how to properly abbreviate phd

PhD or Ph.D? Which is correct?

PhD and Ph.D are both correct ways to indicate the title, or honorific, of a doctor. However, Ph.D isn’t nearly as common as PhD. In fact, Ph.D is an old-fashioned method of writing it. But, there’s nothing wrong with using it that way. However, it’s more visually correct and recognizable in the modern world as PhD.

So, while there aren’t really any rules to remember for using PhD or Ph.D, it’s important to understand what it means. Plus the history of it will give you a little trivia.

Ph.D History

The earliest known documented use of Ph.D is from 1869. It’s an abbreviation of the Latin phrase, “Philosophiae Doctor” or “Doctor of Philosophy.” But “Philosophiae” has roots in ancient Greek, which translates into “love of wisdom.” To call someone a “doctor” is another way to say “learned person.”

Therefore, “Philosophiae Doctor” translates in literal terms to “love of wisdom by a learned person.” This can span a host of arts and sciences including medicine as well as biology, history, literature, sociology, politics, and many more.

The title PhD is the more common version in modern times and it means the same thing. These are people who receive doctorate degrees, which is the highest level of education someone can get. As it was back in 1869, the placement of the honorific can be before or after a name.

Examples of both PhD and Ph.D

The examples below show the myriad of ways in how to use and where to place PhD or Ph.D as an honorific for a person.

Dr. Ken Wellington, PhD

Marybeth Alistair, Ph.D., DDS

Professor Cynthia Kline, PhD

Michael Derringer, Ph.D., MD

You may notice additional acronyms after the use of Ph.D. This is the more common way to use it when you’re listing someone’s name and credentials. It’s frequent to see this in places like convention programs, office boards, or in newspapers. The DDS is Doctor of Dental Surgery and MD is Doctor of Medicine.

In many cases, doctors will have other degrees of study alongside their doctoral education. These additional honorifics indicate that.

Both PhD and Ph.D are correct when referring to the title of a doctor. These are almost always for writing purposes. You would never call a doctor PhD. It’s similar to how you would use Mr., Mrs., or Ms. before someone’s name.

Recent Posts

[BrutallyHonest] Langua AI Review – Can you learn a language with AI? - April 23, 2024
“How Was Your Weekend?” Alternative Ways to Improve Your Conversations - February 19, 2024
On Monday or Monday? What’s the Difference? - December 1, 2023

“M.D.” vs. “Ph.D.” vs. “Dr.”: Are They Synonyms?

Quick: when you hear the word doctor , what do you picture?

Most would probably describe someone in a white lab coat with a stethoscope hanging around their neck or someone in medical scrubs—someone you would seek out if you have a deep cut that needed stitches.

That word doctor , however, is a title assigned to many who don’t come close to that description, many of whom you wouldn’t want stitching up that cut. Take your English professor, for instance. No offense, Dr. Barrett.

It can all be a bit confusing, which is why it’s important to know who and why someone might be called a doctor , as well as what all those initials and abbreviations after their name mean. Here we break it all down.

What does Dr. mean?

Let’s start with doctor or D r . for short. While the first definition of the word is “ a person licensed to practice medicine,” that doesn’t mean you want to take medical advice from anyone who calls themselves a doctor . There are many looser definitions of the word that follow and, frankly, make things a bit confusing.

For example, the third definition is older slang for a “cook, as at a camp or on a ship,” while the seventh entry is “an eminent scholar and teacher.” Bugs Bunny didn’t help matters either by plying anyone and everyone with his famous greeting,“What’s up, doc?”

The term doctor can be traced back to the late 1200s, and it stems from a Latin word meaning “to teach.” It wasn’t used to describe a licensed medical practitioner until about 1400, and it wasn’t used as such with regularity until the late 1600s. It replaced the former word used for medical doctors— leech , which is now considered archaic.

WATCH: When Did The Word "Doctor" Become Medical?

Physician vs. doctor : are these synonyms.

While the term physician is a synonym for doctor , it’s typically used to refer to those who practice general medicine rather than those who perform surgery, aka surgeons .

A quack , on the other hand, is defined as “ a fraudulent or ignorant pretender to medical skill.”

What does M.D. mean?

Moving on to initials that carry more weight than a nod from Bugs, let’s look at M.D.s .

M.D. , which can be used with or without the periods ( M.D. or MD ) is the designation for a medical doctor. This is earned by attending medical school (typically a four-year program after completing at least one undergraduate degree, plus a residency program), and learning to diagnose patients’ symptoms and offer treatment.

The initials M and D stem from the Latin title Medicīnae Doctor. There are many different types of doctors, with different specialties, but if you have a physical ailment, visiting a doctor with the initials M.D. is a good place to start.

Specialty doctors may add even more initials to their title, such as DCN (doctor of clinical nutrition), DDS (doctor of dental surgery), or countless others they acquire with additional training. To make things even more confusing, some may add abbreviations from medical associations they belong to, such as FAAEM (Fellow of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine).

Go Behind The Words!

By clicking "Sign Up", you are accepting Dictionary.com Terms & Conditions and Privacy policies.
Email This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

What does Ph.D. mean?

As for Ph.D. , this stands for “doctor of philosophy.” It stems from the Latin term Philosophiae Doctor.

You can get a Ph.D. in any number of subjects, from anthropology to mythological studies. It’s not an easy feat, however, as to earn one, you must do original research and write a dissertation .

Ph.D. vs. M.D .: are these synonyms?

There are two big differences between Ph.D. s and M.D .s. When it comes to medicine, M.D.s can prescribe medications, and Ph.D.s can’t. And yes, it’s possible to be both an M.D. and a Ph.D. In fact, some med schools offer programs in which you can achieve both simultaneously.

You can also get a professional doctorate degree in a number of fields. For example, you might receive a doctorate of education, an Ed.D .

So, in a nutshell, both M.D.s and Ph.Ds can be referred to as doctors . If you’re looking for someone to treat what ails you physically, then you want at least an M.D. following their name. If you want to dig deep into a subject and get advice from someone who has done their own research and who likely knows the latest and greatest developments in a particular area, then you’re probably looking for a Ph.D. And if someone has both, even better—depending on your needs, it may be just what the doctor ordered.

Want more synonyms? Get Thesaurus.com’s sizzling synonyms right in your inbox!

Commonly Confused

Trending Words

[ uh - kyoo -m uh n, ak -y uh - ]

Comments This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

WxT Language switcher

Français fr

PhD, Ph.D., Dr.

In English, PhD can be written with or without periods; both are correct. The trend today is to drop periods with abbreviations of academic degrees. However, many sources, including the Canadian Oxford Dictionary , still recommend the use of periods: Ph.D.

When you are addressing a person with a doctoral degree, it is considered more polite to use the title Dr. or the academic abbreviation PhD with the person’s name, instead of the simple courtesy titles Mr. or Ms.

Note: Do not use both the title and the degree. If the degree is listed after the name, the title is not used before the name.

Chris Cameron, PhD.
Dr. Chris Cameron

Copyright notice for Writing Tips Plus

© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Public Services and Procurement A tool created and made available online by the Translation Bureau, Public Services and Procurement Canada

Search by related themes

Want to learn more about a theme discussed on this page? Click on a link below to see all the pages on the Language Portal of Canada that relate to the theme you selected. The search results will be displayed in Language Navigator .

Abbreviations, acronyms and symbols
Abbreviations

Thank you for your help!

You will not receive a reply. For enquiries, contact us .

404 Not found

Should I Write Ph.D. or PhD? (Complete Guide)

As some of you are probably aware, the kind of English used on my side of the pond (England) is sometimes a bit different to the English used in the land of burgers and Trump.

Some words are spelt differently. But others just have a few bits of grammar difference.

Today, I want to look at the difference between Ph.D. and PhD. We’ll look at which one is correct, what it stands for, and why it’s a bit odd that it stands for that.

Should I Write Ph.D. Or PhD?

It is correct to write both Ph.D. and PhD. Which one is best to use depends on where you are in the world. In Great Britain, they tend to use Ph.D. In the United States of America, they prefer to use Ph.D.

What Does Ph.D. Or PhD Stand For?

Let’s try to understand what Ph.D. stands for.

It stands for two things. And it doesn’t stand for one or the other, it stands for both of them at the same time.

The first thing is “Doctor of Philosophy” and the second is “Philosophiae Doctor”. As the eagle-eyed among you may have noticed, “Philosophiae” is not English. It’s in Latin.

This goes back to the days when the only people who needed university were high thinkers and philosophers.

Why Americans And Brits Disagree On Ph.D. Or PhD

This could help us to understand why Brits prefer PhD but Americans prefer Ph.D.

Perhaps, according to the Brits, it stands for “Philosophiae Doctor”. But, according to the Americans, it stands for “Doctor or Philosophy”.

After all, the Brits do have a habit of trying to sound smarter. But, whichever one you use, people on both sides should know what you’re saying.

Why Ph.D. Or PhD Is A Bit Strange

Now, I want you all to understand how strange it is to call anyone with a PhD a “doctor of Philosophy”.

Let’s say someone gets a Ph.D. in history.

Well, first of all, is she really a doctor? If you break your leg, she’s not the first person you’ll go to for help.

But not only that, she studied history, not philosophy. So, she’s called a doctor of philosophy despite not being a doctor and not having studied history.

Yet, for some reason, we still call her a “Doctor of philosophy”.

Where Does The Word “Doctor” Come From?

When most of us hear the word “Doctor”, we think of someone who makes us better when we’re sick. And there may be a few of you who think of a skinny man who travels through time in a Police Box.

But originally, “Doctor” was Latin for teacher. Through time, you were able to get a “PhD” in more things than just philosophy.

And, if you wanted to become what we think of as a “Doctor”, you would need to have a “doctorate” in medicine.

Technically, “Doctor” would be the wrong word . But it’s become so common, it’s managed to “common” itself enough to become the right word.

How To Get A Ph.D. Or PhD

Now I’m afraid you can’t just walk into a university and walk out with a PhD. There are steps you need to take before you get there.

First of all, you will need to do a Bachelor’s degree. This is the degree you do when you first enter university. There are some jobs where a bachelors is enough.

Let’s be honest here, most of the time you spend doing a bachelor is just having fun.

If you want to, you can then progress onto doing a master’s degree. This is a bit more high level, and you tend to need to work for it.

Once you have your bachelors you may decide to go on to get a PhD. If you go for this, you will be officially able to call yourself an intellectual.

What Kind Of Word Is Ph.D. Or PhD?

There are three ideas for what kind of word Ph.D. is. I’ll tell you all of them and let you make up your own mind.

A PhD is something you have. You work towards it, and once you’ve handed in all of your papers, you get a PhD.

A PhD is also something you are. If you have a PhD, you might say “I’m a PhD.”

It can also be a title, similar to “Sir” or “OBE”.

If your name is James Smith, and you are PhD, your name and title could be, Mr James Smith PhD.

How To Address Someone With A Ph.D. Or PhD

Talking of this man called James Smith, there are several ways to address and introduce him.

If you have a Ph.D., you are allowed to call yourself “Doctor” even if you don’t have a PhD in medicine. Therefore, if he wants, James could be called Dr Smith.
Maybe he doesn’t want to be confused for a medical doctor but still wants to show off his Ph.D. In that case, we can call him James Smith PhD.
But, like many with a Ph.D., he may not want to mention it unless it’s important. If he’s one of these people, we should just call him Mr Smith.

Ph.D. Or PhD Vs Doctorate

Asking “What’s the difference between a PhD and a doctorate?” is a bit like asking what the difference is between an apple and a fruit.

Just like an apple is a kind of fruit, a PhD is a kind of doctorate. However, it’s not the only doctorate there is.

Here are some forms of doctorate you may want to know.

Doctor of philosophy. But now also means Doctor of something there isn’t a doctorate for.

Doctorate in business.

Doctorate in engineering.

Doctorate in education

Doctor of medicine.

If you were wondering whether you should write “PhD” or “Ph.D.”, you can write either, both are grammatically correct, and both are very common terms that mean the same thing.

The only slight difference is that “PhD” is more common in England and “Ph.D.” is more common in America. This is perhaps because the British believe it stands for “philosophiae doctor” but Americans see it as “Doctor of Philosophy”.

But, no matter whether you use “PhD” or “Ph.D.”, to have one, you neither need to be a doctor nor study philosophy. All you need to do is stay in university for long enough to be able to get yourself a PhD. Then, you can become a PhD, and your title will be PhD.

You may also like: DSc Degree vs. PhD Degree – What’s the Difference? 9 Correct Ways to Write PhD Title on a Business Card

Martin holds a Master’s degree in Finance and International Business. He has six years of experience in professional communication with clients, executives, and colleagues. Furthermore, he has teaching experience from Aarhus University. Martin has been featured as an expert in communication and teaching on Forbes and Shopify. Read more about Martin here .

“At University” Or “In University” – Easy Preposition Guide
James’s or James’? (Correct Possessive Form)
Is It “Doctor’s Appointment” or “Doctors appointment”?
Universities or University’s or Universities’? (Easy Guide)

How to use the PhD title and all the little doctorate “rules”

There are many conventions in the academic world that can make it difficult to navigate the PhD title. The PhD title is awarded to those who have completed a doctoral degree but, not many people know how to use it once they have it.

This article will go through everything you need to know about using the PhD title and when you can start using it.

The “rules” are relatively simple and can be broken as they are not officially set in stone – other than when you can officially call yourself a doctor.

There is no one correct answer but it may be misleading if you use the PhD title incorrectly. Here are the recommendations for effective communication.

It very much depends on the setting. Here are some examples of how I would use my PhD titles awarded to me after my PhD degree.

How do you Write PhD correctly after a name? Is it ph d or phd?

It can be confusing to know exactly how to write PhD after your name. Which bits are capitalised? Is there a ‘.’ In the middle?

When writing a name with a PhD after it, the correct way to do so is to use “PhD” or “Ph.D. or Ph.D”

Depending on the preference of the individual, either form can be used.

However, if the individual has a business card that states their degree in full, then the more formal “Doctor of Philosophy” should be used.

It is important to note that using “PhD” without any periods is incorrect; this abbreviation should only be used in informal contexts such as emails or text messages. I tend to use PhD in my YouTube videos and some people have pointed out that this is incorrect…

Following the individual’s preferred format will ensure that their name and credentials are properly represented.

Should you use Dr as well as PhD?

Some people like to use Dr and PhD in their official titles. There are a couple of important points that you need to know about markers and academic titles.

A person can have more than one marker in their name. For example my full title is Dr Andrew Stapleton, PhD, MChem.
The doctor title at the front can be used as a variant to the PhD at the end.

It can be a little bit ambiguous if I was to use Dr Andrew Stapleton, PhD as there are two markers. This could mean that I have two PhD’s, it could mean that I have a PhD and a medical doctorate, or it could just be that I want to use both the doctor and the PhD tags for the one degree.

However, in my experience, I still like to use the doctor title at the front and the PhD tag at the end of my name for official purposes.

Academics would rarely use the PhD suffix in everyday communication. They would much rather just use the doctor title.

What is the proper title for a PhD?

The proper title for a PhD is Doctor of Philosophy. However, some teachers and professors like to be referred to without their official title.

If you are not sure about how your professor, lecturer, or friend with a PhD wishes to be officially addressed you can ask them.

Most of the time, I like to refer to my colleagues with their doctor title for official purposes, but I do not include the PhD at the end of their name. That is much better suited to a business card.

Your lecture may wish to be referred to as:

Dr [last name]
Dr [first name]

Asking them in the early stages of your relationship is the best way to work out which one they prefer.

If in doubt, always go for the more formal name and nomenclature.

When can you start to use your PhD title after your doctorate?

When you have earned your PhD, you can start using your title immediately. Although, it can be a little bit confusing as to when you have actually passed your PhD. Is it when you have submitted your dissertation? Is it when you have received the comments back?

The University of Adelaide says that you can use it from your conferral date:

Students can be conferred on one of five dates during the year and for PhD students the conferral date will be the first available following the completion of all the academic requirements of your degree, including final thesis lodgement and the disbursement of any outstanding financial obligations to the University.

I started using my PhD title as soon as my confirmation letter arrived at my house. It was the first letter from the University that referred to me as Dr Stapleton. It was incredibly excited.

Generally, it is acceptable to use the title “Dr.” both professionally and socially but socially, people very rarely use it – at least in Australia. But you should never use it if you are a PhD student, PhD candidate or enrolled in a PhD program without a previous PhD qualification.

I do use it in professional settings but it always makes me feel a little bit awkward.

However, there may be some restrictions for certain settings. For example, if have a research degree resulting in a doctor title and you are working in a medical setting – some institutions do not like you to use Dr as it can confuse patients into thinking that you have a medical degree.

Instead, they ask that you use the PhD tag at the end of your name rather than the doctoral title for official and professional communications.

What is the correct way to write PhD?

When writing about someone’s PhD, the correct way is to write the term in full and capitalize each letter.

This should be done for all academic degrees, not just PhDs.

For example, it would be “Doctor of Philosophy” or “PhD” instead of “Ph.D.”, “Dr.”, or “DPhil”.

Additionally, it is common to mention the field of study in which the degree was earned if known, such as “Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics”. It is also good practice to include the institution that granted the degree if it is a recognized one.

When writing about someone’s PhD, use proper capitalization and include relevant information like field of study and institution if known to ensure accuracy.

How do you put a PhD in a title?

Putting a PhD in a title is not as complicated as it may sound.

Generally speaking, the proper way to list a PhD in an academic or professional setting is by writing “Dr.” before the name, followed by the person’s full name and the appropriate abbreviations for their degree.

For example, if John Smith has earned a doctorate in psychology, his credentials would be listed as “Dr. John Smith, Ph.D.”

In some cases, such as when addressing someone formally in speech or on a business card, it may also be acceptable to list their credentials as “John Smith, Ph.D.”

Depending on context and personal preference, some people may also choose to list their higher degrees after their names by writing out the entire degree instead of just its abbreviation.

For example, John Smith could choose to write his full title as “John Smith, Doctor of Psychology”

However, I have not seen this in real academic life.

Should the font size of Ph.D. be the same as someone’s name?

The question of whether the font size of a Ph.D. should be the same as someone’s name is an interesting one.

On one hand, it could be argued that the Ph.D. deserves to be highlighted and therefore should be given a larger font size than someone’s name to denote its importance.

On the other, it could be argued that this would not be necessary or appropriate, and that treating everyone equally regardless of their title or degree is more important.

It depends on context and usage – if both names appear in the same document then they should likely have the same font size; however, if one appears in a formal setting such as a diploma or certificate, then it may make sense to give it a larger font size than someone’s name to emphasize its importance and significance.

Ph.Ds (or PhDs) are an important academic achievement and should be respected accordingly but without going overboard by giving them overly large fonts sizes which can take away from rather than add to their importance.

Wrapping up – doctoral title rules

this article has been over everything you need to know that using the PhD title properly and effectively.

The doctor title can be used in place of the PhD and for incredibly formal communications, such as a business email or card, you can use both.

However, sometimes using both can cause confusion as to whether or not there is a reason first using both the doctor and PhD tags. Nonetheless, many people still use both.

Dr Andrew Stapleton has a Masters and PhD in Chemistry from the UK and Australia. He has many years of research experience and has worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow and Associate at a number of Universities. Although having secured funding for his own research, he left academia to help others with his YouTube channel all about the inner workings of academia and how to make it work for you.

Thank you for visiting Academia Insider.

We are here to help you navigate Academia as painlessly as possible. We are supported by our readers and by visiting you are helping us earn a small amount through ads and affiliate revenue - Thank you!

To save this word, you'll need to log in. Log In

abbreviation or noun

Definition of phd, examples of phd in a sentence.

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'PhD.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

New Latin philosophiae doctor

1839, in the meaning defined above

Dictionary Entries Near PhD

Cite this entry.

“PhD.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/PhD. Accessed 26 May. 2024.

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.

Can you solve 4 words at once?

Word of the day.

See Definitions and Examples »

Get Word of the Day daily email!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

More commonly misspelled words, your vs. you're: how to use them correctly, every letter is silent, sometimes: a-z list of examples, more commonly mispronounced words, how to use em dashes (—), en dashes (–) , and hyphens (-), popular in wordplay, the words of the week - may 24, flower etymologies for your spring garden, birds say the darndest things, a great big list of bread words, 10 scrabble words without any vowels, games & quizzes.

Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.

Dictionaries home
American English
Collocations
German-English
Grammar home
Practical English Usage
Learn & Practise Grammar (Beta)
Word Lists home
My Word Lists
Recent additions
Resources home
Text Checker

Definition of Ph.D. noun from the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

acquire/get/lack experience/training/(an) education
receive/provide somebody with training
develop/design/plan a curriculum/course/program/syllabus
give/go to/attend a class/lesson/lecture/seminar
hold/run/conduct a class/seminar/workshop
moderate/lead/facilitate a discussion
sign up for/take a course/classes/lessons
go to/start preschool/kindergarten/nursery school
be in the first, second, etc. grade (at school)
study/take/drop history/chemistry/German, etc.
finish/drop out of/quit school
graduate from high school/college
be the victim/target of bullying/teasing
skip/cut/ ( informal ) ditch class/school
cheat on an exam/a test
get/be given a detention (for doing something)
be expelled from/be suspended from school
do your homework/a project on something
work on/write/do/submit an essay/a dissertation/a thesis/an assignment/a paper
finish/complete your dissertation/thesis/studies
hand in/turn in your homework/essay/assignment/paper
study/prepare/review/ ( informal ) cram for a test/an exam
take/ ( formal ) sit for a test/an exam
grade homework/a test
do well on/ ( informal ) ace a test/an exam
pass/fail/ ( informal ) flunk a test/an exam/a class/a course/a subject
apply to/get into/go to/start college
leave/graduate from college (with a degree in computer science)/law school
study for/work towards a law degree/a degree in physics
major/minor in biology/philosophy
earn/receive/be awarded/get/have/hold a master's degree/a bachelor's degree/a Ph.D. in economics

Join our community to access the latest language learning and assessment tips from Oxford University Press!

2 a person who has a Ph.D.

Nearby words

Writing Style Guide

Academic degrees.

Academic degrees are capitalized only when the full name of the degree is used, such as Bachelor of Arts or Master of Social Work. General references, such as bachelor's, master's or doctoral degree, are not capitalized. Do not capitalize graduate certificate.

Correct He earned a Bachelor of Arts in 2008. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication in 2008. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in communication in 2008. He earned a bachelor’s degree in 2008. She holds a doctoral degree (or doctorate) from Stanford University.

Abbreviations, such as B.A., M.S. and Ph.D., should be used in text only when there is a need to identify many people by academic degree and use of the full names would be cumbersome.

In most writing, use of the general terms bachelor’s or bachelor’s degree, master’s or master’s degree and doctorate or doctoral degree are sufficient to establish credentials and preferred to use of the full name of the degree (or the initials).

Use an apostrophe (possessive) with bachelor’s degree and master’s degree, but not in Bachelor of Arts or Master of Science. Do not use an apostrophe (possessive) with associate degree or doctoral degree.

Never use both a courtesy title and degree

Preferred : Dr. Dana Brooks will... Acceptable : Dana Brooks, Ph.D., will... Do not use : Dr. Dana Brooks, Ph.D., will...

Identifying alumni by class year versus degrees earned

To identify someone as an alumnus or alumna of WMU, use the person's preferred class year. Immediately following the name, enter one space, an apostrophe and the two-numeral preferred class year. Both graduate and non-graduate alumni (attended but did not earn a degree) have a preferred class year, and each alumnus and alumna has only one preferred class year, regardless of how many degrees are held.

Example Mary W. Smith ’79 was elected president of the chapter.

To identify degrees earned at WMU, place a comma immediately after the name, and follow it with a space, the degree, an apostrophe, the two-numeral year the degree was awarded, and a comma (or period at the end of a sentence).

Examples Mary W. Smith, B.A.’79, was elected president. Thomas C. Clark, B.A.’65, M.A.’67, Ph.D.’79, attended the reunion.

If your intention is to show degrees earned at WMU, then list both the degrees and the years in which they were earned. If your intention is simply to indicate that the person is an alumnus or alumna, use only the preferred class year.

Correct Thomas C. Clark ’65 attended the reunion. Thomas C. Clark, B.A.’65, M.A.’67, Ph.D.’79, attended the reunion. Incorrect Thomas C. Clark ’65 ’67 ’79 attended the reunion.

Degrees earned at other institutions

Except to show multiple degrees earned at Western Michigan University, do not list more than one degree following a person's name. The following examples are a first reference to a speaker who earned her degrees at another university .

Incorrect : Rebecca McKenzie, B.A., M.A., Ph.D., will... Acceptable : Rebecca McKenzie, Ph.D., will... Preferred : Dr. Rebecca McKenzie will...

Do not mix degrees earned at WMU with degrees earned at other institutions. If Mary Smith earned a B.A. in 1995 from WMU and a Ph.D. in 2008 from the University of Illinois, list her as "Mary Smith, B.A.’95," or as "Mary Smith, Ph.D." Never include the two-numeral class year construction with degrees earned from other institutions.

Writing Tips

http://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca

Liens de la barre de menu commune

Contactez-nous
Rechercher dans Canada.ca

Liens vers une langue non officielle

Español

Accueil > TERMIUM Plus ® > Writing Tips > Search for entries starting with P > PhD, Ph.D., Dr.

Liens institutionnels

Bureau de la traduction, portail linguistique du canada, termium plus ®, outils d'aide à la rédaction , développer/réduire.

Chroniques de langue
Clefs du français pratique
Dictionnaire des cooccurrences
Juridictionnaire
Le guide du rédacteur
Le Rouleau des prépositions
Les mots du droit
Lexique analogique
Favourite Articles
HyperGrammar2
Peck's English Pointers
The Canadian Style
Word Tailoring
Pacific Daylight Time
Pacific Standard Time
parallel between
parallelism in headings
parallelism with correlative conjunctions
parallelism with items in a series
parallel to
parallel with
Paralympic Winter Games
parentheses
participle phrase
particular to
passive voice
past history
past tradition
peculiar to
perfectly legitimate
period of time
permanent resident
perpendicular to
perpendicular with
Persian (1)
Persian (2)
personal pronouns
personification
perspective (from the)
phosphorous
planning in advance
plurals of compounds
plurals of family names
possessive with gerunds
practicable
practically
predict in advance
preference for
preference in
prefer one to the other
preoccupied about
preoccupied by
preoccupied with
preplanning
prepositional phrase
prepositions
prerequisite
present with
preside over
preventable
prevent from
preventible
previously listed
previously listed above
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Islander
proceed against
proceed with
prohibit from
pronoun agreement: collective nouns
pronoun agreement: compound antecedents with and
pronoun agreement: compound antecedents with or
pronoun agreement: gender
pronoun agreement: indefinite pronouns
pronoun agreement: number
pronoun agreement: person
property owner
proportional(y)
proportionate(ly)
provide a description
provide against
provide for
provide with
public service: capitalization rules (Linguistic recommendation from the Translation Bureau)
punctuation: spacing
pursuance (in)
put in place
put into place

Divulgation proactive

Cherchez dans tous nos outils avec le Navigateur linguistique.

Avis important

L'outil Writing Tips a été archivé et ne sera plus mis à jour jusqu'à son retrait définitif.

Pour obtenir notre contenu le plus à jour, veuillez consulter Writing Tips Plus , un outil combinant le contenu des outils Writing Tips et The Canadian Style . N'oubliez pas de modifier vos favoris!

La zone de recherche et les fonctionnalités

Phd, ph.d., dr..