"Doctorate" isn't a single kind of degree — it's a category that covers two genuinely different things: research doctorates, built around producing new knowledge, and professional (or practice) doctorates, built around reaching the highest level of applied practice in a field. If you've searched "what is a doctorate" because you're trying to figure out which one you'd actually need, that's the right instinct — the two types lead to very different day-to-day experiences and career paths, even though both end with the title "Dr."
What Is a Doctorate Degree?
A doctorate is the highest level of academic degree, sitting above a bachelor's and master's in the traditional education hierarchy. Nearly every doctorate falls into one of two broad categories:
Research Doctorates (PhD and equivalents)
A research doctorate — most commonly a PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) — is built around producing original, previously unpublished research that contributes new knowledge to a field. The core output is a dissertation, defended before a faculty committee, and the path there looks more like an apprenticeship under a faculty advisor than a coursework-driven program. Research doctorates exist in essentially every academic discipline, from the sciences and social sciences to the humanities, and typically lead toward academic research careers, university faculty positions, or research roles in industry and government.
Professional (Practice) Doctorates
A professional or practice doctorate is built around reaching the highest level of applied practice in a specific profession, rather than generating original research. Instead of a dissertation, the culminating project is usually an applied, evidence-based capstone addressing a real practice problem. Common examples include:
| Degree | Field | Typical Role It Leads To |
|---|---|---|
| DNP (Doctor of Nursing Practice) | Nursing | Advanced-practice nurse (NP, CRNA, CNM), nursing leadership |
| EdD (Doctor of Education) | Education | K–12 or higher-ed leadership, education policy, superintendency |
| PsyD (Doctor of Psychology) | Clinical psychology | Licensed clinical psychologist, practice-focused (vs. research) psychology |
| DPT (Doctor of Physical Therapy) | Physical therapy | Licensed physical therapist (now the standard entry-level credential in the U.S.) |
| MD / DO | Medicine | Licensed physician |
| JD | Law | Licensed attorney (though the JD functions more like a first professional degree than a doctorate in the PhD sense) |
The single most useful question when someone says "I want a doctorate" is: do you want to generate new research, or reach the top of applied practice in your field? Those two goals point toward genuinely different degrees, different admissions criteria, different day-to-day experiences, and different careers — they are not simply "more" or "less" advanced versions of each other.
Typical Structure and Duration
| Element | Research Doctorate (PhD) | Professional/Practice Doctorate |
|---|---|---|
| Typical duration | 4–7 years (often open-ended, tied to research completion) | 2–4 years (typically fixed-length, coursework-driven) |
| Culminating project | Dissertation — original research, publicly defended | Applied capstone or practice-improvement project (or, for MD/JD-type degrees, licensure examinations) |
| Admission focus | Research potential, fit with a faculty advisor, prior research experience | Professional/clinical experience, licensure status, career goals |
| Funding norm | Often funded via assistantships, stipends, and tuition waivers, especially in STEM fields | Usually self-funded or employer-sponsored; funding is less standard than in PhD programs |
| Typical entry point | A bachelor's or master's degree in a related field | A bachelor's or master's plus relevant professional licensure/experience (varies heavily by field) |
Typical Cost
Cost differs sharply between the two categories:
- Fully funded PhD programs (common in the sciences, social sciences, and many humanities fields at research universities) often cover tuition and provide a stipend in exchange for teaching or research assistantship work — meaning the direct cost to the student can be low or effectively zero, though the opportunity cost of years at a stipend-level income is real.
- Unfunded or partially funded PhD programs exist too, particularly outside STEM fields or at certain institutions, and can cost a substantial amount out of pocket.
- Professional doctorates are typically self-funded or employer-sponsored rather than funded through assistantships, and total cost varies enormously by field and institution — often ranging from the mid five figures to well into six figures for degrees like the MD.
Given this range, "how much does a doctorate cost" doesn't have one answer — the funding model for the specific degree and program matters more than any general figure.
Career Outcomes
Research doctorate (PhD) graduates typically move into:
- University faculty and research positions
- Postdoctoral research (a common intermediate step before a permanent academic or industry research role)
- Industry R&D roles, particularly in STEM fields
- Government and think-tank research positions
Professional/practice doctorate graduates typically move into:
- Direct advanced practice in their licensed profession (clinical nursing, physical therapy, medicine, clinical psychology)
- Leadership roles within their field (education administration, healthcare systems leadership)
- Practice-focused faculty roles, particularly at institutions that emphasize applied teaching over research output
Who It's For (and Who It's Not For)
A research doctorate (PhD) is generally the right choice if:
- Your goal is to generate original research and pursue an academic or research-focused career
- You're drawn to open-ended, self-directed intellectual work over a fixed curriculum
- You're willing to accept an open-ended timeline tied to research progress rather than a fixed number of semesters
A professional/practice doctorate is generally the right choice if:
- You want to reach the highest level of applied practice in a licensed profession (nursing, psychology, physical therapy, education leadership, medicine, law)
- You prefer a structured, fixed-length program over open-ended research
- Your target role explicitly requires or increasingly expects the doctoral-level practice credential
Neither may be necessary if:
- A master's degree already qualifies you for your target role — many advanced-practice and leadership roles across nursing, education, and other fields remain fully accessible with a master's, even as some fields trend toward preferring doctorates
- You're unsure which category fits — talking to people currently working in your target role, rather than committing to a multi-year program first, is usually the faster way to find out
For deeper dives into the research-vs-practice split as it plays out in specific fields, see our guides to the PhD, the DNP (Doctor of Nursing Practice), the EdD (Doctor of Education), and the PsyD (Doctor of Psychology).