What Is a Doctorate Level Degree?

Application Process

• Prospective Ph.D. candidates need to successfully achieve a master's degree for admittance into a doctoral level program. Furthermore, admission committees also require an applicant to send in all available college transcripts, three letters of recommendation, Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores and a letter of intent. Some committees may ask for additional materials such as writing samples, a professional resume or supplemental test scores.

  Ph.D. candidates also need to pay application and transcript fees, which vary accordingly.

Fellowships

• Funding graduate school study can be more difficult than at the undergraduate level. Fortunately, there are different types of fellowships available for doctoral level students. Portable graduate fellowships, or external fellowships, allow students the flexibility to choose their school of choice, and award funding based on academic need, record or merit, according to Gradschools.com.

  Institutional fellowships are often federally funded and awarded by the university where the degree will be earned. However, federally funded portable fellowships are also available to approved students.

Tuition Costs

• A number of factors may contribute to the costs and fees associated with doctoral level degrees. For instance, in-state costs and fees are much less than out-of-state tuition. And most students attending private institutions pay on average much more than those attending public universities. According to Inside Higher ED, the average public school charges for doctoral students in 2009 was $15,477 as opposed to $41,560 at private universities.

Writing a Dissertation

• Doctoral level students are required to write a lengthy, time-consuming dissertation in order to graduate. A dissertation is a formal document that argues in defense of an original and substantial thesis. A good thesis should take a strong stance and successfully argue a debatable point.

  Successful dissertations are frequently published in various types of academic journals. Dissertations are expected to demonstrate expertise and make creative contributions to a particular field of study.

Doctoral Graduates

• Doctoral level graduates earn on average more than those with a bachelor's degree. According to a U.S. government report, those with doctoral level degrees earn about $3.4 million during a lifetime; whereas those with bachelor degrees earn roughly $2.1 million.