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From: choo@aqua.cs.yale.edu (young-il choo)
Newsgroups: comp.edu
Subject: Re: Difference in Degrees (or Why "Ph" in PhD?)
Message-ID: <50184@yale-celray.yale.UUCP>
Date: 9 Feb 89 23:44:38 GMT
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Organization: Yale University Computer Science  New Haven CT 06520-2158
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In-reply-to: efrethei@afit-ab.arpa's message of 4 Feb 89 19:00:50 GMT


On the origin of PhD:

It may help to know that these titles originated in the medieval university
(ca. 13th century) when the course of studies were divided basically into
(give or take one or two, like music):

ThD    Theology 
?      Classics (Greek and Latin)
MD     Medicine (latin: Medicinae Doctor)
LL D   Law (latin: legum doctor)
PhD    Philosophy (everything we today call "science", including math.)

So, according to their classification, everything we call science does fall
under philosophy, the more Greek tradition.

--  Young-il Choo  [Yale Computer Science choo-young-il@cs.yale.edu]