Academic degree
Doctoral degrees or doctorates, such as the Doctor of Philosophy degree (PhD or DPhil) or Doctor of Education (EdD or DEd) are awarded following a programme of original research that contributes new knowledge within the context of the student's discipline. Doctoral degrees usually take three years full-time. Therefore, in the UK it may only take seven years to progress from undergraduate to doctoral level – in some cases six, since having a Master's is not always a precondition for embarking on a doctoral degree. This contrasts with nine years in the United States, reflecting differences in the educational systems.
Licentiate of Theology
The Licence in Theology was one of two courses (the other being the Bachelor of Arts degree course)
offered by Durham University at its opening in 1833 and was first awarded in 1834. The course initially had a standard length of two years, reduced to one for graduates of Oxford and Cambridge; this was raised to three years for 1841–1846, but this led to a serious fall in numbers and it returned to two years from 1846. It ran in a variety of different forms, including being offered with honours for a period from 1864, but closed in 1946. From the late 19th century the LTh could be gained at Anglican theological colleges affiliated to Durham without the need for residence at the university. The Common Awards validated by Durham and offered to all Church of England ordinands since 2014, as well as trainee ministers from the Methodist, Baptist and United Reformed churches, include a variety of degree and non-degree qualifications. However, these follow the naming conventions of the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications and do not include a license in theology.