VOA慢速英语 2007 0412a

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

Today we continue our discussion of the academic degrees offered by American colleges and universities. Last week, we talked about the associate, bachelor's and master's degrees.

The highest degree that a student can earn is a doctorate¹. Some doctorates² are professional degrees, as opposed to a degree based on research. Medical students, for example, receive an M.D., from the Latin "medicinae doctor." Future lawyers receive a J.D., for "juris" or "jurum" doctor, meaning a doctor of law or laws.

 
A PhD graduate from the University of Oklahoma
Someone with a PhD is a "doctor of philosophy." Many people earn a PhD, yet not many are philosophers. The name has survived since the Middle Ages when many areas of study were called philosophy.

Students can receive a PhD in engineering, social work, education, music, history and a lot of other areas. Requirements can differ from one university to another, and from one area of study to another. But the National Science Foundation says American doctoral education is organized around a research experience.

A PhD usually requires at least three years of full-time³ study after a bachelor's degree. Some people first get a master's degree, other do not.

PhD candidates must also pass special examinations and carry out original research. Students present their findings by writing a dissertation⁴, a long paper that they have to defend before a group of experts.

Every year, the federal government collects information on research doctorates awarded in the United States. More than forty-three thousand students received a research doctorate in two thousand five, the most recent year reported.

Close to one-third of those doctorates went to foreign students in the United States on a temporary visa. The largest numbers came from China, South Korea, India, Taiwan and Canada. Most of them studied engineering, physical science or life science. 

The University of Illinois awarded the largest number of doctorates to foreign students. The other universities in the top five were Purdue, Ohio State, Texas A&M and Pennsylvania State. 

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. Our Foreign Student Series continues next week. If you missed any of our reports, you can find them at voaspecialenglish.com. And if you have a question about studying in the United States, send it to [email protected]. Please be sure to include your name and country. I'm Steve Ember.

1 doctorate   

n.(大学授予的)博士学位

参考例句：

• He hasn't enough credits to get his doctorate.他的学分不够取得博士学位。
• Where did she do her doctorate?她在哪里攻读博士？

2 doctorates   

n.博士学位( doctorate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nearly 1,000 specialized personnel with doctorates have settled in Shenzhen. 现已引进博士学位的专门人才近千名。 来自互联网
• John played the field academically, obtaining doctorates from several universities. 约翰的学术广博，他从几所大学拿到了博士学位。 来自互联网

3 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

4 dissertation   

n.（博士学位）论文，学术演讲，专题论文

参考例句：

• He is currently writing a dissertation on the Somali civil war.他目前正在写一篇关于索马里内战的论文。
• He was involved in writing his doctoral dissertation.他在聚精会神地写他的博士论文。