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It is important to choose the right tutor to work with you when studying for advanced math courses, SAT math preparation, ACT math preparation, the SAT Subject Tests, or just in general. There are many things you might look for in a good tutor, including their price, whether they tutor online or in person, come from a reputable company, and so on. Naturally, however, one of the most important qualifications for any teacher or tutor is that they know the subject, are able to understand the subject, and are able to teach the subject in a way that students will easily understand.
So, one of the best qualifications you could hope for is to get a math tutor with an actual math Ph.D. A Ph.D stands for “Doctor of Philosophy,” and is often referred to as a “doctorate.” Similar to an M.D (which stands for Doctor of Medicine), this confers the title of “doctor” to that person and emphasizes a very high level of training and knowledge in that field. The term “Doctor of Philosophy” comes from a time when all subjects were essentially seen as subfields of philosophy, which in many ways was the original “subject.”
To have a Ph.D in mathematics, especially from a school like Johns Hopkins, MIT, or Cambridge, a very high level of practice is required. Firstly, a student must excel at their mathematics courses in undergraduate (in college), and obtain their bachelor’s degree. This usually takes four years. Then, they must apply through a rigorous and selective admissions process to these top mathematics Ph.D programs. If a student is accepted to a program, they will usually take about another two years to finish an intermediate degree, the “Masters,” and spend an additional three years as a Ph.D candidate before they finish a dissertation (a formal and original academic paper on the subject) and argue for their dissertation thesis (the thesis defense) in front of a panel of professors. Given they pass, they are conferred their Ph.D, and become a doctor. Given that a Ph.D program usually also includes three years of class work, and often has teaching requirements themselves, Ph.D’s are really in a class of their own when it comes to understanding their subject.
So in other words, a Ph.D is an expert in their field, with experience doing original work, explaining that work to others, and often teaching that work. Finding a Ph.D from a good school, especially one with explicit tutoring experience, is a very significant credential for anyone searching for help in their discipline. When you get a tutor who has a Ph.D, it is entirely plausible that they have been working in their field, in one capacity or another, for a decade. For some Ph.Ds, like in mathematics or English, they have really been working in their field for a majority of their lifetimes.
However, one should stress that just because one has a math Ph.D and the knowledge that comes with it does not immediately entail that they will be a good teacher. Teaching requires a separate set of skills than does learning and accumulating knowledge, so it’s important that a Ph.D tutor comes experienced as well, or is able to demonstrate their ability to keep students informed and improving over time. Pedagogy (the study of teaching) is indeed it’s very own subject – it is the subject that teachers train in. It’s also the case that not all math Ph.D’s are created equal, and a Ph.D from a top-program should naturally carry more weight. However, with these caveats in mind, a Ph.D is certainly an impressive credential that should be given weight when choosing between different tutoring services.
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