Today we continue our discussion of the academic degrees offered by American colleges and universities. Last week, we talked about the associate, bachelor's and master's degrees. The highest degree that a student can earn is a doctorate. Some doctorates are professional degrees, as opposed to a degree based on research. Medical students, for example, receive an M.D., from the Latin term for "doctor of medicinae ." Future lawyers receive a J.D., for "juris" or "jurum" doctor, meaning a doctor of law or laws. Someone with a PhD is a "doctor of philosophy." Many people earn a PhD, yet not many are philosophers. The name has survived since the Middle Ages when many areas of study were called philosophy. Students can receive a PhD in engineering, social work, education, music, history and a lot of other areas. Requirements can differ from one university to another, and from one area of study to another. But the National Science Foundation says American doctoral education is organized around a research experience.
A PhD usually requires at least three years of full-time study after a bachelor's degree. Some people first get a master's degree, other do not. PhD candidates must also pass special examinations and carry out original research. Students present their findings by writing a dissertation, a long paper that they have to defend before a group of experts. Every year, the federal government collects information on research doctorates awarded in the United States. More than 43,000 students received a research doctorate in 2005, the most recent year reported. Close to 1/3 of those doctorates went to foreign students in the United States on a temporary visa. The largest numbers came from China, South Korea, India, Taiwan and Canada. Most of them studied engineering, physical science or life science. The University of Illinois awarded the largest number of doctorates to foreign students. The other universities in the top five were Purdue, Ohio State, Texas A&M and Pennsylvania State.
Imagine this: An official in a position of trust helps you choose a company for a service important to your future. You expect that the advice will be in your best interest. What you do not know is that the person's office has a financial relationship with that company. The official may have received gifts likes trips or stock options, or money for professional advice. Would you wonder, then, just whose interest was being served? This is what some American states are investigating in connection with the student loan industry. They are examining possible conflicts of interest when schools direct students to lists of so-called preferred lenders. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo says colleges and universities often fail to tell about their ties to banks and other finance companies. His office has already settled cases including with two big lenders. Sallie Mae, the nation's biggest education lender, agreed to pay two million dollars. And Education Finance Partners agreed to pay two and one-half million. Neither of them admitted any wrongdoing. The money will go to educate students about loans.
In some cases, when students call a school for loan advice, they talk to a lending company employee. But they are not always told that. Andrew Cuomo wants financial aid officers and lenders to follow a set of rules, a College Loan Code of Conduct. These would end financial ties between lenders and schools, including gifts and trips. At the same time, lawmakers are seeking changes in the student loan system. Mr. Cuomo was at a hearing Wednesday in the House of Representatives. He criticized the Department of Education for not doing enough to control the student loan industry. A day earlier, Education Secretary Margaret Spellings announced a committee to study federal student loan programs. And last week, her department temporarily restricted the use of a national system of financial records on millions of students. She said officials were concerned about an increase in usage of that government database by lenders and other companies. In another development, Sallie Mae, officially the SLM Corporation, has agreed to a buyout offer. Two banks and two private equity companies are offering shareholders $25 billion. The deal is unusual. Loan companies generally do not produce enough profit to finance a sale based largely on borrowed money.