- published: 05 Jul 2013
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A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field.
In some countries, the highest degree in a given field is referred to as a terminal degree, although this is by no means universal (the phrase is not in general use in the UK, for example), practice varies from country to country, and a distinction is sometimes made between terminal professional degrees and terminal research degrees (such as the J.S.D., or S.J.D. in law).
The term doctorate comes from the Latin docere, meaning "to teach."
The "licentiate" degree shortened from the full Latin title licentia docendi, means "teaching licence".
The doctorate (Latin: doctor, "teacher," from doctum, "[that which is] taught," past participle of docere, "to teach") appeared in medieval Europe as a license to teach (Latin: licentia docendi) at a medieval university. Its roots can be traced to the early church when the term "doctor" referred to the Apostles, church fathers and other Christian authorities who taught and interpreted the Bible. The right to grant a licentia docendi was originally reserved to the church which required the applicant to pass a test, to take oath of allegiance and pay a fee. The Third Council of the Lateran of 1179 guaranteed the access – by that time largely free of charge – of all able applicants, who were, however, still tested for aptitude by the ecclesiastic scholastic. This right remained a bone of contention between the church authorities and the slowly emancipating universities, but was granted by the pope to the University of Paris in 1213 where it became a universal license to teach (licentia ubiquie docendi). However, while the licentia continued to hold a higher prestige than the bachelor's degree (Baccalaureus), it was ultimately reduced to an intermediate step to the Magister and doctorate, both of which now became the exclusive qualification for teaching.