Doctorate in Germany

Germany
In Germany, a doctorate is usually a research doctorate and is awarded in the context of the so-called promotion. Its duration depends strongly on the field in which it is taken. While a doctorate in medicine may take less than a full-time year to complete, it takes between three and six years in engineering. In Germany, most doctorates are awarded with specific designations for the field of research instead of a general "PhD" for all fields, the most important ones being:

Dr. rer. nat. (Doctorate in Natural Sciences, i.e. Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Maths, Psychology often also Computer Science and Information Technology),

Dr. phil. (Doctorate of philosophy, i.e. the humanities like Philosophy, philology, History, and social sciences like sociology or Psychology),

Dr. iur. (Doctorate in Law),

Dr. oec. (Doctorate in Economics),

Dr. rer. pol. (Doctor Rerum Politicarum, aka Doctorate in Political Science),

Dr. med. (Doctorate in Medicine),

Dr.-Ing. (Doctorate in Engineering).

MIB