<p>Warning to those with advanced degrees, working in Germany! Imagine if the US were to reciprocate. It would hurt the Germans a lot more - they care a lot more about titles.</p>
<p>[url=<a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/13/AR2008031304353.html]washingtonpost.com[/url”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/13/AR2008031304353.html]washingtonpost.com[/url</a>]</p>
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<p>deuchland deuchland uber alles…</p>
<p>Oh well, I wouldn’t recommend it in France either. You would not be prosecuted, but the odds are that the hotel manager would wake you up for an emergency. De facto, only meds use the title.</p>
<p>Physicians in many European countries don’t have doctoral degrees. Weird how the word has morphed. Doctor means “teacher” and teaching doctors in Germany are called professors rather than doctors. (Or maybe, Herr Professor Doctor soandso.) If you want a highly educated, respected physician in Germany, look for one called professor.</p>
<p>However, the guy in this article wasn’t using Doctor socially. A hotel manager is likely as not going to be unaware of his title. Looking around on Google a bit more, it looks like the German law makers have back-tracked at bit and decided it is okay for Americans to use the title now.</p>
<p>We saw this last night and joked (??) that there could be great trouble on a trip to Europe because of the titles on plane tickets! Perhaps frequent flyer registrations need changing ASAP!</p>
<p>I guess that explains why a co-worker in Germany uses Dr. in his signature for emails. On this side of the pond we have many PhDs in our company but it has always been considered very cheeky to use Dr. or PhD as part of your signature.</p>
<p>Ferdinand Porsche always used Dr. in all official communications. His full title was:
Prof. Dr. Ing h.c. Ferdinand Porsche</p>
<p>A Dr. obtained in Germany is totally different to a PhD. It’s obtained after writing thesis for years and has a very high value in the labour and marriage market. In engineering and law it’s priceless and worth at least a million for a lifetime, often more.</p>
<p>The academic ranks are as follows, some might have a slightly different opinion, but it’s rather fair and exact. Who holds a Diplom must show the BA or FH meaning applied sciences rather than research while the Uni or TU can be omitted.</p>
<p>Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Science
Diplom (BA)
Master of Arts
Diplom (FH)
Diplom (Uni or TU) same ranking as master of science
Dr. for example Dr.-Ing. (engineering), Dr. med., Dr. jur. (law), Dr. rer.nat. (physics or biology, chemistry)</p>
<p>The title Dr. habil. is in not all but very many subjects (almost or totally or more) comparable to a PhD at a top-ranked US university. This is the highest German academic rank. It’s similar in other German-speaking countries and some Asian, while you might have never heard of it. </p>
<p>In medicines the Dr. degree is relatively easily to obtain compared to other subjects, while the studies are relatievly long-term before. In biology and chemistry graduation without Dr.-title after a so called promotion is regarded as non-sufficient for top-jobs.</p>
<p>Especially for international PhD students the PhD gets more known in Germany. Non-academica people might see it as a handicap which you are forced to wear after your name until you explain it to them.</p>
<p>For regenerative bioengineering, bioinformatics, biomedicine, bionanotechnology, bioscience, biotechnology, genetics in Germany I recommend the International Max Planck Research School for Cell, Developmental and Systems Biology at TU Dresden. </p>
<p>[International</a> Max Planck Research School for Molecular Cell Biology and Bioengineering (IMPRS-MCBB)](<a href=“http://www.imprs-mcbb.de/]International”>http://www.imprs-mcbb.de/)</p>
<p>Prof. means higher teacher at a university.
It’s no title, it’s a job designation for professor.</p>
<p>Not all but most Dr. ing. habil. or other Dr. habil. get professorship offers on a regular basis but some deny in favour of better paid jobs in industries. They still can teach on a non-regular basis whatever they want. The Dr. habil. gives them the privilege of fools. Nobody can hinder their thoughts.</p>
<p>The h.c. in Dr.-Ing. h.c. Porsche stands for honorary degree without thesis writing for years.</p>
<p>If the honorary degree is given from a non-German university the name of the university must be shown when wearing such title which is rarely given in Germany but often in development countries or from religious noame US schools.</p>
<p>Germany2012’s posts insinuate that those of us with PhDs from non-German universities did not also spend years in pursuit of our degrees, and that we somehow did not write publishable dissertations. This is patently false.</p>
<p>Resurrecting a 4-year old thread? Why?</p>
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<p>It sounds more totally the same rather than totally different. “Writing thesis for years” is one of the key steps in earning a PhD in the US.</p>
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<p>No, this is not true. The person who is working towards a Habilitation is at a level (called Oberassistent) equivalent to that of a postdoc, or maybe research scientist in the US. There is no equivalent qualification in the US. In some fields, the habilitation is required to become a professor. The traditional academic track in Germany is: get a doctorate, do a habilitation (typically 5 or 6 years), become an associate professor, become a full professor, vs. the US where it is: get a doctorate, do a postdoc (typically 1-3 years), become an assistant prof, become an associate prof, become a full prof.</p>