doctorado
/doɡtoɾado/from spelling rules
The Spanish word for PhD is doctorado.
Doctorado refers to the highest university degree awarded in a specific field of study. To say someone has a PhD, use the phrase tener un doctorado.
Which one should you use?
While doctorado refers to the academic degree itself, the person who holds that degree is called doctor for a male or doctora for a female.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Mexico, doctorado is commonly used to refer to a PhD. In Argentina, the English abbreviation PhD is widely used.
How does it change in a sentence?
When specifying the subject of the degree, use the preposition en after the word, such as doctorado en [field of study].
How do you pronounce it?
/doɡtoɾado/
Did you know?
- In some Latin American cultures, people may refer to a lawyer as doctor as a courtesy, even if the lawyer has not completed a doctorado.
- The word doctor comes from the Latin docere, which means 'to teach', rather than from a word meaning 'to heal'.
- In certain Latin American universities, the process of defending a PhD thesis is a public ritual called a defensa de tesis, which is often attended by family and friends as a major social event.
Examples in context
- Angela Merkel tiene un doctorado en física.Angela Merkel has a PhD in Physics.This sentence is useful for showing how to use doctorado to describe someone's degree.Tatoeba #5025182 by don_ramon, translation #4985886 by Hybrid
- El profesor Juan Martínez obtuvo su Doctorado en Física Nuclear.Professor Juan Martínez obtained his PhD in Nuclear Physics.
- Él está terminando su doctorado en biología.He is finishing his PhD in biology.
- ¿Es necesario tener un doctorado para este puesto?Is it necessary to have a PhD for this position?
Example conversation
Mateo and Elena are talking about their future goals.
- MateoElena, ¿estudiaste un doctorado después de la maestría?Elena, did you do a PhD after the master's?
- ElenaNo, Mateo, pero me gustaría empezar uno pronto.No, Mateo, but I would like to start one soon.
- MateoEs mucho trabajo obtener un doctorado.It is a lot of work to get a PhD.
- ElenaSí, pero vale la pena para investigar.Yes, but it is worth it for research.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
