{ "model": { "rank": 5162, "code": "thing-q752297", "model_id": "vr.tr.doctor-of-philosophy", "name": "Doctor of Philosophy", "purpose": "Let an agent explain the Doctor of Philosophy degree and its requirements, describe how doctoral programmes work across countries and fields, support prospective and current candidates in general terms, and describe careers and history.", "family": "Thing Registry", "category": "Cross-cutting context", "status": "research-draft", "kind": "thing", "plane": "XCT", "domain": "XCT.QLT", "industry": "", "version": "", "url": "/models/thing/q752297/", "tier": 2, "score": 69, "payload": { "layer": "wikidata", "aliases": [ "Doctor of Philosophy in Economics", "doctorate in anthropology", "Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing", "Ph.D. in applied mathematics", "PhD in Epidemiology and Biostatistics", "Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering", "Doctor of Philosophy in Robotics", "PhD in aesthetics, philosophy and history of art", "Doctor of Philosophy in Sports Medicine", "PhD in Philosophy", "Doctor of Philosophy in Library and Information Science", "Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Linguistics", "Doctor of Philosophy in Education", "Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics", "Doctor of Philosophy in chemistry", "Doctor of Philosophy in library science", "doctorate in canon law", "Philosophiae doctor (Norway)", "Doctor of Philosophy in Medicine", "Doctor of Philosophy in Art History", "Doctor of Philosophy in Government", "Danish PhD", "Doctor of Philosophy in Physics", "doctor of philosophy", "doctorate in France", "MD-PhD", "Dr. phil.", "PhD in Psychology", "Doctor of Philosophy by Publication", "Doctor of Philosophy in Inorganic Chemistry", "Doctor of Philosophy in History", "PhD-MBA", "PhD in Management", "Doctor of Philosophy in Philology", "Doctor of architecture", "PhD in Mechanical Engineering", "Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering", "PhD in computer science", "Sarjana 3" ], "aliasCount": 39, "merged": 40, "knownIn": 69, "facets": null, "markers": [], "lexicalClass": "", "senseRank": null, "alsoRegisteredAs": null, "source": { "dataset": "wikidata", "item": "Q752297", "url": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q752297", "license": "CC0 1.0" } }, "research": { "vercy": "1.0-draft", "publication": { "status": "research-draft", "adjudicationStatus": "unreviewed", "publishableCanonical": false, "generatedAt": "2026-09-12T01:09:15Z", "providers": [ "Claude" ], "breadth": "written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify", "pass": 2, "wave": 2, "engine": "claude" }, "metaModel": { "id": "THING-Q752297", "registryId": "vr.tr.doctor-of-philosophy", "name": "Doctor of Philosophy", "version": "0.2.0-wave.2", "entryKind": "thing", "family": "Thing Registry", "domain": [ "XCT.QLT" ], "status": "research-draft" }, "canonicalUrl": "https://ver.cy/models/thing/q752297/", "model": { "registry_id": "vr.tr.doctor-of-philosophy", "name": "Doctor of Philosophy", "purpose": "Let an agent explain the Doctor of Philosophy degree and its requirements, describe how doctoral programmes work across countries and fields, support prospective and current candidates in general terms, and describe careers and history.", "definition": "The most common doctoral degree, awarded by universities for original research presented in a dissertation or thesis and defended before examiners, in fields from economics, anthropology and nursing to applied mathematics, epidemiology and engineering, after coursework and supervised research typically lasting several years; the degree qualifies holders for academic and research careers and is regulated by university statutes and national qualification frameworks.", "what_it_is_for": "A research doctorate.", "affordances": [ "explain requirements", "describe programmes across countries", "support candidates generally", "describe careers and history" ], "distinguishing_features": [ "Original research", "Dissertation and defence", "Supervision", "Field-independent title" ], "appearance": "Not physical; a degree conferred by ceremony and diploma.", "visual_identification": [ "Research doctorate with dissertation", "Awarded in most fields", "Professional doctorates and honorary doctorates are distinct" ], "physical_properties": [], "families_and_kinds": [ "PhDs in sciences and engineering", "PhDs in humanities and social sciences", "PhDs in health fields such as nursing and epidemiology", "PhD by publication", "joint and industrial PhDs" ], "related_models": [ { "relation": "is a kind of", "target": "doctorate", "why": "category" }, { "relation": "is a kind of", "target": "academic degree", "why": "category" }, { "relation": "is related to", "target": "educator", "why": "academic careers" }, { "relation": "is related to", "target": "psychologist", "why": "a profession often requiring a doctorate" } ], "identifiers": [], "standards_and_regulation": [ "University statutes and doctoral regulations", "National qualification frameworks", "Research integrity and ethics standards" ], "failure_modes_and_hazards": [ "Attrition and mental health strain", "Supervision problems", "Diploma mills and fraudulent degrees" ], "in_scope": [], "out_of_scope": [], "characteristics": [] }, "sources": [], "structure": { "bundles": [ { "id": "understand", "name": "Understand", "description": "What a PhD is.", "rationale": "Definitions.", "layers": [ { "id": "requirements", "name": "Requirements", "description": "Requirements and structure.", "findings": [ { "id": "requirements-finding", "name": "Requirements", "description": "Requirements.", "questions": [ { "text": "What does a PhD require, from admission and coursework to research, dissertation and defence?", "kind": "definition" }, { "text": "How does it differ from professional and honorary doctorates?", "kind": "definition" } ] } ] }, { "id": "countries", "name": "Countries", "description": "Variation by country.", "findings": [ { "id": "countries-finding", "name": "Countries", "description": "Countries.", "questions": [ { "text": "How do PhD programmes differ across countries in length, structure and funding?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "text": "Which entry fits a specific national system?", "kind": "action" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "pursue", "name": "Pursue", "description": "Pursuing a PhD.", "rationale": "Practice.", "layers": [ { "id": "apply", "name": "Apply", "description": "Applying and funding.", "findings": [ { "id": "apply-finding", "name": "Apply", "description": "Applying.", "questions": [ { "text": "How can someone apply for a PhD and find funding and a supervisor?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "text": "Which entry fits research funding?", "kind": "action" } ] } ] }, { "id": "progress", "name": "Progress", "description": "Progress and wellbeing.", "findings": [ { "id": "progress-finding", "name": "Progress", "description": "Progress.", "questions": [ { "text": "What does research say about doctoral progress, supervision and mental health, and what support exists?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "text": "Is someone in distress, needing support services?", "kind": "boundary" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "after", "name": "After", "description": "Careers and value.", "rationale": "Context.", "layers": [ { "id": "careers", "name": "Careers", "description": "Careers.", "findings": [ { "id": "careers-finding", "name": "Careers", "description": "Careers.", "questions": [ { "text": "What careers do PhD holders pursue in academia, industry and government, according to surveys?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "text": "Which entry fits academic careers?", "kind": "action" } ] } ] }, { "id": "debates", "name": "Debates", "description": "Debates.", "findings": [ { "id": "debates-finding", "name": "Debates", "description": "Debates.", "questions": [ { "text": "What debates exist about PhD numbers, working conditions and reform, with positions attributed?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "text": "Is the presentation neutral?", "kind": "boundary" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "learn", "name": "Learn", "description": "History and integrity.", "rationale": "Education.", "layers": [ { "id": "history", "name": "History", "description": "History of the degree.", "findings": [ { "id": "history-finding", "name": "History", "description": "History.", "questions": [ { "text": "How did the PhD develop from medieval doctorates through the German research university to its global spread?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "text": "Which references are standard?", "kind": "provenance" } ] } ] }, { "id": "integrity", "name": "Integrity", "description": "Integrity and fraud.", "findings": [ { "id": "integrity-finding", "name": "Integrity", "description": "Integrity.", "questions": [ { "text": "How are research integrity and degree authenticity ensured, and how are fraudulent degrees identified?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "text": "Which misconceptions arise?", "kind": "provenance" } ] } ] } ] } ] }, "openQuestions": [ "Should each field PhD be a separate entry?", "How should national frameworks be linked?", "How should candidate support resources be linked?" ], "statistics": { "bundles": 4, "layers": 8, "findings": 8, "questions": 16 } }, "draft": { "generator": "vr.draft.v3", "status": "draft-generated", "researched": false, "archetype": "abstract concept", "method": "Written from the archetype playbook - what this kind of thing needs beyond identity and provenance - and from the structure that recurred across 6,333 models already researched by two engines. Applied to this entry by rule. No source was read for this thing and no claim here is researched. This entry carries no facets of its own, so they were inferred from its domain - a guess about a whole domain applied to one thing.", "facetsInferred": true, "nextPass": "A researcher replaces this draft with a sourced specification. Treat every sentence below as a proposal to argue with.", "purpose": "Give an agent a durable, checkable way to recognise a Doctor of Philosophy, record what state it is in, and decide what may be done with it.", "whatItIs": "Let an agent explain the Doctor of Philosophy degree and its requirements, describe how doctoral programmes work across countries and fields, support prospective and current candidates in general terms, and describe careers and history.", "characteristics": { "substance": "abstract", "origin": "conceptual", "agency": "inert" }, "whatYouCanDoWithIt": [ "observed and measured" ], "distinguishingFeatures": [ "Names folded into this entry, which a task may need to split apart again: Doctor of Philosophy in Economics, doctorate in anthropology, Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing, Ph.D. in applied mathematics, PhD in Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering, Doctor of Philosophy in Robotics, PhD in aesthetics, philosophy and history of art, Doctor of Philosophy in Sports Medicine, PhD in Philosophy, Doctor of Philosophy in Library and Information Science, Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Linguistics.", "40 finer distinctions are held as aliases rather than separate entries, because telling them apart needs a task that asks for it.", "Described in 69 Wikipedia languages, which is a measure of how widely the thing is known, not of how important it is." ], "openQuestionsForResearch": [ "Which of the bundles below does a real task actually need, and which are ceremony?", "What does this thing have that the facets do not capture at all?", "Which neighbouring kind is most often confused with a Doctor of Philosophy, and on what evidence are they told apart?" ], "whatItIsMadeOf": "an abstraction with no physical instance", "physicalCharacter": [ "Does nothing on its own; everything it does, something else did to it.", "These come from the domain this entry sits in rather than from the entry itself, so treat them as a first guess about the whole domain applied to one thing." ], "whatCanBeDoneWithIt": [ "observe it, measure it, record its state" ], "howItIsRecognised": [ "Nothing to see. What is recognised is an instance of it, and which instances count is exactly what is argued about." ], "relatedModels": [ { "relation": "covers", "note": "Finer kinds folded into this entry because telling them apart needs a task that asks for it. Each is a model waiting to be split out when one does.", "targets": [ "Doctor of Philosophy in Economics", "doctorate in anthropology", "Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing", "Ph.D. in applied mathematics", "PhD in Epidemiology and Biostatistics", "Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering", "Doctor of Philosophy in Robotics", "PhD in aesthetics, philosophy and history of art", "Doctor of Philosophy in Sports Medicine", "PhD in Philosophy", "Doctor of Philosophy in Library and Information Science", "Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Linguistics" ] } ], "standing": "Described in 69 Wikipedia languages, which measures how widely it is written about rather than how important or how common it is. 40 finer distinctions are held inside this entry as names rather than as separate models.", "structure": { "bundles": [ { "id": "identity-and-classification", "name": "Identity, naming and classification", "description": "How an agent tells one Doctor of Philosophy from another, and a Doctor of Philosophy from things that resemble it.", "rationale": "Recognition comes before every other claim. Without stable identity nothing else in the model can be trusted to be about the same thing twice.", "layers": [ { "id": "naming-and-identifiers", "name": "Names and identifiers", "description": "The names this thing goes by and the identifiers that survive translation and time.", "findings": [ { "id": "preferred-name-and-aliases", "name": "Preferred name, aliases and local names", "description": "Which name to use, which names mean the same thing, and which merely sound similar.", "questions": [ { "id": "preferred-name-and-aliases-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the name of a Doctor of Philosophy, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "preferred-name-and-aliases-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the name of a Doctor of Philosophy, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "preferred-name-and-aliases-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the name of a Doctor of Philosophy is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] }, { "id": "stable-identifiers", "name": "Stable identifiers and external keys", "description": "Identifiers that keep pointing at this kind of thing across systems and languages.", "questions": [ { "id": "stable-identifiers-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes an identifier for a Doctor of Philosophy, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "stable-identifiers-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about an identifier for a Doctor of Philosophy, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "stable-identifiers-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once an identifier for a Doctor of Philosophy is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "classification-and-granularity", "name": "Classification and granularity", "description": "Where a Doctor of Philosophy sits among kinds, and how finely a task needs to cut it.", "findings": [ { "id": "kind-and-parents", "name": "Kind, parents and neighbouring kinds", "description": "The classes this thing belongs to and the ones it is next to.", "questions": [ { "id": "kind-and-parents-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the kind of a Doctor of Philosophy, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "kind-and-parents-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the kind of a Doctor of Philosophy, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "kind-and-parents-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the kind of a Doctor of Philosophy is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] }, { "id": "distinguishing-features", "name": "Distinguishing features", "description": "What separates a Doctor of Philosophy from the things most often confused with it.", "questions": [ { "id": "distinguishing-features-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes what distinguishes a Doctor of Philosophy, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "distinguishing-features-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about what distinguishes a Doctor of Philosophy, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "distinguishing-features-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once what distinguishes a Doctor of Philosophy is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "state-and-lifecycle", "name": "State and lifecycle", "description": "The states a Doctor of Philosophy passes through and the events that move it between them.", "rationale": "Most decisions about a thing depend on what state it is in now, which is a claim with a time on it, not a property.", "layers": [ { "id": "lifecycle-stages", "name": "Lifecycle stages", "description": "From coming into existence to ceasing to be one of these.", "findings": [ { "id": "stages-and-transitions", "name": "Stages and transitions", "description": "The stages worth naming and what moves a Doctor of Philosophy between them.", "questions": [ { "id": "stages-and-transitions-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the lifecycle of a Doctor of Philosophy, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "stages-and-transitions-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the lifecycle of a Doctor of Philosophy, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "stages-and-transitions-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the lifecycle of a Doctor of Philosophy is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "observations-and-status", "name": "Observations and current status", "description": "What is observed about a Doctor of Philosophy, how often and by whom.", "findings": [ { "id": "observation-record", "name": "Observation record", "description": "How an observation of a Doctor of Philosophy is recorded so that it can be superseded rather than overwritten.", "questions": [ { "id": "observation-record-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes an observation of a Doctor of Philosophy, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "observation-record-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about an observation of a Doctor of Philosophy, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "observation-record-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once an observation of a Doctor of Philosophy is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "definitions-in-contest", "name": "Definitions and who holds them", "description": "What Doctor of Philosophy is taken to mean, and by whom.", "rationale": "When a field disagrees about a concept, the disagreement is the content. A model that picks one definition silently destroys the information.", "layers": [ { "id": "competing-definitions", "name": "Competing definitions", "description": "The main readings and the traditions behind them.", "findings": [ { "id": "definition-map", "name": "Definitions and their holders", "description": "Each definition with the school or body that holds it.", "questions": [ { "id": "definition-map-q01", "text": "Which definitions of Doctor of Philosophy are in use, and which tradition or body holds each?", "kind": "definition" }, { "id": "definition-map-q02", "text": "What turns on the difference between them in practice?", "kind": "boundary" } ] } ] }, { "id": "operationalisation", "name": "Operationalisation", "description": "How it is measured or applied when it has to be.", "findings": [ { "id": "operational-record", "name": "Measures and proxies", "description": "Instruments and indicators used to stand in for it.", "questions": [ { "id": "operational-record-q01", "text": "How is Doctor of Philosophy operationalised or measured in practice, and by what instrument?", "kind": "measurement" }, { "id": "operational-record-q02", "text": "What does that operationalisation leave out, and when does that matter?", "kind": "boundary" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "instances-and-use", "name": "Instances, use and consequence", "description": "What counts as an instance of Doctor of Philosophy and what follows from calling something that.", "rationale": "Applying a concept is an act with consequences, so a model must say what the label licenses and what it does not.", "layers": [ { "id": "instances", "name": "What counts as an instance", "description": "Clear cases, borderline cases and non-cases.", "findings": [ { "id": "instance-tests", "name": "Tests for an instance", "description": "What would settle whether something falls under it.", "questions": [ { "id": "instance-tests-q01", "text": "What would settle whether something is an instance of Doctor of Philosophy?", "kind": "boundary" }, { "id": "instance-tests-q02", "text": "Which borderline cases are argued about, and on what grounds?", "kind": "definition" } ] } ] }, { "id": "consequence", "name": "Consequence of application", "description": "Rights, duties or decisions that follow from the label.", "findings": [ { "id": "consequence-record", "name": "What the label licenses", "description": "What an agent may do once something is classified this way.", "questions": [ { "id": "consequence-record-q01", "text": "What follows practically once something is treated as Doctor of Philosophy?", "kind": "action" }, { "id": "consequence-record-q02", "text": "What must an agent not infer from the label alone?", "kind": "action" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "provenance-and-evidence", "name": "Provenance, evidence and time", "description": "Where every claim about a Doctor of Philosophy came from and when it held.", "rationale": "A claim without a source and a time cannot be superseded, only overwritten, and an agent that overwrites loses the ability to explain itself.", "layers": [ { "id": "source-and-authority", "name": "Source and authority", "description": "Who said it, on what evidence, and how strongly.", "findings": [ { "id": "claim-provenance", "name": "Claim provenance and confidence", "description": "The authority behind each claim about a Doctor of Philosophy and how confident it is.", "questions": [ { "id": "claim-provenance-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes a claim about a Doctor of Philosophy, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "claim-provenance-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about a claim about a Doctor of Philosophy, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "claim-provenance-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once a claim about a Doctor of Philosophy is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "time-and-versions", "name": "Time, versions and supersession", "description": "When a claim was true, when it was learnt, and what replaced it.", "findings": [ { "id": "validity-and-supersession", "name": "Validity period and supersession", "description": "How an old claim about a Doctor of Philosophy is retired without being erased.", "questions": [ { "id": "validity-and-supersession-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the validity of a claim about a Doctor of Philosophy, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "validity-and-supersession-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the validity of a claim about a Doctor of Philosophy, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "validity-and-supersession-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the validity of a claim about a Doctor of Philosophy is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] } ] } ] }, "statistics": { "bundles": 5, "layers": 10, "findings": 12, "questions": 32 } } } }