The Prestige of the Ph.D. Degree

Walters, Everett

doi:10.1080/00221546.1962.11772935

Cited by 1 publication

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“…Like most professional doctorates (except the MD and JD), the DMin may suffer from not being a PhD. Described as the “gold standard” for doctorates (Jolley, 2007), the PhD has long been regarded as the premier credential in many disciplines (Walters, 1962). Wikoff (1997) believes that the PhD degree, irrespective of the field, is more prestigious than other types of doctorates, and the evidence seems to support her assertion.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The prestige of the Doctor of Ministry among Roman Catholic priests, deacons, and directors of religious education

Roszkowski

Berna

2012

Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning

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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess the prestige of the Doctor of Ministry (DMin) among Roman Catholics in leadership positions, who may be a potential market for this degree.Design/methodology/approachIn a mail survey employing a comparative rating scale, respondents rated the prestige of the DMin relative to six other doctorates: PhD, EdD, PsyD, DBA, MD, and JD.FindingsRatings were provided by 184 priests, 73 deacons, and 95 directors of religious education (69 lay, 26 sisters). The DMin carried the least prestige with priests and the most with religious educators, particularly the sisters. In all groups, the DMin fared best on prestige when compared to the professional doctorates (DBA, EdD, PsyD) and worst relative to the traditional degrees (MD, JD, and PhD). When submitted to a cluster analysis, three groups emerged, corresponding to negative (46 percent), neutral (38 percent), and positive (16 percent) impressions of the prestige of the DMin. The majority of the priests (44 percent) were in the negative cluster whereas the largest proportion of deacons (45 percent) and most lay religious educators (71 percent) fell into the neutral cluster. In contrast, the largest proportion of the religious educators who were sisters by background went into the positive cluster (40 percent). With the exception of the sisters, the percentage of each group falling into the positive cluster was quite small and approximately the same size across the remaining three groups (16 percent, 15 percent, and 13 percent). A discriminant analysis of the clusters identified two discriminating functions; the primary function involved perceptions of the DMin relative to the traditional degrees (MD, JD, and PhD), whereas the very minor second function involved how the DMin is perceived in comparison to the newer practice doctorates (EdD, DBA, and PsyD).Research limitations/implicationsThe response rate was low.Practical implicationsCurrently, owing to its low prestige, the DMin probably does not have a sizable potential market among Roman Catholic priests, but it may appeal more to religious educators.Social implicationsThe DMin may be subject to the same concerns and prejudices as raised about other professional doctorates.Originality/valueRoman Catholics are a non‐traditional audience for the DMin. This degree's perceived prestige was not previously studied in this emerging market.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%