Professional Degree vs. Doctorate

Question

What constitutes a Professional Degree and what constitutes a Doctorate? I have no idea...

I know Doctorate is for PhD people, but is it synonymous with having a Professional Degree or is that term for something else?

Answer 1

A professional degree is a terminal degree in fields that have special degrees.  For example, an MD for doctors or a JD for lawyers.

Answer 2

I'm not sure there is an entirely strict distinction, but generally a professional degree refers to degrees like:

MD - medicine

DDS - dentistry

JD - law

DVM - veterinary medicine

MBA - business

MSE - engineering

and so on.   They are typically focused on a particular kind of career.   (Some of these can also be classed as doctoral degrees, of course.)

A PhD is the traditional "academic" doctoral degree in arts or sciences.  You go to grad school, take some classses, and,  most important, do some independent work and write a dissertation that is (at least in theory) a work of original scholarship.

Answer 3

A professional degree is a specialized degree that allows the practice in a given occupational area. The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) is the highest degree an individual may attain in a given area. Contrary to some of the posts on here, a professional doctor is not necessarily a terminal degree, like a Ph.D.

For example, a juris doctor (law degree) can be followed up with an LLM and SJD, so lawyers are not called doctors. Only those who have earned an SJD are called doctor. Conversely, an medical doctor has reached terminal status, even though many med school faculty have Ph.Ds in other areas.

Furthermore, the possession of a Ph.D. does not denote professor status for academics. Entry level Ph.Ds begin as assistant professors who may progress to associate and then full professors. Only full professors have earned the right to be called "Professor." This process goes back to the traditions of schools like Oxford, where professors sat in chairs of honor.