greater range of skills than a standard PhD.

Other doctorates[link]

In the United Kingdom PhD degrees are distinct from other doctorates, most notably the higher doctorates such as D.Litt. (Doctor of Letters) or D.Sc. (Doctor of Science), which may be granted on the recommendation of a committee of examiners on the basis of a substantial portfolio of submitted (and usually published) research. However, most UK universities still maintain the option of submitting a thesis for the award of a higher doctorate.

Recent years have seen the introduction of professional doctorates, which are the same level as PhDs but more specific in their field.^[64] These tend not to be solely academic, but combine academic research, a taught component and a professional qualification. These are most notably in the fields of engineering (Eng.D.), education (Ed.D.), occupational psychology (D.Occ Psych.) clinical psychology (D.Clin.Psych.), public administration (D.P.A.), business administration (D.B.A.), and music (D.M.A.). These typically have a more formal taught component consisting of smaller research projects, as well as a 40,000–60,000 word thesis component, which collectively is equivalent to that of a PhD degree. In UK an equivalent formation is the NVQ 5 qualification. http://www.ofqual.gov.uk/qualifications-assessments/89-articles/250-explaining-the-national-qualifications-framework

United States[link]

Overview[link]

In the United States, the Ph.D. degree is the highest academic degree awarded by universities in most fields of study. American students typically undergo a series of three phases in the course of their work toward the Ph.D. degree. The first phase consists of coursework in the student's field of study and requires one to three years to complete. This often is followed by a preliminary, a comprehensive examination, or a series of cumulative examinations where the emphasis is on breadth rather than depth of knowledge. The student is often later required to pass oral and written examinations in the field of specialization within the discipline, and here, depth is emphasized. Some Ph.D. programs require the candidate to successfully complete requirements in pedagogy (taking courses on higher level teaching and teaching undergraduate courses) or applied science (e.g., clinical practice and predoctoral clinical internship in Ph.D. programs in clinical or counseling psychology).^{[citation needed]}

Another two to four years are usually required for the composition of a substantial and original contribution to human knowledge in the form of a written dissertation, which in the social sciences and humanities typically ranges from 50 to 450 pages in length. In many cases, depending on the discipline, a dissertation consists of (i) a comprehensive literature review, (ii) an outline of methodology, and (iii) several chapters of scientific, social, historical, philosophical, or literary analysis. Typically, upon completion, the candidate undergoes an oral examination, sometimes public, by his or her supervisory committee with expertise in the given discipline.^{[citation needed]}

As the Ph.D. degree is often a preliminary step toward a career as a professor, throughout the whole period of study and dissertation research the student, depending on the university and degree, may be required or offered the opportunity to teach undergraduate and occasionally graduate courses in relevant subjects.^{[citation needed]}

Admission[link]

There are 282 universities in the United States that award the PhD degree, and those universities vary widely in their criteria for admission, as well as the rigor of their academic programs.^[65] Typically, PhD programs require applicants to have a Bachelor's degree in a relevant field (and, in many cases in the humanities, a master's degree), reasonably high grades, several letters of recommendation, relevant academic coursework, a cogent statement of interest in the field of study, and satisfactory performance on a graduate-level exam specified by the respective program (e.g., GRE, GMAT).^[66][67] Specific admissions criteria differ substantially according to university admissions policies and fields of study. Some programs in well-regarded research universities may have very low acceptance rates and require excellent performances on the GRE and in undergraduate work, strong support in letters of recommendation, substantial research experience, and academically sophisticated samples of their writing.^{[citation needed]}

Master's degree "en route"[link]

As applicants to many Ph.D. programs are not required to have master's degrees, many programs award a Master of Arts or Master of Science degree "en route", "in passing", or "in course" based on the graduate work done in the course of achieving the Ph.D. Students who receive such master's degrees are usually required to complete a certain amount of coursework and a master's thesis or field examination. Not all Ph.D. programs require additional work to obtain a master's en route to the Ph.D. (e.g., a master's thesis). Depending on the specific program, masters-in-passing degrees can be either mandatory or optional. Not all Ph.D. students choose to complete the additional requirements necessary for the MA or MS if such requirements are not mandated by their programs. Those students will simply obtain the Ph.D. degree at the end of their graduate study.^{[citation needed]}

Time[link]

Depending on the specific field of study, completion of a PhD program usually takes four to eight years of study after the Bachelor's Degree; those students who begin a PhD program with a master's degree may complete their PhD degree a year or two sooner.^[68] As PhD programs typically lack the formal structure of undergraduate education, there are significant individual differences in the time taken to complete the degree. Many U.S. universities have set a ten-year limit for students in PhD programs, or refuse to consider graduate credit older than ten years as counting towards a PhD degree. Similarly, students may be required to re-take the comprehensive exam if they do not defend their dissertations within five years after submitting it to their self-chosen dissertation advisors.^{[citation needed]} Overall, 57% of students who begin a PhD program in the US will complete their degree within ten years, approximately 30% will drop out or be dismissed, and the remaining 13% of students will continue on past ten years.^[69]

Funding[link]

PhD students are usually discouraged from engaging in external employment during the course of their graduate training. As a result, PhD students at U.S. universities typically receive a tuition waiver and some form of annual stipend.^{[citation needed]} The source and amount of funding varies from field to field and university to university. Many U.S. PhD students work as teaching assistants or research assistants. Graduate schools increasingly^{[citation needed]} encourage their students to seek outside funding; many are supported by fellowships they obtain for themselves or by their advisers' research grants from government agencies such as the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. Many Ivy League and other well-endowed universities provide funding for the entire duration of the degree program (if it is short) or for most of it.^{[citation needed]}

PhD candidacy[link]

A PhD program candidate, or PhDc (sometimes called Candidate of Philosophy), is a postgraduate student at the doctoral level who has successfully satisfied the requirements for doctoral studies, except for the final thesis or dissertation. As such, a PhDc is sometimes called an "ABD" (All But Dissertation or All But Defended). Although a minor distinction in postgraduate study, achieving PhD Candidacy is not without benefit. For example, PhDc status may coincide with an increase in the student's monthly stipend and may make the student eligible for additional employment opportunities.^{[citation needed]}

Some programs also include a Master of Philosophy degree as part of the PhD program.^[70] The MPhil, in those universities that offer it, is usually awarded after the appropriate MA or MS (as above) is awarded, and the degree candidate has completed all further requirements for the PhD degree (which may include additional language requirements, course credits, teaching experiences, and comprehensive exams) aside from the writing and defense of the dissertation itself.^{[citation needed]} This formalizes the "all but dissertation" (ABD) status used informally by some students, and represents that the student has achieved a higher level of scholarship than the MA/MS would indicate – as such, the MPhil is sometimes a helpful credential for those applying for teaching or research posts while completing their dissertation work for the PhD degree itself.^[71]

PhDc is not to be confused with Candidate of Sciences, an academic degree that has been used in certain countries in place of PhD.

Models of supervision[link]

At some universities, there may be training for those wishing to supervise PhD studies. There is now a lot of literature published for academics who wish to do this, such as Delamont, Atkinson and Parry (1997). Indeed, Dinham and Scott (2001) have argued that the worldwide growth in research students has been matched by increase in a number of what they term "how-to" texts for both students and supervisors, citing examples such as Pugh and Phillips (1987). These authors report empirical data on the benefits that a PhDc may gain if he or she publishes work, and note that PhD students are more likely to do this with adequate encouragement from their supervisors.

Wisker (2005) has noticed how research into this field has distinguished between two models of supervision: The technical-rationality model of supervision, emphasising technique; The negotiated order model, being less mechanistic and emphasising fluid and dynamic change in the PhD process. These two models were first distinguished by Acker, Hill and Black (1994; cited in Wisker, 2005). Considerable literature exists on the expectations that supervisors may have of their students (Phillips & Pugh, 1987) and the expectations that students may have of their supervisors (Phillips & Pugh, 1987; Wilkinson, 2005) in the course of PhD supervision. Similar expectations are implied by the Quality Assurance Agency's Code for Supervision (Quality Assurance Agency, 1999; cited in Wilkinson, 2005).

International PhD equivalent degrees[link]

• Afghanistan: ډاکټر
• Austria: Doktor (Dr., plural: DDr.)
• Belarus: Доктар
• Belgium (Dutch-speaking): Doctor
• Belgium (French-speaking): Doctorat
• Brazil: Doutorado
• Bulgaria: Доктор
• China: 博士
• Colombia: Doctorado
• Croatia: Doktor
• Czech Republic: CSc. and DrSc. was used till 1998, since 1998 PhD written as Ph.D. is used
• Denmark: ph.d.
• Ecuador: Doctorado
• Egypt: Doctorat
• Estonia: Doktor
• Finland: Tohtori
• France: Doctorat
• Germany: Doktor
• Greece: Διδακτορικό
• Hong Kong: 博士Doctor
• India: Doctorate
• Indonesia: Doktor
• Iran: دکترا(Doctora)
• Iraq: دكتوراه (Duktorah)
• Israel: דוקטורט ("doctorat")
• Italy: Dottorato di ricerca
• Japan: 博士
• Korea: 박사
• Latin America: Doctorado/Doctorate
• Latvia: Zinātņu doktors
• Lithuania: Daktaras
• Macau: 博士Doutoramento
• Macedonia: Докторат
• Malaysia: Doktor Falsafah
• Mexico: Doctorado
• Mongolia: Эрдэмтэн
• Netherlands: Doctor
• Norway: no: Doktorgrad
• Pakistan: Doctor
• Peru: Doctorado
• Philippines: Doktor
• Poland: Doktor
• Portugal: Doutoramento
• Romania: Doctorat
• Russia: ru: кандидат наук
• Singapore: Doctor
• Serbia: Доктор
• Spain: Doctorado
• Syria: دكتوراه (doktorah)
• Taiwan： 博士
• Thailand: ดุษฎีบัณฑิต
• Turkey: Doktora
• Ukraine: uk: кандидат наук (CSc.)
• Uzbekistan: Fan nomzodi (CSc.)
• Vietnam: Tiến sĩ

See also[link]

Related terminology:

• Doctor of Education – Preparation for academic, administrative, clinical or research positions in education.
• PhD in Management – A program designed for students interested in becoming professors in Business.
• Doctorate – A general term describing a set of degrees analogous to the PhD.
• Terminal degree – The highest degree awarded in a field, usually a PhD.
• Graduate student – A student pursuing education past the bachelor's degree, such as Masters Degree or a PhD.
• C.Phil. (also ABD) – Term, usually used unofficially, for a graduate student who has completed all PhD coursework but has yet to defend his or her dissertation.
• Доктор наук – Degree awarded by USSR and post-Soviet states (for example Russia, Ukraine).
• Licentiate – Degree awarded in various countries, including Portugal, Belgium, the UK, Argentina, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and Poland.
• Sandwich PhD Programme

PhD in popular culture:

• Piled Higher and Deeper – Life (or the lack thereof) in Academia, a comic strip by Jorge Cham

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Delamont, S., Atkinson, P. & Parry, O. (1997). Supervising the Ph.D.: A guide to success. Buckingham: Open University Press. ISBN 0-335-19516-4
• Dinham, S. & Scott, C. (2001). The experience of the results of disseminating the results of doctoral research. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 25 (1) 45–55. ISSN: 1469-9486
• Drury, V., Francis, K., & Chapman, Y. (2006). Walking the void – being a rural PhD student. Australian Journal of Rural Health, 14, p233.
• MacGillivray, Alex; Potts, Gareth; Raymond, Polly. Secrets of Their Success (London: New Economics Foundation, 2002).
• Phillips, E. & Pugh, D.S. (1987). How to get a PhD : managing the peaks and troughs of research / Estelle M. Phillips and D.S. Pugh. Milton Keynes: Open University Press ISBN 0-335-15537-5
• Simpson, Renate. How the PhD came to Britain: A century of struggle for postgraduate education, Society for Research into Higher Education, Guildford (1983).
• Wellington, J. Bathmaker, A._M., Hunt, C., McCullough, G. & Sikes, P. (2005). Succeeding with your doctorate. London: Sage. ISBN 1-4129-0116-2
• Wilkinson, D. (2005) The essential guide to postgraduate study. London : SAGE ISBN 1-4129-0062-X (hbk.)
• Wisker, G. (2005) The Good Supervisor: Supervising Postgraduate and Undergraduate Research for Doctoral Theses and Dissertations. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 1-4039-0395-6.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2012)

HM: The Hard Music Magazine is an American monthly, digital-only publication focusing on both Christianity and hard rock. Articles include news, album and festival reviews, posters, artists to watch, indie artist reviews, devotionals and interviews with Christian artists. The recurring "So and So Says" interviews focus on artists who often are not Christians and play in secular bands, in order to discuss their music, upcoming tours, albums, and to determine their views on Jesus Christ and other spiritual matters.

History[link]

This section is written like a magazine article; it does not use the direct, balanced tone expected of an encyclopedia. Please discuss this issue on the talk page. Editing help is available. (November 2008)

In 1985, Doug Van Pelt started Heaven's Metal as a fanzine. The classified ad Van Pelt's friend placed in Kerrang! happened to be in the British rock magazine's 100th issue—an issue with 100,000 extra copies. This affected on the number of people ordering subscriptions. During that time many Christian record labels became interested in Christian metal, and they advertised the newly signed metal bands on their roster on Heaven's Metal since it was the only publication exclusively covering the movement. Soon Heaven's Metal achieved more popularity and became an official, professional publication, with five full-time journalists working for the magazine. Heaven's Metal achieved a regular flock of 15,000 readers.^[1]

The name was changed to HM Magazine in 1995, where the HM can also represent "Hard Music". Despite name and format changes over its history, the magazine's spiritual focus remains identifiably Christian, as it follows both the Christian rock and the Christian metal movement. Bands' sales usually rose when the ensembles were covered on the magazine. For example, during the mid-1990s, HM was the only magazine that covered P.O.D. The band's label appreciated HM for this and eventually Atlantic Records bestowed upon Van Pelt the gold P.O.D. plaque. Gold records are given to industry figures that impact sales. During the 1990s, HM sealed a distribution deal with a major magazine wholesaler that immediately increased its print-run from 13,000 to 22,000 copies and allowed Van Pelt and his co-workers to double ad rates, making HM a stable business enterprise.^[1]

Two specific articles greatly bolstered HM's popularity. The first was the band King's X's vocalist Doug Pinnick revealing his homosexuality. The second was Alice Cooper's interview in 2002 when he, for the first time in public, admitted being a Christian, though he had avoided becoming a "Celebrity Christian," since other news portals in the world quickly noted this interview.^[1][2]

On October 2004, Van Pelt brought back the Heaven's Metal name by starting a new fanzine under that title. Christianity and hard music are also themes of this venture, but produced in a smaller, less formal format. The Heaven's Metal fanzine also focuses on the more traditional styles of heavy metal and bands that are not as mainstream as those featured in the HM Magazine. The Heaven's Metal fanzine is released between issues of the primary HM Magazine.

HM has expanded to include acts other than those that would fit into the hard rock or metal category. It is not unusual to find an article on a softer rock band like Deas Vail or a synthpop group like Owl City.

Van Pelt currently remains the editor and publisher of both the HM Magazine and Heaven's Metal Fanzine.

In an attempt to get out of debt, HM has launched a "Save HM Magazine campaign" through their website to raise funds in order to continue printing the publication. As a thanks to donors, they are offering a collection of songs available for download. After more than 26 years of publishing as a print magazine, with simultaneous digital editions starting to run in May 2007, the publication went exclusively digital starting with the December 2011 Issue #151 and changed to a monthly format. The digital editions are password-protected.^{[citation needed]}

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Austin Chronicle: HM Editor/Publisher Doug Van Pelt's Hard-Rocking Christian Empire 7 August 2000
• Phantom Tollbooth: Heaven's Metal Re-launches As A Fanzine 4 October 2004

50 Cent
50 Cent in 2009
Background information
Birth name	Curtis James Jackson III
Born	(1975-07-06) July 6, 1975 (age 36)
Origin	South Jamaica, Queens, New York City, New York, United States
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper
Years active	1997–present
Labels	Aftermath, Shady, G-Unit
Associated acts	G-Unit, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Sha Money XL, DJ Whoo Kid
Website	50cent.com

Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper, entrepreneur, investor, record producer, and actor. He rose to fame with the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2003) and The Massacre (2005). His album Get Rich or Die Tryin' has been certified eight times platinum by the RIAA.^[1]

Born in the South Jamaica of Queens, New York City, Jackson began drug dealing at the age of twelve during the 1980s crack epidemic.^[2] After leaving drug dealing to pursue a rap career, he was shot at and struck by nine bullets during an incident in 2000. After releasing his album Guess Who's Back? in 2002, Jackson was discovered by rapper Eminem and signed to Interscope Records. With the help of Eminem and Dr. Dre, who produced his first major commercial successes, Jackson became one of the world's highest selling rappers. In 2003, he founded the record label G-Unit Records, which signed several successful rappers such as Young Buck, Lloyd Banks, and Tony Yayo.

Jackson has engaged in feuds with other rappers including Ja Rule, Nas, Fat Joe, Jadakiss, Cam'ron, Puff Daddy, Rick Ross, and former G-Unit members The Game and Young Buck. He has also pursued an acting career, appearing in the semi-autobiographical film Get Rich or Die Tryin' in 2005, the Iraq War film Home of the Brave in 2006, and Righteous Kill in 2008. 50 Cent was ranked as the sixth-best artist of the 2000s by Billboard magazine. The magazine also ranked him as the fourth top male artist and as the third top rapper behind Eminem and Nelly.^[3] Billboard magazine also ranked him as the sixth best and most successful Hot 100 Artist of the 2000s^[4] and as the number one rap artist of the 2000s.^[5] Billboard ranked his album Get Rich or Die Tryin' as the twelfth best album of the 2000s^[6] and his album The Massacre as the 37th best album of the 2000s.^[7] As of September 2011, 50 Cent is working on his fifth studio album, which is set to be released in 2012.^[8]

Early life[link]

Curtis Jackson III grew up in South Jamaica, a poverty-stricken urban neighborhood in Queens, New York City. He grew up without a father and was raised by his mother, Sabrina, who gave birth to him at the age of fifteen. Sabrina, a cocaine dealer, raised Jackson until the age of eight, when she was killed in 1983. Twenty-seven years old at the time, she became unconscious after someone drugged her drink. She was then left for dead after the gas in her apartment was turned on and the windows shut closed.^[9][10]

After her death, Jackson moved into his grandparents' house with his eight aunts and uncles.^[11][12][13] He recalls, "My grandmother told me, 'Your mother's not coming home. She's not gonna come back to pick you up. You're gonna stay with us now.' That's when I started adjusting to the streets a little bit".^[14]

Jackson began boxing around the age of eleven. At fourteen, a neighbor opened a boxing gym for local kids. "When I wasn't killing time in school, I was sparring in the gym or selling crack on the strip", he recalled.^[15] In the mid 1980s, he competed in the Junior Olympics as an amateur boxer. He recounts, "I was competitive in the ring and hip-hop is competitive too... I think rappers condition themselves like boxers, so they all kind of feel like they're the champ".^[16] At the age of twelve, Jackson began dealing narcotics when his grandparents thought he was at after-school programs.^[17] He also took guns and drug money to school. In the tenth grade, he was caught by metal detectors at Andrew Jackson High School. He later stated, "I was embarrassed that I got arrested like that... After I got arrested I stopped hiding it. I was telling my grandmother [openly], 'I sell drugs.'"^[14]

Following time spent in a correctional boot camp, Jackson adopted the nickname "50 Cent" as a metaphor for "change".^[18] The name was derived from Kelvin Martin, a 1980s Brooklyn robber known as "50 Cent". Jackson chose the name "because it says everything I want it to say. I'm the same kind of person 50 Cent was. I provide for myself by any means".^[19]

Music career[link]

1996–99: Early career[link]

Jackson started rapping in a friend's basement where he used turntables to record over instrumentals.^[20] In 1996, a friend introduced him to Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC who was organizing his label Jam Master Jay Records.

Jay taught him how to count bars, write choruses, structure songs, and how to make a record.^[21][22] Jackson's first official appearance was on a song titled "React" with the group Onyx on their 1998 album Shut 'Em Down. He credited Jam Master Jay as an influence who helped him improve his ability to write hooks.^[16] Jay produced Jackson's first album; however, it was never released.^[9]

In 1999, after leaving Jam Master Jay, the platinum-selling producers Trackmasters took notice of Jackson and signed him to Columbia Records. They sent him to a studio in Upstate New York where he produced thirty-six songs in two weeks.^[10] Eighteen were included on his unofficially released album, Power of the Dollar in 2000.^[23] He also started the now-defunct Hollow Point Entertainment with former G-Unit affiliate Bang 'Em Smurf.^[24][25]

Jackson's popularity started to increase after the successful but controversial underground single, "How to Rob", which he wrote in half an hour while in a car on the way to a studio.^[18][26] The track comically explains how he would rob famous artists. He explained the reasoning behind song's content as, "There's a hundred artists on that label, you gotta separate yourself from that group and make yourself relevant".^[18] Rappers Jay-Z, Kurupt, Sticky Fingaz, Big Pun, DMX, Wyclef Jean and the Wu-Tang Clan replied to the song^[26] and Nas, who received the track positively, invited Jackson to travel on a promotional tour for his Nastradamus album.^[13] The song was intended to be released with "Thug Love" featuring Destiny's Child, but two days before he was scheduled to film the "Thug Love" music video, Jackson was shot and confined to a hospital due to his injuries.^[27]

2000–01: Shooting[link]

On May 24, 2000, Jackson was attacked by a gunman, alleged to be Darryl "Hommo" Baum, outside his grandmother's former home in South Jamaica, Queens. He went into a friend's car, but was asked to return to the house to get jewelry.

His son was in the house, while his grandmother was in the front yard.^[10] Upon returning to the back seat of the car and already seated, another car pulled up nearby. An assailant then walked up to Jackson's left side with a 9mm handgun and fired nine shots at close range. He was shot nine times: in the hand (a round hit his right thumb, to where the bullet passed through and out his little finger), arm, hip, both legs, chest, and his face (his left cheek).^[9][14][28] The face wound resulted in a swollen tongue, the loss of a wisdom tooth, and a small slur in his voice.^[13][14][29] His friend also sustained a gunshot wound to the hand. They were driven to the hospital where Jackson spent thirteen days.

Baum, the alleged shooter, was killed three weeks later.^[30]

Baum was also Mike Tyson's close friend and bodyguard.^[31]

Jackson recalled the incident saying, "It happens so fast that you don't even get a chance to shoot back.... I was scared the whole time.... I was looking in the rear-view mirror like, 'Oh @#!*% , somebody shot me in the face! It burns, burns, burns.'"^[14] In his autobiography, From Pieces to Weight: Once upon a Time in Southside Queens, he wrote, "After I got shot nine times at close range and didn't die, I started to think that I must have a purpose in life... How much more damage could that shell have done? Give me an inch in this direction or that one, and I'm gone".^[11] He used a walker for the first six weeks and fully recovered after five months. When he left the hospital, he stayed in the Poconos with his then-girlfriend and son. His workout regime helped him attain his muscular physique.^[9][14][32]

While in the hospital, Jackson signed a publishing deal with Columbia Records. However, he was dropped from the label and "blacklisted" in the recording industry because of his song "Ghetto Qu'ran".

Unable to find a studio to work with in the U.S, he traveled to Canada.^[33][34] Along with his business partner Sha Money XL, he recorded over thirty songs for mixtapes, with the purpose of building a reputation.

According to Shady Records A&R Marc Labelle in an interview with HitQuarters, Jackson shrewdly used the mixtape circuit to his own advantage saying, "He took all the hottest beats from every artist and flipped them with better hooks. They then got into all the markets on the mixtapes and all the mixtape DJs were messing with them."^[35] Jackson's popularity rose and in 2002, he released material independently on the mixtape, Guess Who's Back?. Beginning to attract interest, and now backed by G-Unit, Jackson continued to release music including 50 Cent Is the Future. The mixtape revisited material by Jay-Z and Raphael Saadiq.^[23]

2002–09: Rise to fame[link]

In 2002, Eminem listened to a copy of Jackson's Guess Who's Back? CD. He received the CD through Jackson's attorney, who was working with Eminem's manager Paul Rosenberg.^[27] Impressed with the album, Eminem invited Jackson to fly to Los Angeles, where he was introduced to Dr. Dre.^[9][21][27] After signing a $1 million record deal,^[21] Jackson released the mixtape, No Mercy, No Fear. It featured one new track, "Wanksta", which was put on Eminem's 8 Mile soundtrack.^[23] He was also signed to Chris Lighty's Violator Management and Sha Money XL's Money Management Group.

In February 2003, Jackson released his commercial debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin'. Allmusic described it as "probably the most hyped debut album by a rap artist in about a decade".^[36] Rolling Stone noted the album for its "dark synth grooves, buzzy keyboards and a persistently funky bounce" with Jackson complementing the production in "an unflappable, laid-back flow".^[37]

It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 872,000 copies in the first four days.^[38] The lead single, "In da Club", which The Source noted for its "blaring horns, funky organs, guitar riffs and sparse hand claps",^[39] broke a Billboard record as the most listened-to song in radio history within a week.^[40]

Interscope granted Jackson his own label, G-Unit Records in 2003.^[41] He signed Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo, and Young Buck as the established members of G-Unit. The Game was later signed under a joint venture with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment.

In March 2005, Jackson's second commercial album, The Massacre, sold 1.14 million copies in the first four days-the highest in an abbreviated sales cycle^[38]- and peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 for six weeks.^[42]

He became the first solo artist to have three singles on the Billboard top five in the same week with "Candy Shop", "Disco Inferno", and "How We Do".^[43] Rolling Stone noted that "50's secret weapon is his singing voice - the deceptively amateur-sounding tenor croon that he deploys on almost every chorus".^[44]

From left: With Olivia, Lloyd Banks, and Young Buck in Bangkok, Thailand, February 2006

After The Game's departure, Jackson signed singer Olivia and rap veterans Mobb Deep to G-Unit Records. Spider Loc, M.O.P., 40 Glocc and Young Hot Rod later joined the label.^[45][46] Jackson expressed interest in working with rappers outside of G-Unit, such as Lil' Scrappy of BME, LL Cool J from Def Jam, Mase from Bad Boy, and Freeway of Roc-A-Fella, some of whom he recorded with.^[47] In September 2007, he released his third album Curtis, which was inspired by his life before Get Rich or Die Tryin'.^[48] It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 691,000 units in the first week,^[49] behind Kanye West's Graduation, whom he had a sales competition with, as both albums were released on the same day.

He confirmed on TRL on September 10, 2008 that his fourth studio album, Before I Self Destruct, will be "done and released in November".

On May 18, 2009, Jackson released a song entitled "Ok, You're Right". The song was produced by Dr. Dre and was included in Before I Self Destruct.

In Fall 2009, 50 Cent appeared in the new season of VH1's Behind The Music.

On September 3, 2009 months upon the release of his "Before I Self Destruct" album 50 Cent posted a video^[50] for the Soundkillers' Phoenix^[51] produced track "Flight 187" which introduced his mixtape, the 50th LAW, and was also featured as a bonus track on his iTunes release of Before I Self Destruct. The song ignited speculation that there was tension between rapper 50 Cent and Jay Z for Jackson's comments in the song.^[52]

2010–present[link]

In an interview with the British entertainment website ContactMusic, 50 Cent announced that he was working on a dance album named Black Magic. 50 Cent said he was inspired by the European nightclubs. "First they played hip-hop which suddenly changed to uptempo songs, known as Eurodance".^[53] He went on The Invitation Tour in the summer of 2010, in support of Before I Self Destruct album, and the then shelved Black Magic album. He "recorded 20 songs to a whole different album concept" before he put those to the side and did something different.^[54]

50 Cent revealed that he wanted his new album to have the same "aggression" as his debut record, Get Rich or Die Tryin'.^[55][56]

He later tweeted that the album was "80 percent done", and stated that fans can expect the album in the summer of 2011; however, the album has been delayed to 2012 at the earliest, due to tensions and disagreements at Interscope Records, Later 50 Cent said that he will release his album in November 2011^[8] and it has also been confirmed that "Black Magic" will not be the album's title.^[8] 50 Cent has already confirmed that Eminem will appear on the album, but he also confirmed that he has been working with new producers such as Boi-1da and Alex da Kid.^[57] Cardiak, who produced Lloyd Banks' “Start It Up”, also confirmed that he had produced a song for the upcoming album.^[58]

DJ Whoo Kid confirmed in an interview that 50 Cent was filming a new movie with Robert DeNiro in New Orleans.^[59]

50 Cent released the first song from his fifth studio album, titled "Outlaw", to the Internet on June 16, 2011.^[60]

The single was produced by Cardiak.

It was released to iTunes on July 19, 2011,^[61] although 50 Cent confirmed through his Twitter account that the song was not the album's first single.^[62]

50 Cent is set to release a book titled Playground.

Unlike his previous literary efforts — which focus on his life story and the rules of power — this time he's aiming at a teen audience with a semi-autobiographical novel about bullying. According to a statement from the book's publisher, the first-person novel is slated for release in January 2012 and will tell the story of a 13-year-old schoolyard bully "who finds redemption as he faces what he's done."^[63]

50 Cent has promised to deliver his fifth studio album album over the past few years, but the LP may be delayed until 2012. In a series of tweets, 50 Cent explained that him and his label Interscope Records aren’t on the same page on how to roll out the album and that he’s delaying its release until they see eye to eye.^[8]

50 Cent later suggested that his album will be releasing in November 2011, along with his headphone line SMS by 50.^[8]

50 Cent spoke to MTV in relation to the possibility of leaving Interscope Records. "I don't know," 50 told MTV News when asked if he would ink back with Interscope once his five-album deal was fulfilled. "It will all be clear in the negotiations following me turning this actual album in. And, of course, the performance and how they actually treat the work will determine whether you still want to stay in that position or not."^[64]

On June 20, 2011, 50 Cent announced that he will release an LP titled Before I Self Destruct II. The announced sequel to his 2009 LP is suggested to be released after his fifth studio album.^[65]

On June 26, 2011, 50 Cent planned to shoot a music video for the lead single from his fifth studio album titled I'm On It.^[66] However, the music video never surfaced.^[67]

50 Cent spoke to Shade45 in relation guest appearances for his fifth studio album. "I did four songs in Detroit with Eminem. I did two with Just Blaze, a Boi-1da joint, and I did something with Alex da Kid. We made two that are definite singles and the other two are the kinds of records that we been making, more aimed at my core audience, more aggressive, more of a different kind of energy to it."^[68]

In September 2011, 50 Cent released a song titled "Street King Energy Track #7" in attempt to promote his charitable energy drink Street King.^[69]

On September 28, 2011, it was confirmed that 50 Cent is shooting a music video for his lead single from his fifth studio album titled "Girls Go Wild", which features Jeremih.^[70][71]

On October 26, 2011, 50 Cent announced that his fifth studio album will be released in December 2011.^[72] However, the album was delayed, and it was announced that the album will now be released on July 2, 2012.^[73]

Other ventures[link]

Jackson has established himself in a variety of fields. In November 2003, he signed a five-year deal with Reebok to distribute a "G-Unit Sneakers" line as part of his G-Unit Clothing Company.^[74][75] He provided the voice-over as the protagonist in the video game 50 Cent: Bulletproof, which was released for PlayStation 2, Xbox, and the PlayStation Portable.

Its sequel, 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand, was released in early 2009.^[76][77] He worked with Glacéau to create a vitamin water drink called Formula 50. In 2007, Coca-Cola purchased Glacéau for US$4.1 billion. Forbes estimated Jackson, who owns a stake in the company, earned $100 million from the deal after taxes.^[78] He has teamed up with Right Guard to launch a body spray called Pure 50 RGX Body Spray and a condom line called Magic Stick Condoms,^[79] in which he planned to donate part of the proceeds to HIV awareness.^[80]

Jackson has signed a multi-year deal with Steiner Sports to sell his memorabilia.^[81]

In 2005, Jackson made a cameo appearance on The Simpsons episode "Pranksta Rap", in which he makes light of his legal troubles. The same year, he starred alongside Terrence Howard in the semi-autobiographical film Get Rich or Die Tryin'. He starred in the 2006 film Home of the Brave, as a soldier returning home from the Iraq War, traumatized after killing an Iraqi woman.^[82]

Jackson is working^[when?] on a role as a fighter in an Angola State Prison in Spectacular Regret alongside Nicolas Cage, and starred opposite Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in 2008's Righteous Kill, a movie regarding a police death.^[83]

He also started the film production companies G-Unit Films in 2007 and Cheetah Vision in 2008.^[84][85]

In August 2007, Jackson announced plans to launch a dietary supplement company in conjunction with his movie Spectacular Regret.^[86]

50 Cent with Val Kilmer at the AMAs 2009

In August 2005, shortly before appearing in Get Rich or Die Tryin', Jackson published an autobiography entitled From Pieces to Weight: Once upon a Time in Southside Queens. In it, Jackson explores the cultural and economic forces that led him to sell cocaine and crack, details his entrepreneurship as a drug-dealer and then as a rapper, and reflects on his own ethos and on society.

On January 4, 2007, Jackson launched his G-Unit Books imprint at the Time Warner Building.^[87] He also co-wrote The Ski Mask Way, a novel about a small-time drug dealer who attempts to rob his employers, which is to be turned into a film.^[80] Jackson said he read Robert Greene's The 33 Strategies of War and worked with the author on a book titled The 50th Law, an urban take on The 48 Laws of Power.^[80][88] In May 2008, Jackson met billionaire Patrice Motsepe to forge a joint venture selling 50 Cent-branded platinum.^[89]

In 2008, Jackson started a reality television show on MTV titled 50 Cent: The Money and the Power; the winning contestant, Ryan Mayberry, won a $100,000 investment from Jackson.^[90]

On September 8, 2009, he published his book The 50th Law.^[91]

In 2010, Jackson's film company Cheetah Vision landed $200 million in funding.^[92]

In July 2011, 50 Cent revealed his initiative to provide food for millions of people in Africa by 2016. 50 Cent teamed up with Pure Growth Partners to launch a charitable energy drink called Street King that will help aid in combating world hunger. For every purchase of Street King, a portion of the sales will go to providing a daily meal to an underprivileged child around the world. The partnership coincides with Fiddy’s mission statement of feeding a billion people in Africa over the next five years.

“50 Cent and I share a common vision: To address the world’s problems through smart and sustainable business models,” said Chris Clark, the founder and CEO of Pure Growth Partners. “With the rampant starvation in Africa and hunger afflicting children worldwide, we need socially responsible businesses that affect real change now more than ever.”

50 concurs, stating, “I’m inspired by Clarke’s vision and innovative approaches to tackling serious issues. It’s our mission with Street King to really change children’s lives around the world.”^[93][94]

Jackson founded SMS Audio, selling headphones with the name Street by 50. He has pledged to donate a portion of the sales to charity.^[95]

Personal life[link]

Jackson has a tattoo of "Marquise" with an axe on his right biceps. "The axe is 'cause I'm a warrior. I don't want him to be one, though,"^[34] he explains. He also has "50", "Southside", and "Cold World" inscribed on his back because "I'm a product of that environment. It's on my back, though, so it's all behind me."^[34]

Family[link]

On October 13, 1997, Jackson's then-girlfriend Shaniqua Tompkins gave birth to a son, Marquise Jackson.^[2][96]

The birth of his son changed Jackson's outlook on life: "When my son came into my life, my priorities changed, because I wanted to have the relationship with him, that I didn't have with my father."^[97] He credited his son for inspiring his career and being "motivation to go in a different direction".^[98]

Politics[link]

In 2005, Jackson expressed support for President George Walker Bush after rapper Kanye West criticized him for the slow response in assisting the Hurricane Katrina victims.^[99]

If his felony convictions did not prevent him from voting, he claimed he would have voted for Bush.^[100] Jackson identifies with the Republican Party.^[101]

He later stated that Bush "has less compassion than the average human. By all means, I don't aspire to be like George Bush."^[102]

In response to Obama's endorsement of gay marriage, 50 cent said he also supports legalizing it.^[103]

Wealth[link]

In 2007, Jackson was the second wealthiest performer in the rap industry, behind Jay-Z.^[104] He resides in Farmington, Connecticut, in the former mansion of ex-boxer Mike Tyson.^[105] He is consistently ranked among the richest figures in the American hip hop scene. In 2011, Jackson was ranked the fifth richest figure in American hip hop with a net worth estimated at $100 million.^[106]

He put the mansion for sale at $18.5 million to move closer to his son who lives in Long Island with his ex-girlfriend.^[107] On October 12, 2007, the Mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut declared it "50 Cent Curtis Jackson Day". He was honored with a key to the city and an official proclamation.^[108]

One of his homes in New York purchased for 2.4 million dollars in January 2007 and at the center of a lawsuit between Jackson and ex-girlfriend Shaniqua Tompkins caught fire on May 30, 2008 while he was out of town filming for a movie in Louisiana.^[109]

In December 2008 Jackson told the Canadian press that he had been affected by the recession, losing several million dollars in the stock market as an investor. He also went on to say that he had been unable to sell his Connecticut mansion and pushed Before I Self-Destruct back because of the recent economic downturn.^[110]

Legal issues[link]

On June 29, 1994, Jackson was arrested for helping to sell four vials of cocaine to an undercover police officer. He was arrested again three weeks later when police searched his home and found heroin, ten ounces of crack cocaine, and a starter gun.

He was sentenced to three to nine years in prison, but managed to serve six months in a shock incarceration boot camp where he earned his GED. Jackson said that he did not use cocaine himself, he only sold it.^{[11][111][112]}

His ex-girlfriend Shaniqua Tompkins sued Jackson for $50 million, claiming that he said that he would take care of her for life; the suit, which includes 15 claims was later dismissed by a judge, calling it "an unfortunate tale of a love relationship gone sour."^[113]

50 Cent was sentenced to two years probation on July 22, 2005 from an incident in May 2004 when 50 Cent jumped into the audience after being hit with a water bottle.^[114] He was charged with three counts of assault and battery.^[114]

Lawsuits[link]

On July 21, 2007, Jackson filed a $1 million lawsuit against advertising company Traffix Inc. of Pearl River, New York for using his image in a promotion which he claims threatens his safety.

He became aware of the internet ad after one of his staff members saw it on a MySpace page. According to court documents, the ad features a cartoon image of the rapper and the message: "shoot the rapper and you will win $5000 or five ring tones guaranteed".

Though the ad did not use his name, the image allegedly intended to resemble him, suggesting he endorsed the ad.

The lawsuit calls it a "vile, tasteless and despicable" use of 50 Cent's image that "quite literally calls for violence against him". The lawsuit seeks for unspecified punitive damages and a permanent injunction against the use of his image without permission.^[115][116]

In November 2009, 50 Cent won in a lawsuit against Taco Bell over the fast food chain using his name to promote the brand without his permission.^[117]

Feuds[link]

How to Rob[link]

50 Cent said that he intended the single to be a joke, and not meant to disrespect anybody. Nevertheless, a number of rappers mentioned on the song responded on record.

The comments made towards the Wu-Tang Clan were responded to on the Ghostface Killah album Supreme Clientele on a track called "Ghost Deini" and even more directly on a skit called "Clyde Smith" which included one of the Wu-Tang Clan members talking about how they intended to harm the rapper, which is identifiable as Raekwon when the track is sped up. A supposed diss song, "Who the Fuck Is 50 Cent", which circulated the web in the beginning of 2001 was rumored to be by the Clan, but was proven to be recorded by Polite of American Cream Team (Raekwon's then-side project).

Jay-Z also reacted to the comments in the track called "It's Hot (Some Like It Hot)", off the album Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter:

"Go against Jigga yo' ass is dense
I'm about a dollar, what the fuck is 50 Cents?"

Sticky Fingaz responded to the diss with the track "Jackin' for Beats."

"The real 50 from Brooklyn god bless he got outed
You just a fake clown who front and rout about it."

Big Pun responds to this track on his album Yeeeah Baby, in the song "My Turn."

"And to the 50 Cent Rapper, very funny – get your nut off, 'cuz in real life, we all know I'd blow your motherfucking head off...If I'm gonna write a song, it'll be about how I had to beat your mothafuckin' ass. And that'll be the name of the motherfucker: 'That's Why I Had To Beat Your Motherfucking Ass', featuring Tony Sunshine."

Kurupt responded on the diss track "Callin' Out Names."

"Now it's 50 mc's that ain't worth shit
Get ya ass kicked 50 times, beat to 10 cent"

Wyclef Jean responded on the song "Low Income", from his 2000 album, The Ecleftic.

"I stay so hungry that if 50 Cent came to rob me
he'd be part of my charity."

The Inc.[link]

Before signing with Interscope, Jackson engaged in a well-publicized dispute with rapper Ja Rule and his label The Inc.. Jackson claims that a friend robbed Ja Rule of his jewelry and that Ja Rule accused him of setting it up.^[118] However, Ja Rule claimed the conflict stemmed from a video shoot in Queens because Jackson did not like seeing him "getting so much love" from the neighborhood.^[119] In March 2000, while at The Hit Factory studio in New York, Jackson had an altercation with Murder Inc. associates. He was treated for three stitches after receiving a stab wound.^[118][120] Rapper Black Child claimed responsibility for the stabbing, saying he acted in self-defense because he thought someone reached for a gun.^[121]

An affidavit by an IRS agent suggested that Murder Inc. had ties to Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff, a New York drug lord who was suspected of being involved in the murder of Jam Master Jay and the shooting of Jackson. An excerpt of the affidavit read:

The investigation has uncovered a conspiracy involving McGriff and others to murder a rap artist who has released songs containing lyrics regarding McGriff's criminal activities. The rap artist was shot in 2000, survived and thereafter refused to cooperate with law enforcement regarding the shooting. Messages transmitted over the Murder Inc. pager indicate that McGriff is involved in an ongoing plot to kill this rap artist, and that he communicates with Murder Inc. employees concerning the target.^[33]

In an interview with MTV, Ja Rule acknowledged his defeat against 50 Cent and stated that his new album, The Mirror, will not be continuing any past feuds that he has engaged in. He said: There was a lot of things I wanted to say, and I didn't want there to be any bitter records on the album. Because I'm not bitter about anything that happened [in the past few years].

Fat Joe, Nas & Jadakiss[link]

Before releasing The Massacre, Jackson recorded a song "Piggy Bank", a response to Ja Rule's song "New York", which was leaked before the album's release. The song takes aim at rappers including Fat Joe, Nas, and Jadakiss.^[122] Fat Joe responded with a song, "My Fofo", accusing Jackson of taking steroids, hiding in his home, and being jealous of The Game. Jadakiss also responded with a song, "Checkmate", and said that Jackson was trying to "create a buzz for his new album".^[123] The "Piggy Bank" music video portrays animated caricatures of Jadakiss (as a Ninja turtle), Fat Joe (as King Hippo from Mike Tyson's Punch-Out), Nas (as a kid chasing a "milkshake" truck in a Superman costume), and The Game (as Mr. Potato Head). He also disses all of them on the beef version of his single "Window Shopper"^[124] Kelis, Nas's then-wife, responded to the song on her single "Bossy".^{[citation needed]} Nas later responded with "Don't Body Ya Self (MC Burial)." Nas later dissed 50 on the song "Street Ridaz" on Game's mixtape "Brake Lights".

Sean Combs[link]

Jackson spoke negatively about Bad Boy Entertainment mogul Sean Combs and recorded a song, "Hip-Hop", revealing the reasons behind his negative feelings: primarily, a contract dispute over Mase. In the song, he implied that Diddy knew about The Notorious B.I.G.'s murder and threatened to expose him through former associates.^[125] The feud was resolved, with both rappers appearing on MTV's TRL and Sucker Free, respectively, stating that there were no longer problems.^[126] The feud reignited in 2010 with 50 Cent dissing Diddy, saying his music "sucks".

Cam'ron[link]

On February 1, 2007, Cam'ron and Jackson had a live argument on The Angie Martinez Show on Hot 97 radio. Jackson commented that Koch Entertainment was a "graveyard", meaning major record labels would not work with their artists.^[127] Cam'ron then ridiculed the record sales of G-Unit members Lloyd Banks and Mobb Deep by stating that Jim Jones outsold their albums despite being signed to an independent label and that his group, The Diplomats, had a distribution deal from several labels.^[127] Both rappers released "diss" songs with videos on YouTube. Jackson suggested in "Funeral Music" that Cam'ron is no longer able to lead The Diplomats and that Jim Jones should take his place. Cam'ron responded with "Curtis" and "Curtis Pt. II", in which he makes fun of Jackson's appearance, calling him "a gorilla, with rabbit teeth".^[128] Jackson responded by releasing "Hold On" with Young Buck.

Game[link]

Although he was close with The Game, before The Game released his debut album The Documentary, they soon became at odds. After its release, Jackson felt The Game was disloyal for saying he did not want to participate in G-Unit's feuds with other rappers and even wanting to work with artists they were feuding with. He also claimed that he wrote six songs on the album and was not receiving proper credit for his work, which The Game denied.^[129]

50 Cent performing at a concert in 2007

Jackson later dismissed The Game from G-Unit on Hot 97 radio. After the announcement, The Game, who was a guest earlier in the evening, attempted to enter the building with his entourage. After being denied entry, one of his associates was shot in the leg during a confrontation with a group of men leaving the building.^[130][131] When the situation escalated, both rappers held a press conference to announce their reconciliation.^[132] Fans had mixed feelings as to whether the rappers created a publicity stunt to boost the sales of the albums they had just released.^[133] Nevertheless, even after the situation deflated,^[134] G-Unit criticized The Game's street credibility. The group denounced The Game and announced that they will not be featured on his albums. During a Summer Jam performance, The Game launched a boycott of G-Unit called "G-Unot".^[135]

After the performance at Summer Jam, The Game responded with "300 Bars and Runnin'", an extended "diss" aimed at G-Unit as well as members of Roc-A-Fella Records on the mixtape You Know What It Is Vol. 3. Jackson responded through his "Piggy Bank" music video, which features The Game as a Mr. Potato Head doll and also parodies other rivals.^[136] Since then both groups continued to attack each other. The Game released two more mixtapes, Ghost Unit and a mixtape/DVD called Stop Snitchin, Stop Lyin.

Jackson posted a cover of The Game's head on the body of a male stripper for "Hate It or Love It (G-Unit Radio Part 21)" mixtape, as a response to The Game displaying pictures of G-Unit dressed as Village People.^[137] Although he was signed to Aftermath Entertainment, The Game left the label and signed with Geffen Records to terminate his contractual obligations with G-Unit (although others claim Jackson pressured Dr. Dre to kick him off).^[138] G-Unit member Spider Loc had also began to insult The Game on various songs. In addition, The Game released "240 Bars (Spider Joke)" and "100 Bars (The Funeral)" both attacking G-Unit, Spider Loc and others. Jackson's response was "Not Rich, Still Lyin'" where he mocks The Game.^[139] Lloyd Banks replied to the Game on a Rap City freestyle booth session. The Game quickly released a "diss" record called "SoundScan" where The Game pokes fun at Lloyd Banks' album Rotten Apple falling thirteen spots on the Billboard 200 chart and disappointing second week sales. Lloyd Banks replied on his mixtape Mo' Money In The Bank Pt. 5: Gang Green Season Continues with a song called "Showtime (The Game's Over)". Lloyd Banks states that Jackson wrote half of The Game's first album The Documentary and pokes fun at The Game's suicidal thoughts.

In October 2006, The Game extended a peace treaty to Jackson, which was not immediately replied to.^[140] However, a couple days later, on Power 106, he stated that the treaty was only offered for one day.^[141] On The Game's album, Doctor's Advocate, he claims that the feud is over on a few of the songs.

In July 2009, The Game stated the beef was squashed with help from Michael Jackson and Diddy,^[142] and he apologized for his actions during the beef.^[143] Tony Yayo said that neither Jackson (50 Cent) or G-Unit would accept his apology.^[144] Since then, The Game continued his old "G-Unot" ways at live concerts. Jackson released "So Disrespectful" a diss song on Before I Self Destruct targeting Jay-Z, The Game and Young Buck.^[145] Game later responded with the song "Shake", poking fun of the music video for 50's single "Candy Shop", quote, "Me and 50 aint agreeing on shit so I had to (Shake) Aint no telling what he putting in that protein (Shake) Seen the candy shop video look at this nigga (Shake) And thats the same shit that made the nigga Young Buck (Shake)". He also takes shots at Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo, in which he says, "I'm surprised that Lloyd Banks and Yayo didn't (Shake) Wasn't selling no records Jimmy Iovine said (Shake)". Game also dissed G-Unit several times on the song "400 Bars".

In September 2011, 50 Cent dissed Game on the song "Love, Hate, Love", in which Game responded to on his twitter, saying he was going to diss him back after his tour was finished, quote:

[@50Cent I'm on tour doin shows but as soon as @avanterose find a studio for me i'm killin yo "Planet of the Apes" face havin ass nigga

Rick Ross[link]

In January 2009, Rick Ross started a feud with 50 Cent because he supposedly looked at him the wrong way at the BET Awards. However, Jackson told news sources that he did not even remember seeing Rick Ross there.^[146] In late January, a track entitled "Mafia Music" by Rick Ross, leaked onto the Internet. There were several lines that seem to diss Jackson. Days later, Jackson released "Officer Ricky (Go Head, Try Me)" in response to Rick Ross's disparaging remarks on his "Mafia Music" song. The next day Rick Ross appeared on Shade 45, and told Jackson to come up with something better in 24 hours.

Before going to Venezuela, Jackson uploaded a video entitled "Warning Shot", where he warns Rick Ross: "I'ma fuck your life up for fun". In addition, Jackson released the first of a series of "Officer Ricky" cartoons. Early February, Jackson once again made a video which he uploaded to YouTube where he interviews "Tia", the mother of one of Rick Ross's children. She verifies his being a correctional officer and claims his whole persona is fake and fraudulent.^[147] On Thursday, February 5, 2009, The Game, who Jackson has a long-standing "beef" with, called up Seattle's KUBE 93 Radio Station. When asked about the beef between Jackson and Rick Ross, The Game sided with Jackson and said that things are not looking good for Rick Ross. However, he offered to help Rick Ross get out of this situation, stating "Rick Ross, holla at your boy, man," and "50 eating you, boy."^[148]

On his album Deeper Than Rap, Ross references Jackson in the song "In Cold Blood". A video for the song was released that portrayed Jackson's mock funeral. Upon release, Ross stated that he has ended Jackson's career.^[149]

In an interview, Jackson said: "Rick Ross is Albert From CB4. You ever seen the movie? He's Albert," he added. "It never gets worse than this. You get a guy that was a correctional officer come out and base his entire career on writing material from a drug dealer's perspective such as "Freeway" Ricky Ross."^[150]

Lil Wayne[link]

After hearing word that Lil Wayne had prepared a song for him after 50 made some unkind remarks, 50 lashed out at Wayne first on August 17, 2007 with the song "Part Time Lover".^[151] Wayne never really responded to the song, although a 50 Cent diss track called "Louisianimal" did leak much later on November 17, 2008.^[152] Jackson responded to Lil Wayne in January 2009 in a song entitled "Play This On The Radio".^[153] As of August 14, 2009, the controversy between Jackson and Lil Wayne seems to have ended after Jackson appeared and performed at Lil Wayne's America's Most Wanted Musical Festival stop in Anaheim, California.^[154]

Young Buck[link]

Main article: 50 Cent vs. Young Buck

After numerous rumors of a "beef" within G-Unit, Jackson officially dismissed Young Buck from the group, in 2008. He later assured that he was still signed with the label.^[155] Numerous slander songs then arose on the internet from both camps, with Young Buck appearing in a music video of former rival The Game.^[156][157] Jackson then leaked a taped phone conversation between himself and Young Buck, which showed one of the true reasons for the falling out; Jackson was owed money by the Southern rapper. Young Buck later stated the conversation took place over a year before the leak.^[158] The two camps have since released a multitude of songs against each other, with the feud settling down by 2009, with Young Buck stating he's been working on his latest album, which is still to be released under the G-Unit label.^[159]

In April 2012, after being ousted from the crew back in 2008, Young Buck has entered talks to work with the label. Days after indicating that he would be open to re-teaming with his old crew at G-Unit Records, Young Buck now confirms that he has begun negotiations with the label about making his return. Buck provided the update in a recent interview stating "I'ma be honest with you," he said, "Finally we're at a point where we're having some kind of negotiations with what they're going to be able to do for us at G-Unit."^[160] The Nashville, Tennessee native said he was ready to make his return to music, whether as a part of G-Unit or not. "Y’all are gonna be hearing from me," he said. "I don't want to put a timing on it, but the wait is absolutely over, and we're just trying to figure out what's the best situation for us, where I'm gonna go." Buck stated in an interview after a concert in California April 4, 2012. Young Buck's last album was the 2010 independent release The Rehab. It’s been a rough go for Buck since he was expelled from 50’s crew in 2008, he has run into financial troubles and he recently escaped an attempted drive-by shooting in his hometown. Although it doesn’t look like the rapper has straightened out his relationship with 50 Cent, but he says the label has finally agreed to negotiate. The negotiations may not lead to a new deal between Young Buck and G-Unit, but the rapper remains optimistic and explained that it’s only a matter of time before he ends up finding a place to take his talent.^[161][162]

Discography[link]

• Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2003)
• The Massacre (2005)
• Curtis (2007)
• Before I Self Destruct (2009)
• Fifth studio album (2012)^[163][164]

Awards and nominations[link]

Filmography[link]

Voice work[link]

References[link]