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I would love to know the circumstances under which people opt for a second doctorate degree.

  • Could a professor working in a university write up a thesis and submit it to his department to earn a second doctorate?

  • Do only those who want to remain in the university forever as students go for a second doctorate?

  • Are there any general merits/downsides to earning 2 PhDs, if you are perhaps assured of a research career after a good first one?

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I know someone who has 3 professorships and 2 doctorates. His title is Prof. Prof. Prof. Dr. Dr. – Dave Clarke Jun 1 '12 at 8:32
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"Are there any general merits/downsides to earning 2 PhDs, given you are assured of a research career after a good first one?" The premise is very questionable: a good PhD by no means "assures" a research career. – Pete L. Clark Jun 1 '12 at 16:26
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You go for a double doctorate when your first postdoc ends and you still haven't found a job, and you're fine with living off a stipend for another five years. – eykanal♦ Jun 1 '12 at 16:51
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@DaveClarke: Excuse me, but that's Herr Professor Professor Professor Doktor Doktor. – JeffE Jun 2 '12 at 5:52
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There are some departments at certain schools that won't even accept you to their PhD programs if you already have a PhD. – cartonn Apr 11 at 20:11
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2 Answers

up vote 19 down vote accepted

Generally you cannot get two PhDs in the same field. One could get a second PhD in a second field.

People who want to do research in multiple fields or in a multidisciplinary topic or wish to change fields may obtain multiple PhDs. Alternatively, as you suggest, people who want to remain students forever do that.

The main downside of doing multiple PhDs is that people may not see that you are moving on with your career. There is a career after getting your PhD, and obtaining a PhD is a small step along that career path. Hovering around getting multiple PhDs would be akin to getting multiple bachelor degrees. People may see you as a permanent student, not someone growing into a mature researcher.

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What do you mean by "same field"? For example, how about Mehanical engineering and aerospace engineering? or ME and EE? It is not clear to me how "same field" is defined. After all, most degrees in field of physics and engineering are based on same core equations and fundamentals (For example, in M.E. we use F=ma, and also the physics students use the same equation, does this mean one can't have a PhD in Physics and a PhD in engineering?). And who decides if the field is the same or not? – Nasser Jun 1 '12 at 14:10
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I think the answer is "it depends". Not me, that's for sure. – Dave Clarke Jun 1 '12 at 15:09
@Nasser, I've never seen a case where it was cut so fine as different fields of engineering. I've seen a physicist move to philosophy, so obtained PhDs in both. The decision whether to allow enrolment in the second PhD seems to be a judgement call by the university where the criteria is that the research is sufficiently different that the candidate would, in a sense, be "starting again" - so their prior PhD is in theory no advantage. Again though, it's up to the institution. Of course no of this applies to higher or professional doctorates. – Luke Mathieson Feb 22 at 3:30
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I think this question is not that complicated, in fact it's very simple. One might have earned a PhD in Business Admin. from Papua New Guinea University and planning to earn another PhD in Business Admin. from Yale. I think you all got the point by now ;) Unfortunately Yale won't let anyone do that. e.g. HBS, NYU Stern, Berkeley Haas MBA programs are not accepting students who already hold an MBA from another institution.

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This is, in fact, a general rule. American universities will not give degree X in field Y to someone who already has degree X in field Y. You already have an MBA? Then you can't get another MBA. You already have an MS in applied math? Then you can't get another MS in applied math. You already have a PhD in business admin? Then you can't get another PhD in business admin. – JeffE Feb 21 at 23:28
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Not entirely true. I know of many people who got an MBA from the top management schools in India, discovered that the value of this degree isn't so great on the international scene, and did another MBA in the US or elsewhere. My cynical side thinks that an institution granting a professional degree merely wants your money in exchange for the certification, and doesn't care about your prior qualifications. – Suresh May 12 at 15:10
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@Suresh If you referring to the IIMs, don't they technically grant a PGP degree and not a MBA per se (by a quirk of governmental bureaucracy) and are thus, able to get escape the no-MBA requirement? I like your cynicism (and share it) so +1. :D – Shion May 13 at 3:54
it's entirely possible. – Suresh May 13 at 4:15

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