Your Ph.D. Isn't from the EU? Then You're Not a 'Doktor'

Posted By P.J. Aroon Friday, March 14, 2008 - 7:02 PM Share

(Editor's note: Please see update at bottom.)

Do you have a Ph.D. from a well-regarded American university such as Harvard, Cornell, or Caltech? If so, don't go to Germany and put the title "Dr." on your business card, Web site, or résumé. It's illegal, and you could end up in prison for a year.

Under a 1930s law from Nazi times, only people with Ph.D.'s and medical degrees from German universities can use "Dr." as a title, though the law was amended in 2001 to include degrees from EU countries too. (There is a way for non-EU degree holders to apply for permission to use the titles, but apparently, it's not worth the trouble.)

Recently, seven Americans -- all researchers at institutes of Germany's prestigious Max Planck Society -- were investigated for title abuse. One was an astrophysicist with a Ph.D. from Caltech. Another, Ian Thomas Baldwin, has a Ph.D. from Cornell. His colleagues have been calling him "Prof. Dr. Baldwin" for a decade, but apparently, the law says he instead should be "Prof. Ian Thomas Baldwin, Ph.D., Cornell University." (It looks like his Web page is in compliance, thank goodness.)

Honorifics are taken quite seriously in Germany, reports the Washington Post. (If any of you who have lived in Germany know about this sensitivity, please feel free to leave a comment.) Fortunately, though, prosecutors have now recommended against filing charges, but the Americans could still face a civil fine.

Meanwhile, German officials recently suggested changing the law to allow the "Dr." title to be used by people with Ph.D.'s and medical degrees from U.S. universities, but only if the university is one of the approximately 200 accredited by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

It all raises the question: Do Germans with Ph.D.'s and medical degrees expect to be called "Dr." when living abroad?

UPDATE: According to a post on the Marginal Revolution blog, the law mentioned in this post may have just been changed.

EXPLORE:EUROPE, DRUGS & CRIME, EDUCATION
 

AJLONGINI

6:20 PM ET

March 14, 2008

My dad lived in Germany as a

My dad lived in Germany as a 13-year-old when my grandfather was doing research there. He says that during this time (1957), German colleagues addressed his father as "Herr Doktor." Hailing from Carnegie Mellon my grandfather's PhD was definitely an American pedigree. So it seems strange that they would have reversed this custom with a new law.

My father also has a PhD but refuses to put it on his business card or go by "Dr." He is inherently suspicious of people who do this, once saying the more people use academic titles in non-academic environments, the more certain it is that they're lying. He once told me the only place he would actually go by "Dr." is in Germany, since honorifics are indeed of paramount importance there. It's good to know they have reversed the law. Ja.

 

DAN ASTA

9:55 AM ET

March 15, 2008

I'm like your father.

I know of very few American academics that go by doctor.

Although when students send me an email addressing me as, "Hey, my paper is late. Ciao!" I sometimes think a little formality would be appreciated.

 

PROFBIKER

10:55 AM ET

March 15, 2008

Dr

The law seems to be violated regularly be Germans. I personally know of over a dozen Germans who use Dr. in their correspondence & personal interactions who only have Masters degrees. They argue that a German masters is more challenging than a UK or US Ph.D. Throw them in jail.:-)

 

CONSUL-AT-ARMS

3:19 AM ET

March 16, 2008

Germans are serious about

Germans are serious about their earned academic honorifics. They're even included in their passports as part of their names.

I've quoted you and linked to you here: http://consul-at-arms.blogspot.com/2008/03/re-your-phd-isnt-from-eu-then-youre-not.html

 

P.J. AROON

9:48 AM ET

March 17, 2008

Thanks ...

... for linking to me.

 

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