"

Should the British EngD be mentioned in the article as a ""professional doctorate"" ?

A few English universities now offer the degree of ""Doctor of Engineering"" (EngD), which, like the PhD, is also a research-based degree, but differs from the traditional UK PhD in several important ways. Specifically,

1) A PhD degree is normally pursued full-time by a student while in residence in a university department under the supervision of a faculty member. Accordingly, PhD-level research is more speculative/abstract in nature, with an emphasis on producing results that may be published in peer-reviewed scientific journals and are of academic interest. 

2) The EngD on the other hand is normally pursued by a candidate while he/she works as an employee in an outside company. Most EngD research is carried out in a designated industry (as opposed to a university department or lab) and is jointly supervised by both an industrial and a university supervisor. Accordingly, EngD-level research tends to be application-oriented in nature and designed to meet the specific needs/interests of the industrial sponsor. EngD candidates are still required to produce original research that makes a significant contribution to existing knowledge on his/her field, but, in many programmes (AmEng ""programs""), it is customary for EngD candidates to submit a portfolio of engineering projects in lieu of a longer monographic thesis to fulfil (AmEng ""fulfill"") the requirements for the degree.

3) EngD programmes normally include a more formal coursework requirement than the traditional English PhD. It should be stressed however that many engineering departments in the UK (e.g. at Cambridge) now require that PhD students take lecture courses and their associated written exams in their first year in the programme. 

4) (POV) No matter what the Research Councils say, the EngD is still generally seen in academic circles as inferior to a PhD. For example, I doubt an EngD would be acceptable as a qualification for appointment as a Lecturer in a university, whereas the PhD of course is the standard qualification in England for an entry-level faculty position. 

Because of its industry-oriented nature, the EngD is normally referred to in English academic circles as a ""professional degree"", even though it remains a research degree as emphasized above
(there are no ""professional doctorates"" awarded in the UK by coursework only like the American J.D for example). 161.24.19.112  "