Ordinary people would normally think that a doctorate degree is more difficult to attain than a master's. But then I realized that it might be a misconception.
For example, English grammar is normally divided into three levels of difficulty: basic (easy), intermediate (average), advanced (difficult). If I compare college degrees to English grammar, I would say that a bachelor's degree is basic, a master's is intermediate, and a doctorate is advanced. But the adjectives used can be misleading since all three are normally difficult to attain as they require hard work to varying degrees. It seems that ordinary people normally expect a bachelor's degree to be hard to attain; a master's, harder; and a doctorate, the hardest.
Undergraduate students are normally spoon-fed, depending on the standards or educational system of the school. I imagine students doing their master's being more independent. I've heard that some are assigned to read one book from cover to cover in a short period of time, and they discuss the contents with their professor and other classmates when they meet. They are also required to write one thesis in order to graduate, and I've heard of many postgraduate students who fail to obtain the degree because of the thesis requirement.
I believe the same is true with doctorate degrees. Can we say that doctorate students are given more difficult reading materials and discuss more complicated topics compared to a master's?
Please confirm or correct my idea (or speculation) if necessary:
- In theory, doctorate students are given more difficult reading materials and it requires more work to obtain a PhD compared to a master's degree. But in practice, more or less the same amount of hard work is required in order to attain either one. Even so, institutions are most likely to consider people with a PhD than with a master's when making their final selection from a list of candidates.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic.