Better to compare educational degrees to chess knowledge. It is all theory.
Educational degrees are much more of a passive activity than competitive chess -- where much energy goes into wins.
Some people may have a great deal of chess knowledge, but are not successful in implementing that knowledge in tournaments.
One must have a very strong drive to climb the Rating Scale to Master and beyond.
No, there is probably more than 100 times as many PhDs as is Chess Grandmasters.
English not being my mother language, I have to use a dictionary, that tells me that a degree is measuring one's qualities (yes, on a scale, like IM, GM) and it is literally a title after completing a (one) course of study -- and a status is a recognition and respect by others, as it is one's professional rank considered in relation to other people.
So you are right : GM is an obtained status and Bachelor an earned degree.
Equivalent of value means of the same (or equal) value.
It all depends on who is aking the question and for what reason. In my opinion the word "respect" here above says : "GM status" is "higher"...
The January 2014 FIDE rating list includes 1444 Grandmasters, however this number is approximate as the FIDE list may include a few deceased players, and may also exclude players from the list for various reasons. Of these players, 1413 are male and 31 are female.
(Wikipedia)
Make your own comparison.
How many GM's are there in the world ? Also, what percentage are "active"?
First question answered above.
Also there are hundreds of GMs that " look dead ". However they are in fact still alive.
No, there is probably more than 100 times as many PhDs as is Chess Grandmasters.
This might be true, but perhaps still not a good metric to use. Why?
First, there are more people who attend college and get degrees than there are chess players. In fact, I'm willing to bet/guess that relatively few people play chess regularly around the world. Given this, we should expect relatively few chess GMs in existence (in absolute terms/numbers).
Conversely, almost everyone attends grade school and often secondary school. A signficant number of people go on to attend college. The pool of people with a college degree is larger than that of those who play chess regularly. Out of this large pool of college degree holders, there may, in fact, be a larger number of Ph.D.s than chess GMs in absolute numbers.
BUT, what if we look, instead, at the percentage of Ph.D.s to undergrad degree holders vs. the percentage of GMs to chess players? Wouldn't something along those lines be a better comparison?
A final point I was thinking of was that we still need to look qualitatively at what level of knowledge, skill, expertise etc. is entailed in getting a Ph.D. vs. becoming a chess GM. In some ways, it doesn't matter how few GMs vs. Ph.D.s there are, but rather what level of skill is involved in attaining each designation.
Most people with a Ph.D. are in the top two percent in their standardized test scores and IQ tests. That's probably comparable to a FIDE Master. GMs are elite masters, perhaps comparable to those Ph.D.s whose dissertations become highly regarded books in their field.
A Bachelor's degree is comarable to USCF C Class. A Bachelor's degree in Communications or Education is comparable to USCF D Class.
Getting a GM is way harder than a Master's. I am personally acquainted with many idiots who have Masters degrees. I think GM is also harder than PhD
Chess skill is not equivalent to intelligence anyways. Neither is an academic degree. There are plenty of idiots with masters degrees, PhDs, and chess master titles.
Most people with a Ph.D. are in the top two percent in their standardized test scores and IQ tests. That's probably comparable to a FIDE Master. GMs are elite masters, perhaps comparable to those Ph.D.s whose dissertations become highly regarded books in their field.
A Bachelor's degree is comarable to USCF C Class. A Bachelor's degree in Communications or Education is comparable to USCF D Class.
Some interesting thoughts.
I think a Bachelor's degree in Education is probably something everyone in the U.S. population could obtain (at least those who make it to and enter into college). But not everyone is likely able to earn a B.A. in mathematics, computer science, physics, engineering, etc. necessarily (particularly from M.I.T., Harvard, and other top schools).
A Ph.D. from Harvard or M.I.T. in math or physics? They except only a handful of people each year.
I guess if we're to have this discussion, we may also need to specify the field of study for Ph.D.s.
Most people with a Ph.D. are in the top two percent in their standardized test scores and IQ tests. That's probably comparable to a FIDE Master. GMs are elite masters, perhaps comparable to those Ph.D.s whose dissertations become highly regarded books in their field.
A Bachelor's degree is comarable to USCF C Class. A Bachelor's degree in Communications or Education is comparable to USCF D Class.
Some interesting thoughts.
I think a Bachelor's degree in Education is probably something everyone in the U.S. population could obtain (at least those who make it to and enter into college). But not everyone is likely able to earn a B.A. in mathematics, computer science, physics, engineering, etc. necessarily (particularly from M.I.T., Harvard, and other top schools).
A Ph.D. from Harvard or M.I.T. in math or physics? They except only a handful of people each year.
I guess if we're to have this discussion, we may also need to specify the field of study for Ph.D.s.
If you are not in the top 1% academically, you cannot apply to MIT. They accept a mere fraction of applicants from this elite pool.
A Bachelor's from MIT is more impressive than an MA or MS from most universities in most fields. It may also represent a higher standard of learning.
Consider:
There are more Ph.D's in US History than there are IMs and GMs combined.
There are more Ph.D's in Physics than IMs and GMs combined.
And so on.
Guess which is harder to attain.
Consider:
There are more Ph.D's in US History than there are IMs and GMs combined.
There are more Ph.D's in Physics than IMs and GMs combined.
And so on.
Guess which is harder to attain.
See post #9.
I agree GM is harder than PhD; though partly depends of field of study. I PhD in Biochemistry or Nuclear Physics; pretty hard. But GM probably still harder
Chess skill is not equivalent to intelligence anyways. Neither is an academic degree. There are plenty of idiots with masters degrees, PhDs, and chess master titles.
Bingo.
Almost every college student in the US and Europe probably knows how to play chess. So the comparison is fair.
It's harder to earn a FIDE title than it is to earn a Ph.D.
Would obtaining chess GM status be the rough equivalent of earning a bachelor's degree or even a Ph.D. perhaps in an academic field of study?