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.
University of Oslo Faculty of Law
Although students do not receive a formal degree before they have completed the five-year programme, the first four years correspond to an American J.D. degree. In the fifth year, students usually write a thesis corresponding to one semester and take advanced courses of their choice also corresponding to one semester. Alternatively, they may choose to write a longer thesis, corresponding to a full year. Parts of the fifth year, or even the full year, may also be taken abroad. The fifth year leads to the Master of Laws degree.