When Does a Person in a Doctoral Program Become a Doctor? When Should the Title Be Used?

If you’ve ever looked into earning a doctorate degree, you may have come across two similar terms: Doctoral student and doctoral candidate. Although to some people these two terms might mean the same thing, future doctorate degree holders and Board of Education members should know that there is a clear difference between the two. Also, when can a person actually use the term "Doctor" or "Dr." as part of their professional/personal identity and/or title. 

A doctoral student is someone who has enrolled in a doctorate degree program. Doctoral students, sometimes called learners, may work through their studies online, on campus or both. A typical doctoral program will require students to complete a certain number of credits in coursework and successfully pass qualifying exams. This process is followed by the dissertation research, writing and defense.

A doctoral student is different from a doctoral candidate in that the student is still working through the coursework. They have not yet begun the dissertation process or passed the qualifying exams.

A doctoral candidate is someone who has completed all of the required coursework and has successfully passed their qualifying exams. Once this milestone is reached, the individual attains the unofficial status of all but dissertation (ABD).

When are you considered to be a doctor? It is only appropriate to use the title "Dr." when you are a graduate, ie, when the degree is conferred either in notice by letter or by ceremony (which ever comes first). Prior to that your status is that of a graduand. If you've been using the work-title doctoral candidate you might consider changing to Doctoral Graduand to indicate this status: that you're awaiting conferral but you've met the substantive criteria for fulfillment of your degree.

According to Wikipedia, at Drew University in New Jersey, the earned Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.) program requires the completion of 45 graduate credit hours beyond the master's degree, including the successful development and defense of a 150–220 page doctoral dissertation

A Micro-Level Study of New Jersey's Amistad Legislation- Christine Morrison Johnson

Here is a link to the thesis work of Christine Johnson, current superintendent of the Hoboken School District. The degree in D. Litt from Drew University's Caspersen School of Graduate Studies was awarded in 2022. (Link: CLICK HERE TO VIEW) 

	Christine Morrison Johnson  A Micro-Level Study of New Jersey's Amistad Legislation
	ABSTRACT: The landscape of New Jersey public school districts is filled with mandates. Each year, district administrators, school principals, and teachers are faced with implementing new mandates in classrooms across the state. Mandates set forth by state or federal governments often fail to be implemented and, ultimately, institutionalized in schools' standard operating procedures or their curricular and instructional frameworks because they are so far removed from classroom teachers and from those that develop improvement efforts and administer school district policy. New Jersey's Amistad law enacted in 2002, has suffered this exact fate.  The purpose of the 2002 Amistad legislation is to weave the experiences, contributions, and perspectives of African Americans into the fabric of New Jersey's social studies instruction. Implementation of the law, however, has been remarkably slow. Even with good faith steps taken over the past 20 years, the vast majority of school districts across the state have yet to fully implement the Amistad mandate. While macro-level impediments to implementing the Amistad law are examined, this micro-level study will serve not only to acknowledge the monumental passage of the 2002 Amistad law, recognize its authors, and highlight its goals and objectives, but also to analyze the shortcomings of the implementation process and outline specific actions in a strategic implementation plan to ensure that all school districts across the state are fully complying with this landmark mandate.  For the sake of moving forward, the Amistad law's path from inception to implementation must be chronicled. Readily available statewide best practice models, districtwide readiness with regard to curricular and professional development, a system of accountability measures, and a strategic implementation plan are acutely needed. This groundbreaking mandate's injunction for schools to shift away from traditional, Eurocentric social studies curricula and instruction to a more representative and culturally-responsive model, especially in a profoundly diverse state, is certainly laudable and critical to the self-efficacy of all of New Jersey's students.
	The Caspersen School of Graduate Studies, Drew University
	DEGREE/YEAR: D.Litt. (2022)
	ADVISOR: William B Rogers
	William B Rogers  Linda Swerdlow
	CJohnson.pdf - requires Drew uLogin