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.
Faculty of Law, University of Tirana
Until the 1970s, the normal duration of studies was four years, but later it was reduced to three years of study, followed by a year of practical training in the courts. In the 1980s, the faculty returned to the four year study system. The most dramatic changes occurred after the fall of communism in Albania in 1991. The arrival of new concepts dealing with democracy, the rule of law and equality before the law, necessitated deep reforms in the academic and educational conception of the law and of the role of the lawyer. Thus, starting from 1991 the curriculum was developed according to Western models, and after 2000 there were efforts to transition the degrees offered by the Faculty to the Bologna process, thus now the "Faculty of Law" offers Bachelor of laws, Master of laws and PhD in Law degrees.