Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!nrl-cmf!ames!amdahl!johnm
From: johnm@uts.amdahl.com (John Murray)
Newsgroups: comp.edu
Subject: Re: Difference in Degrees
Keywords: Ph.D., D.SC., Sc.D.
Message-ID: <03ADr84zIo10100x=XE@amdahl.uts.amdahl.com>
Date: 3 Feb 89 18:23:29 GMT
References: <2008@lcuxlm.ATT.COM> <00JuC36BGP1010IEdew@amdahl.uts.amdahl.com> <677@wucs1.wustl.edu>
Organization: Amdahl Corporation, Sunnyvale CA
Lines: 25

In article <677@wucs1.wustl.edu>, conrad@wucs1.wustl.edu (H. Conrad Cunningham) writes:
> Are there any Computer Science programs that grant more than one kind
> of doctorate?  I think there are some institutions which grant
> "Engineer", or something such, degrees that are intermediate between a
> masters and a doctorate and are less research oriented than a doctorate.

I think UMich at Ann Arbor offers both PhD and DSc (in Industrial Eng.
anyway); dunno about CS, or what the difference is, though it might be
related to which field has been studied as a Minor topic.

Stanford offers "Engineer" degrees for an year's course work (beyond the
Master's), together with a thesis covering non-original work. The degree
is supposed to be aimed at people seeking a qualification which is more
industrially-oriented. However, it seems to have a reputation (among some
students, anyway) as being mostly a compensation for people who've failed
the PhD candidacy exams, and they question its value (to industry) when
compared to a Master's degree.

Under the "British" university system, people heading for a PhD generally
register initially (after the Bachelor's) for a MPhil degree, consisting
mostly of coursework. Suitable people can then transfer to work on a PhD,
which is much more research-oriented than in the U.S. system. There is no
real equivalent of the U.S. candidacy exams, as far as I know.

- John Murray (My own opinions, etc.)