What is the difference between a master's degree in America and a doctor's degree?

In China's education system, the master's degree and the doctor's degree are two steps in the same way of going to school. After reading the Master's degree, I will go to the doctor's degree. However, in the United States, masters and doctoral students are different ways of going to school, with different training directions, training methods, and employment options. There is no need to read a master's degree before reading a doctor.
A master's degree provides students with solid education in a specialized field. Most students can earn a degree after one or two years of study and then return to their professional positions. After obtaining a master's degree, a small number of students will choose to continue learning and pursue doctoral courses.
The doctorate degree provides comprehensive and in-depth education for students in a certain professional field. Doctoral graduates often serve as professors or researchers who have been engaged in academic research for their whole life (of course many doctoral graduates have chosen other jobs ). Most students need five to six years to earn their degree.
Doctoral students often have full scholarships and living expenses, while master students generally do not have financial assistance, even if there are few.
Some graduate courses allow willing students to continue to pursue a doctorate after completing their master's degree. On the contrary, doctoral students who no longer take academic research as their lifelong pursuit can leave after obtaining a master's degree.

Master's degree requirements
The first-year master's students study the various courses required by their degree, but the requirements are stricter, the tasks are heavier, and the courses are more professional.
At the beginning, master students must select (or assign) a teacher as their mentor. The instructor will help students determine the research direction and the subjects of necessary papers.
Second-year master's students should have already set up research subjects and completed master's thesis or research projects within one semester or one academic year. If the student shows outstanding academic competence, the tutor may encourage him or her to continue his/her doctoral degree.

Doctorate requirements
In the first three years of a doctorate, you must take various courses required by your degree and gain extensive and in-depth knowledge in related fields. Select a mentor and write a doctoral thesis opening report, and establish a harmonious working relationship with professors in the department. Most doctoral students work as undergraduate teaching assistants and some research assistants.
At the end of the second or third year, doctoral students should complete a thesis or pass the doctoral qualification examination, or both. The quality of the thesis and the examination result determine whether the student can continue his doctoral degree.
In the fourth to sixth years, there are usually no courses or few courses, and students concentrate on writing papers. Doctoral thesis requires a new and meaningful contribution to the research field. Needless to say, this is stressful. Most students spend most of their time collecting and organizing documents and data in libraries and laboratories. Of course, the students are not alone. Instructors and other professors in the Department will keep an eye on the students' research progress and thesis writing, and provide suggestions and help.
After the thesis is completed, students must answer the thesis in the Academic Committee of the Department. Few people fail to answer the question. Because in any case, the respondent should know more about their research subjects than any other teacher in the department. If a professor finds an error in the paper, the student can modify the paper and solve the problem.

Application Conditions

From the perspective of application, the master's degree is mainly based on the hardware conditions of students, and some social activities and leadership skills are attached. Only those disciplines with strong professionalism, such as science and engineering, have certain requirements on students' professional competence, but they will not be too high. The master's applicant does not need to have a very clear research direction. He just needs to set a general direction for his/her continued learning and does not need to contact the tutor, you can apply directly through the school application process. Generally, the content that the applicant needs to express in the application documents mainly includes career planning and master's motivation.

In addition to the hardware conditions, the doctoral applicant's research capabilities are the most important reference indicators. Factors such as published papers and participating research projects account for a considerable proportion in the application. In addition, the applicant needs to clarify his own research direction in advance, and then determine the applied School and mentor, and get in touch with the tutor in advance. In addition, the applicant also needs to express his/her understanding of the application profession, the knowledge he/she wishes to learn, and the research subjects he/she wishes to participate in.

 

Reference link:
Http://www.go-oversea.org/ArticleView.aspx? Aid = 14620.
Http://www.tajianedu.com/meiguoliuxue/boshisheng/18.html