The
Doctor of Arts (
D.A.; occasionally
D.Arts or
Art.D. from the
Latin artium doctor) is a
discipline-based
terminal doctoral degree that was originally conceived and designed to be an alternative to the traditional research-based Doctor of Philosophy (
Ph.D.) and the education-based Doctor of Education (
Ed.D.). Like other doctorates, the D.A. is an
academic degree of the highest level. The D.A. is also frequently conferred as an
honorary degree with the added designation of
honoris causa.