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.

John Hagelin
Born	John Samuel Hagelin (1954-06-09) June 9, 1954 (age 58) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Residence	Fairfield, Iowa, USA
Education	Ph.D. Harvard University, 1981
Alma mater	Dartmouth College, Harvard University
Occupation	Professor
Employer	Maharishi University of Management, US Peace Government
Known for	Three-time candidate for U.S. President, physicist, and administrator
Title	Raja of Invincible America, President of the US Peace Government, and others
Political party	Natural Law Party
Spouse	Margaret (1985–1993) divorced Kara Anastasio (2010)[1]
Awards	Kilby, Ig Nobel
Website
http://www.hagelin.org

John Samuel Hagelin (born June 9, 1954) is an American particle physicist, three-time candidate of the Natural Law Party for President of the United States (1992, 1996, and 2000), and the director of the Transcendental Meditation movement for the US.^[2]

Hagelin was a researcher at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC), and is now Professor of Physics and Director of the Institute of Science, Technology and Public Policy at Maharishi University of Management. He has conducted research into unified field theory and the Maharishi Effect.

Hagelin was appointed Raja of Invincible America by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and is also President of the US Peace Government. He is Executive Director of the International Center for Invincible Defense, Executive Director of the Global Financial Capital of New York,^[3] Executive Director of the Center for Leadership Performance,^[4] Director of the Board of Advisors for the David Lynch Foundation,^[5] Honorary Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Maharishi University of Management,^[6] and International Director of the Global Union of Scientists for Peace.^[7]

Early life and education[link]

John Samuel Hagelin was born June 9, 1954, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.^[8]As a child, he played sports, but also was an accomplished piano student.^[9] Hagelin had a "genius IQ",^[10] winning a scholarship to Taft School for boys, where he received a perfect score of 165 on a school-administered IQ test. According to Neil Dickie of The Iowa Source he "(...) was also a dare-devil".^[9] In 1970, while at Taft, he was involved in a motorcycle crash that led to hospitalization and a full body cast. During this time, one of his teachers introduced him to quantum mechanics, and he also learned the Transcendental Meditation technique, both of which had major impacts on his life.^[9][11]

Hagelin later graduated from Taft and attended Dartmouth College on a scholarship. After his freshman year, a continued interest in Transcendental Meditation led him to Vittel, France, where he become a qualified teacher of the Transcendental Meditation technique. While at Dartmouth, he earned an undergraduate degree in physics in three years with highest honors (summa cum laude). He also co-authored and published papers in physics research and won a fellowship to study physics at Harvard. While at Harvard, Hagelin worked under the noted physicists Howard Georgi and Sheldon Glashow, best known for their work in Grand Unification theory (GUT). He received a Master's degree from Harvard in 1976, and a Ph.D. from Harvard in 1981.

Professional careers[link]

Scientist and academic[link]

By the time Hagelin had received his Ph.D. from Harvard, he had already published "several serious papers" on particle theory.^[12] In 1981, Hagelin won a postdoctoral research appointment at CERN (the European Center for Particle Physics) in Switzerland, and in 1983 was recruited by SLAC (the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center), CERN's North American counterpart.^[9]

In 1984, Hagelin shifted his appointment from SLAC to Maharishi International University (MIU), where he continued his research in physics, pursued a long-time interest in brain and cognitive science research, and established an accredited doctoral program in theoretical physics.^[13] Hagelin's move to MIU in 1984 surprised and puzzled his colleagues.^[9] Howard Georgi and John Ellis tried to talk him out of it. But, according to Georgi, Hagelin "continued to do good physics anyway."^[9] Nobel Laureate, Sheldon Glashow was quoted in a 1992 article as saying, "His papers are outstanding. We read them before he went to MIU and we read them now."^[9] Hagelin remained in contact with colleagues from Harvard, Stanford, and CERN, and continued to collaborate with them. While at MIU, his contributions to the field of theoretical physics were supported by funding from the National Science Foundation.^[9]

Hagelin is a Professor of Physics at Maharishi University of Management (formerly MIU).^[14] Hagelin is also the Founding President of Maharishi Central University,^[15][16] which was under construction in Smith Center, Kansas until early 2008, when, according to Hagelin, the project was put on hold while the TM organization dealt with the death of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.^[17]

Theoretical physics research[link]

During his time at CERN, SLAC and Maharishi University of Management (MUM), Hagelin worked on supersymmetric extensions of the standard model and grand unification theories.^[12] In the years 1979-1996, Hagelin collaborated with many leading of the figures in that field and published more than 70 papers in the fields of particle physics, electroweak unification, grand unification, supersymmetry, and cosmology, most of them in prestigious scientific journals.^[12][18][12] This includes his work on the "flipped SU(5), heterotic superstring theory" that is considered one of the more successful unified field theories or "theories of everything" and was highlighted in a cover story in Discover magazine.^[19]

Hagelin co-authored a 1983 paper entitled "Weak symmetry breaking by radiative corrections in broken supergravity",^[20] which is included in a list of the 103 articles in the physical sciences that were cited the most times during the years 1983 and 1984.^[21] A 1984 study titled "Supersymmetric relics from the big bang", had been cited over 500 times as of 2007.^[22]

Critics of Hagelin have included physicist Peter Woit and journalist Christopher Andersen. Peter Woit in his book, Not Even Wrong: The Failure of String Theory and The Search for Unity In Physical Law, precedes his critical remarks on Hagelin's connection of superstring theory and consciosness by acknowledging that Hagelin had published papers in prestigious journals that would eventually be cited in over a hundred other papers.^[23] Christopher Anderson wrote in a 1992 news article in Nature that Hagelin, co-developer of one of the "better-accepted" unified field theories known as the Flipped SU(5) model, "is by all accounts a gifted researcher well known and respected by his colleagues".^[24]

Research on consciousness and the unified field[link]

In 1987 and 1989, Hagelin published two papers in the Maharishi University of Management's Journal of Modern Science and Vedic Science on the relationship between physics and consciousness.^[25][26] These papers discuss the Vedic understanding of consciousness as a field and compares it with theories of the unified field derived by modern physics. Hagelin argues that these two fields have almost identical properties and quantitative structure, and he presents other theoretical and empirical arguments that the two fields are actually one and the same — specifically, that the experience of unity at the basis of the mind achieved during the meditative state is the subjective experience of the very same fundamental unity of existence revealed by unified field theories.^[25]

Research on the Maharishi Effect[link]

As evidence for this explanation, Hagelin points to the body of research supporting the positive effects created by Transcendental Meditation and the more advanced TM-Sidhi program (which includes a practice called "Yogic Flying"). Both are said to have measurable effects on social trend parameters, a phenomenon called the "Maharishi Effect". Hagelin cites numerous studies of such effects, and in the summer of 1993, he conducted a large scale study of the same type. Approximately 4,000 TM-Sidhi program practitioners gathered in Washington, D.C., where they practiced the TM-Sidhi techniques twice daily in a group for several weeks. Using data obtained from the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department for 1993 and the preceding five years (1988–1992), Hagelin and collaborators followed the changes in crime rates for the area before, during, and after the 6 weeks when the group was gathered in Washington, D.C.^[27] In 1999, the study, which controlled for effects of temperature changes and showed a highly statistically significant drop in crime, was published in Social Indicators Research.^[28] During the eight weeks of the study, the overall level of violent crime (homicides, rapes, and assaults) decreased by 23%, with rapes declining by 58%. Homicides averaged 10 a week during the study—the same as in the weeks preceding and following the study. For most of the eight weeks of the study the homicide rate declined, but gang fighting resulted in ten murders in a 36 hour period. Robert L. Park, research professor and former chair of the Physics Department at the University of Maryland and well known skeptic of paranormal claims, dismissed the study as a "clinic in data manipulation" and accused Hagelin and his team of scientific misconduct.^[29][30] Maxwell Rainforth, Assistant Professor of Physiology and Health and Statistics at Maharishi University of Management and a coauthor of the Washington, D.C. study, characterized Park's criticisms of the study as "superficial, highly polemical" and "willfully misleading".^[31]

Reception of Hagelin's connection of unified field of physics to the Maharishi Effect[link]

Hagelin's interest in the connection between quantum physics and the Maharishi Effect has been discussed by both colleagues and critics. Hagelin was invited to be a plenary speaker at the 2007 Quantum Mind conference in Salzburg, Austria, organized by Stuart Hameroff (University of Arizona) and Gustav Bernroider (University of Salzburg). Hagelin was a featured scientist in the popular movies, What the Bleep Do We Know!?,^[32] What the Bleep? Down the Rabbit Hole (2006)^[33] and The Secret,^[34] which renewed interest in the quantum mind paradigm.^[35] Science writer Simon Singh questioned the credibility and motives of the interviewees in the film, and advised against seeing What the Bleep Do We Know!? as it would leave viewers misinformed.^[32]

Both Woit and Anderson have commented critically on Hagelin's interest in and publications on consciousness research. Woit says identifying a unified field of consciousness with a unified field of superstring theory is wishful thinking. He also asserts that most physicists think Hagelin's views are nonsense.^[23] Anderson says Hagelin's investigations into how the extension of grand unified theories of physics to human consciousness could explain the way Transcendental Meditation is said to influence world events "disturbs many researchers" and "infuriates his former collaborators."^[24] Dallas Observer political reporter Jonathan Fox wrote that "Once considered a top scientist, Hagelin's former academic peers ostracized him after the candidate attempted to shoehorn Eastern metaphysical musings into the realm of quantum physics."^[36] According to Woit, Hagelin began connecting consciousness and the unified field in the late 1970s as a Ph.D. student at Harvard. Hagelin's collaborative work in particle physics continued until 1994.^[37] Anderson says that John Ellis, director of CERN, was worried about guilt by association. Anderson quotes Ellis as saying "I was afraid that people might regard [Hagelin's assertions] as rather flaky, and that might rub off on the theory or on us."^[24]

Hagelin's linkage of quantum mechanics and unified field theory with consciousness was critiqued by University of Iowa philosophy and sociology professors Evan Fales and Barry Markovsky in 1997, in the journal Social Forces. They wrote that Hagelin's equating consciousness with the unified field relies on a similarity between quantum mechanical properties of fields and consciousness, and that his arguments rely on ambiguity and obscurity in characterizing these properties. They dismiss Hagelin's parallels between the Vedas and contemporary unified field theories as a reliance on ambiguity and vague analogy supported by constructing arbitrary similarities.^[38] David Orme-Johnson and Robert Oates, retired colleagues of Hagelin from MUM, replied to this critique in the Journal of Scientific Exploration and said, in part, that Fales' and Markovsky's accusation of "vagueness" and "ambiguity" on Hagelin's part are in themselves vague and ambiguous and that there is no standard against which they can be evaluated.^[39]

Entrepreneur[link]

In 1990, Hagelin founded Enlightened Audio Designs Corporation (EAD) with electronics engineer Alastair Roxburgh.^[40] As President and Director of Research of EAD, Hagelin designed and manufactured high-end digital-to-analog (D-to-A) converters that were critically acclaimed.^[41] In 1995, EAD was the first company in the world to develop and commercialize home theater surround-sound processors incorporating multi-channel digital surround-sound technologies, such as Dolby Digital and DTS.^[40] In 2001, EAD Corporation was sold to the Oregon-based company Alpha Digital Technologies.^[40][42]

Politician[link]

Natural Law Party[link]

The Natural Law Party (NLP) was founded in 1992 in Fairfield, Iowa by Hagelin and a group of 12 educators, scientists, business leaders, and other professionals who desired a more scientific approach to national administration that would promote field-tested solutions to the nation's problems.^[43][44] The party platform included preventive health care, sustainable agriculture and renewable energy technologies. During his campaigns, Hagelin favored abortion rights without public financing, campaign-finance law reform and improved gun control. He proposed a flat tax with no tax for families earning less than $34,000 a year.^[45] Hagelin also campaigned to eradicate PACs and soft money campaign contributions and advocated safety locks on guns. He endorsed school vouchers and efforts to prevent war in the Middle East by reducing "people's tension".^[11] In a letter to presidential candidate Bill Clinton, Hagelin accepted Clinton's offer to debate "any serious candidate" and informed Clinton and Bush that the "Natural Law Party does not participate in negative campaigning."^[46]

The party chose Hagelin and Michael Tompkins as its presidential and vice-presidential candidates in 1992 and 1996.^[47] In 1996, Hagelin was on the ballot in 44 states as a presidential candidate.^[48]

Hagelin ran for President again in the 2000 Presidential election, being nominated both by the NLP and by the Perot wing of the Reform Party, which disputed the nomination of Pat Buchanan.^[49] Hagelin's running mate in the 2000 election was Nat Goldhaber.^[50]

A dispute over the Reform Party's nomination generated "legal action" between the Hagelin and Buchanan campaigns. In September 2000, the Federal Election Commission ruled that Buchanan was the official candidate of the Reform Party, and hence, was eligible to receive federal election funds.^[45][50] As part of the ruling, the Reform Party convention that nominated Hagelin was declared invalid.^[51] In spite of the ruling, Hagelin remained on several state ballots as the Reform Party nominee, due to the independent nature of various state affiliates. He also was the national nominee of the Natural Law Party, and in New York was the Independence Party nominee.^[50]

During his 2000 campaign, Hagelin appeared on ABC's Nightline (2000)^[52] and Politically Incorrect (2000),^[33][53] NBC's Meet the Press (2000),^[54] CNN's Larry King Live,^[55] PBS's News Hour with Jim Lehrer,^[56] Inside Politics, CNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews, and C-SPAN's Washington Journal.^[57]

Hagelin's Presidential electoral results:

• 1992 - Ballot status in 32 states - 39,212 votes^[58]
• 1996 - Ballot status in 43 states - 113,659 votes^[58]
• 2000 - Ballot status in 39 states - 83,714 votes^[59]

In the middle of the 2000 campaign, Hagelin said that having the party's principles reach the "marketplace of ideas" and be co-opted by the Democrats and Republicans would be a victory.^[60]

In April 2004, the U.S. Natural Law Party officially disbanded its national organization, although a few state parties may still be active.^{[citation needed]} In the 2004 primary elections, Hagelin and the Natural Law Party endorsed Democratic candidate Dennis Kucinich.^[61][62]

Institute of Science, Technology and Public Policy[link]

Hagelin is the Director of the Institute of Science, Technology and Public Policy, a think tank at Maharishi University of Management.^[14][63] According to their website, he has met with members of Congress and officials at the Department of State, and the Department of Defense on the issue of terrorism.^[64][65]

Hagelin helped to write a paragraph in Hillary Rodham Clinton's 10,000-page health proposal. He says that it was the only paragraph in the document that concerned health and preventive care.^[60]

In 1998, Hagelin gave testimony to the National Institutes of Health, DNA Advisory Committee on germ-line technologies, stating that recombinant DNA technology is inherently risky because of the high probability of unexpected side-effects.^[66][67]

Hagelin moderated a panel on stress at a June 3, 1999 Congressional Prevention Coalition caucus.^{[68][69][70][71][72]}

US Peace Government and Invincible America[link]

The American Bank Note Company Building in Lower Manhattan, former headquarters of the Center for Leadership Performance. When traveling to New York City, John Hagelin resided in one of the luxury apartments on its upper floors.^[73]

Hagelin established the US Peace Government (USPG) on July 4, 2003,^[74] as an affiliate of the Global Country of World Peace. The US Peace Government and the Global Country of World Peace were created to promote evidence-based and sustainable solutions as well as policies of governance that are aligned with Natural Law.^[75] As president of the USPG,^[75] Hagelin presides over a national assembly of USPG state representatives or governors, who in turn preside over US Peace Government assemblies and capital buildings in their respective states.^[75] The USPG announced plans to build a national capital in Washington Township, Smith County, Kansas, near the geographic center of America.^[76] The offices for the U.S. Peace Government are located in Maharishi Vedic City, Iowa,^[77] and the office of the President was at The Jefferson hotel, Washington, D.C. in 2004.^[78][78]

Hagelin is the founder and International Director of the Global Union of Scientists for Peace, an international organization of prominent scientists opposed to nuclear proliferation and war.^[79][80]

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi appointed Hagelin as the "Raja of Invincible America" on November 19, 2007. Hagelin organized the Invincible America Assembly in Fairfield, Iowa which began in July 2006. The assembly consists of a group of individuals practicing the Transcendental Meditation and the TM-Sidhi techniques in a group, twice daily. Hagelin stated in a press release announcing the project that "for the United States, with a population of just over 300 million, the required number of peace-creating experts is 1,730".^[81] According to the Global Good News website "on 28 November 2006, the United States achieved invincibility and is stabilizing the number of Yogic Flyers—rising from 1,600 to 1,730—assembled at the Invincible America Assembly in Fairfield, Iowa".^[82] In addition, Hagelin's Institute for Science Technology and Public Policy web site says that the Invincible America Assembly in Iowa "is rising quickly toward its target of 2,500".^[83]

In July, 2007, Hagelin predicted that when the number of assembly participants reached 2,500, which he said would happen within a year, America would have a major drop in crime, and see the virtual elimination of all major social and political woes in the United States.^[84] Hagelin said that the Assembly was responsible for the Dow Jones Industrial Average reaching a record high of 14,022 earlier that month, and predicted that the Dow would top 17,000 within a year.^[84][85]

Awards[link]

In 1992, Hagelin was honored with a Kilby International Award which "recognizes scientists who have made major contributions to society through their applied research in the fields of science and technology".^[43] The award was given for his work in particle physics leading to the development of supersymmetric grand unified field theories, for his innovative applications of advanced principles from control systems theory and optimization theory to digital sound reproduction, and for his research on human consciousness.^[86] Chris Anderson questioned the value of the award in an article about Hagelin published in Nature.^[24]

In 1994, Hagelin received the Ig Nobel Prize for Peace, an annual parody award presented at Harvard University which "honor[s] achievements that first make people laugh and then make them think".^[87] The Master of ceremony and award's founder Mark Abrahams called it the world's most "(un)coveted award for achievements that cannot or should not be reproduced" which are given to "honor the world's largely overlooked scientists and other contributors to modern culture, who bring smiles and guffaws to others, whether intentional or not."^[88][89] Hagelin received the prize for his "experimental conclusion that 4,000 trained meditators caused an 18 percent decrease in violent crime in Washington, D.C."^[90]

Personal life[link]

Hagelin was married to Margaret Cowhig, his first wife^[91] from 1985 to 1993.^[43][92] In 2010, Hagelin married Kara Anastasio, the former vice-chair of the Natural Law Party of Ohio who made an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Rep. in 2004. ^[93][1]The couple lives in Fairfield, Iowa with their son Brecon.

Books[link]

• Manual for a perfect government : how to harness the laws of nature to bring maximum success to governmental administration. Fairfield, Iowa: Maharishi University of Management. 1998. OCLC 39366340. 

References[link]