Ph. D. - Professor

[offsider]

Hello,
This is my first time here, please help me with the following:

In the abstract of my thesis, I want to thank a professor. He also has a Ph.D. in Math. So my doubt is if the following is correct.

I would like to thank Professor Charles Smith, Ph. D., for his .....

I am not sure the order in which I should mention his name, professor and Ph. D.

Thank you in advance for your help.

 

[Católico]

Hi.

The way you put it seems just right in my opinion. If it was a doctor, it would likewise be, i.e., Dr. Charles Gorman, Ph. D.



Saludos

 

[Copyright]

The way you put it seems just right in my opinion. If it was a doctor, it would likewise be, i.e., Dr. Charles Gorman, Ph. D.

It's my understanding that you never use both Dr. and Ph.D. together, as above -- probably for reasons of redundancy.

Here's a previous thread:
PhD-Professor

 

[Glenfarclas]

You do not use both "Dr." and "Ph.D." at the same time. The way Offsider has it written ("Professor Charles Smith, Ph.D.") is correct. I know some countries -- Germany, famously -- are obsessed with degrees and would be shocked by the thought of leaving off postnominal letters. In the U.S., my experience is that it is perfectly well understood that almost every professor in an academic discipline will have a Ph.D., and consequently I think in a sentence you'd be more likely to see just "Professor Charles Smith" than "Professor Charles Smith, Ph.D." But you can certainly use the letters if you want to.

 

[Católico]

Without being the OP (Original Poster) I got to learn a lesson.

Thanks, guys.


Cheers


P.S. It still seems that you're right, OP.

 

[Fabulist]

It's nice to acknowledge the assistance of your thesis advisor in your abstract, although I am not sure that it is appropriate to do so. The purpose of an abstract is for other scholars to determine whether they should obtain and read the entire thesis (or dissertation, book, or article). Abstracts usually have word limits, so any acknowledgement will take away from the information you can provide to other scholars about the thesis itself.

That said, if it is common etiquette at your institution or in your country to include an acknowledgement of your advisor in your thesis abstract, then "Professor Charles Smith" should be adequate to identify him. If that's his real name, it is a common one, but any reader will also know your institution and department, so it will be enough UNLESS by some unusual arrangement he is actually on the faculty of another institution; or of another department and could be confused with the Charles Smith in the department from which you are getting your degree. (Prof. Smith might, for instance, have started out as your advisor and continue to serve in that capacity after moving to another institution.)

 

[offsider]

Fabulist: Yes, you are right. I was referring to the acknowledgement part of the thesis not to the abstract.
Glenfarcias: I agree with you; the expression is somehow redundant. However, because my university is a Peruvian institution and my thesis is written in English in order to be read by scholars from other countries I wanted to clearly state that my professors had in deed Ph. D titles, as sometimes research papers from here are not taken all that seriously abroad.
Thanks all for your kind responses. They have been very enriching.
I am glad other members have benefit from this discussion as well.

 

[Egmont]

... In the U.S., my experience is that it is perfectly well understood that almost every professor in an academic discipline will have a Ph.D., and consequently I think in a sentence you'd be more likely to see just "Professor Charles Smith" than "Professor Charles Smith, Ph.D." But you can certainly use the letters if you want to.

This is not necessarily the case in general, though it is true at top research universities in the arts and sciences. For one thing, in disciplines such as accounting, a Master's plus professional certification is common. For another, in fields such as medicine a different doctorate is expected. Finally, below the top tier of research universities, holding a doctorate of any sort is far from universal - especially among older faculty who were hired before it became as important as it is today.

So, I would use the initials. There is never anything wrong with using them, and they could help.