What Graduate Degrees Are There?

Graduate education generally falls into two areas: traditional graduate education, which emphasizes original research and has as its highest earned degree the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.); and professional school in such areas as medicine, business, engineering, and law, in which knowledge and skills are applied to meeting requirements for professional practice. Degrees in these areas include the Doctor of Medicine (M.D.), the Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.), and the Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.).

In addition, master's degrees can be earned in almost any field and may also be academic or professional. Those who intend to pursue doctorates may elect to earn a master's degree first. This has the advantage of allowing a person to select a different university or a somewhat different program of study for his/her doctoral work. The total period of graduate study needed to obtain a doctorate could be somewhat lengthened by proceeding via the master's degree route, but probably not by much. In many fields, such as fine arts, library science, education, business, and social work, the master's may be the only professional degree needed for employment.

For a complete listing of graduate degrees and corresponding abbreviations, you may want to refer to Peterson's Annual Guides to Graduate Study.

It is important to note that the distinctions between traditional graduate study and professional programs are less well defined than they traditionally have been. It is possible to combine the pursuit of a graduate degree, with its emphasis on research, with professional studies; for example, one might pursue a master's degree in history simultaneously with a law degree.