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I have seen some of the PhD holders sign as "Dr. [First Name] [Surname], PhD".

Is it academically correct to write "Dr. Frank Amoani Arthur, PhD"?

Nat
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Frank Amoani Arthur
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7 Answers7

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There are two important points to note about name markers that refer to academic titles:

  1. You can have more than one of these markers in your name: Kay Doe, PhD, MD indicates a person who is both a doctor of philosophy and a doctor of medicine.
  2. The marker Dr. can very often be used as a variant of the post-positioned markers. If both of them are equivalent markers in your country, you can choose either marker to refer to your academic title.

These two observations make the suggested name form Dr. Kay Doe, PhD rather ambiguous.

Does it refer to a person with two doctor titles because there are two markers? Or do both markers refer to just one doctor title? But if so, why is that doctor referred to twice in one name? This may even lead to suspicion: Does the name bearer use two markers which refer to the same title with the intention to sound more impressive than their academic distinction actually warrants?

This ambiguity is avoided if you use only one title marker per title.

Schmuddi
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  • +1 for not asserting that something is "correct" or "incorrect" and instead focusing on what is the most effective for communication. – Thomas Jun 21 '21 at 22:43
  • In Germany, we tend to list multiple doctor titles in front of the name, e.g. Dr. phil. D. med. Dr. h.c. Max Mustermann would declare a doctor of philosophy, a medical doctor and an honorary doctor all at once. But notably, these titles must match the precise expression of a title that has been awarded. So Dr. phil. X cannot be used instead of X, PhD, except if the awarding university explicitly declared it that way. Here you can find a list of examples (need to scroll down to a table). – xamid Mar 27 '23 at 05:59
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In the US, at least the title doctor doesn't imply a medical doctor, though it includes that. My students would usually refer to me as Dr. Buffy. Someone not knowing that I hold a doctorate might call me Mr. Buffy, but Dr. Buffy is more specific.

If I wish to list my degrees after my name they aren't being used a title like Dr. or Ms.

So, being pedantic: Dr. Buffy, BA, MA, PhD. is just fine. In Germany, and places with a related academic culture, degrees are used more as titles so it is a bit different: Herr Doctor Professor Buffy.

Medical doctors (again in the US) insist on being called Doctor and have no difficulty with Dr. Foobar, MD. It would be extremely uncommon for them to be listed any other way.

Buffy
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    "Herr Professor Doctor", actually. – Oleg Lobachev Aug 01 '18 at 15:07
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    Yes, Herr Student @OlegLobachev. Kidding of course. Thanks. In the US we would garble it, of course. As I did. I listed them in the order I did because of the order I earned them. I was Doktor before I was professor. – Buffy Aug 01 '18 at 15:12
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    There is a story of a quite famous mathematician (a professor) who was living with one of his students in a "romantic" relationship. He once is said to have informed her that she didn't need to refer to him with all of his titles as long as they were in private. Apocryphal? You judge. – Buffy Aug 01 '18 at 15:15
  • There's a reason why physicians are Dr. Foo, M.D. The Dr. part is for public appearances, so patients perceive that they're authoritative. The M.D. part is required by regulation in some places like hospitals and medical schools, as to disambiguate Ph.D., D.O., D.D.S./D.M.D., O.D., D.V.M. etc. which all have different rights/requirements when interacting with patients. My major US institution sticks both (Dr. Foo Bar, PhD) on everybody's e-mails and ID cards and computer accounts, even for non-medical people. – user71659 Aug 02 '18 at 07:02
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I'm sure this must have been dealt with in previous questions, but the short answer is:

This is correct if you are both a medical doctor and an academic doctor. But just being an academic allows you to write Dr. (name) XOR (name) PhD.

Jessica B
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If you have Dr. NAME only it might cause some confusion. I was once caught in a situation where I was asked to be on standby for assistance during a medical emergency because my boarding pass identified me as Dr. MYNAME. I had to explain that the Dr was for a PhD and not for medical practises. In my opinion the academic the title should be Dr. LASTNAME or Dr. LASTNAME M.D. for a medical practitioner Dr, LASTNAME PhD for an academic qualification Dr. LASTNAME HC for an honorary doctorate (honororium causa)

Thanyani Rambane
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As you can see from some of the answers here, there is substantial variation in use of academic titles and suffixes for degrees. It is certainly okay to use the suffix PhD if you have a PhD, and it would be hard to mount an argument that it is "incorrect" to use a suffix for a degree you actually have. There is wide variation in what is common practice in academia, but what is most important is to consider the following practical issues:

  • IMPORTANT --- avoid confusion with medical doctors: In most places, in an academic context the title "Dr" is fine for someone with a PhD (though in some countries they are distinct). However, in contexts outside academia it can cause confusion. In particular, for a person with a PhD who is not a medical doctor, it is often desirable to avoid using the title "Dr" in contexts where it might cause people to think that you are the appropriate contact person in a medical emergency ---e.g., "Dr O'Neill, this man is having a heart attack - do something!" So, for example, when I am checking into a plane, or in similar circumstances, I try to ensure that I am booked in as "Mr" not "Dr", notwithstanding that the latter title would apply in an academic context.

  • Academics rarely use the degree suffix: Because the PhD is so common among academics, we would rarely use this suffix outside of a CV. It is common for academics to use titles (e.g., Dr, Assoc Prof, Prof, etc.) in descriptions such as a signature block, staff page, etc. It is uncommon (but not incorrect) to additionally add the suffix "PhD". The main reason most academics leave this part off is because the degree is common among academics.

  • Dual use might clarify or it might confuse, depending on who is reading it: If you use both a title and a suffix for the same degree, that can potentially help to understand the source of the title, or it can look awkward or cause confusion. This really depends on the audience. In most cases, if you use the title "Dr" and the suffix "PhD" then people will assume that the title comes from the degree specified in the suffix, which is accurate here. It is perhaps a bit unusual to use both, but it is not unheard of.

Ben
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I think in the US anyway, you can sign your name however you wish. In my case, I am a DVM and I have a Masters degree. I want my business cards to say Dr. MYNAME, DVM, MS. I have seen multiple DVMs that write their name the same way. I think it's good to know what kind of Dr. I am, and this helps others to know it also. Even if I didn't have the Masters degree, I would likely still want my business card to say Dr. MYNAME, DVM.

nrjordan
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Dr Jones if he has a medical degree. Mark Jones, Ph.D. or Dr. Jones, if he has a Ph.D. Never Dr. Jones, Ph. D.

atnhony sith
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    What if a PhD who is also a medical doctor? I think "Never" is too strong a word. – Nobody Aug 01 '18 at 06:34
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    @scaaahu Mark Jones, MD, PhD. – Nicole Hamilton Aug 01 '18 at 09:38
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    @NicoleHamilton That's a good one. – Nobody Aug 01 '18 at 09:45
  • My major US university puts "Dr. Jones PhD" on everybody's ID cards, e-mails, computer accounts, directory, etc. It's because the medical school and hospital have all kinds of "Dr." running around and they need to make it easy to identify what responsibilities you have. – user71659 Aug 02 '18 at 07:07