It seems now you can go directly from a BS into a PhD program - in the past you had to have a master degree first before you were allowed into PhD programs. St

It seems now you can go directly from a BS into a PhD program - in the past you had to have a master degree first before you were allowed into PhD programs. Still many programs in the UK require you to have a post-grad / master degree before accepting you into their PhD programs, but you can often start research during your master and expand your master thesis into the PhD (depending on the subject). In the UK most non-teaching/non-resident PhD programs take 2 years (US equiv. 4years). The quickest route to an PhD equivalent is a German Doctorate of Law that you can do after your first German Law exam (min study 4years avg. 5years - equiv. to an U.S. JD) and followed by the second German law exam (additional 2years equiv. to an U.S. Bar). Most do their German Doctorate of Law in less than a year - some in 6 months - between the first and the second law exam - hence the large amount of lawyers in Germany with doctoral degrees.