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.
Doctor of Philosophy
The Ph.D. admission is granted by a graduate school (in French, "école doctorale"). A Ph.D. candidate can follow some in-service training offered by the graduate school while continuing his or her research at laboratory. His or her research may be carried out in a laboratory, at a university, or in a company. In the last case, the company hires the candidate and he or she is supervised by both the company's tutor and a labs' professor. The validation of the Ph.D. degree requires generally 3 to 4 years after the master's degree.