If you have a doctoral degree, are you called DR.?

Yeah. We have a principal with Doctorate Degree in education. She’s called a Doctor of Education. (my brother told me that)

The easy question first. As long as you can get admitted to the graduate program, you can earn a PhD in a totally different field than your bachelor’s degree. Of course you will need a lot of additional courses to get admitted into a graduate program in mechanical engineering with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education.

What anyone is called is by choice. If Holly Madison went out and earned an EdD, you could address her as Dr. Madison, Miss Madison, Ms Madison, or Holly – your choice. You would not address her as Professor Madison unless she also got an appointment on a college faculty. But, you would probably address her according to her preference, if known. I have a friend who wanted to be called Bill, which has no relevance to his real name.

Historically, the first doctorates were in philosophy (the present PhD), so those with PhD’s have the first claim to the honorific “Doctor”. They consider MD’s, DDS’s, DVM’s, etc. as trade degrees, and do not carry the prestige of a PhD. Recall that the earliest physicians had the same training as barbers.

Yes, I have a doctorate in marketing and am generally called “Dr.” One of our administrators decided a couple of years ago to call all faculty (regardless of subject matter) Mr. and Ms., and deeply offended people who had gone through a lot of sacrifice to get their degrees.

As to your second question, that depends on the subject matter. If marketing is what you have in mind, the answer is yes, you can get a doctorate in marketing if your undergraduate degree is in something else, like engineering or psychology, for example, but your doctoral program would probably demand that you complete the requirements for the master’s in marketing (either an MBA or an MS) as part of your doctoral program.

Yes, a doctorate in any degree qualifies you to be addressed as DR. My bachelors in in Spanish, Master´s in Educational Leadership and Doctorate in Curriculum and instruction. My bachelors is very different from my Doctorate

Yes, if you want to be.

In some cases yes, but in other fields it’s really not possible. Science, engineering, health care, if you don’t have the background you can’t go any further. But that’s not true for a lot of other programs.

EDIT: Keep in mind that Hubble lived a long time ago, before we knew much about astronomy at all. That’s really not possible these days – to go to graduate school in astronomy, you need to have a BA in physics.

Some people call me doctor, and my three degrees are in related fields, but different. I would rather be called professor or by name than doctor.

It’s Juris Doctor in law – not Dr. Juris. Lawyers sign either a J.D. or Esq. behind their name depending on whether or not they passed the bar.

I have a bacholors in Psychology and then a law degree. I think it matters more for a doctorate program on what your masters degree is than your BA. I think a lot of schools will let you come into a program regardless of degrees if you did well in school.

Why did you ask this about the Rev. Graham who is very old and hardly ever preaches and Rev. Falwell who has passed? If you don’t like Christians that’s fine but at least be intellectually honest in your query. It’s not only ministers who receive this distinction. Both Obama and Clinton have been awarded honorary doctorates. Why didn’t you include them? If you are going to criticize people for getting or using honorary doctorates, you need to include everyone…ministers, politicians, etc. Just naming very old or dead preachers is not intellectually honest.

People with PhD degrees who insist on being called “Dr.” by anyone other than their students are snobs. The only time people are called “Dr.” who are not medical doctors, in my field, is on the day they defend their thesis. They go out drinking and everyone calls them “Dr.” for the evening and then they’re over it. The ONLY people who make dinner reservations in the name of “Dr.” so-and-so are medical doctors.

A few exceptions. In highly formal settings, the title will be used. For example, Condoleeza Rice is called “Dr. Rice” whenever she is not called “Secretary Rice” or “Madam Secretary.” And remember Sally Ride? In Richard Feynman’s book he referred to her as “Dr. Ride” in reference to the space shuttle hearings.

Absolutely yes. For the years one puts into earning their doctorate, regardless of profession, they earn the right to be addressed as Dr. However, every person is individual and has their own preference. In my profession, I prefer to be called Dr. by clients and in business settings. However, I invite my colleagues to call me by my first name. Some people have unfortunately allowed their titles to become their idols and define their importance by such. In those cases, call them by their first name, for a reality check. Second question – yes – my B.A.degree Psychology, M.A. – Social Work, Ed.D. Education