In June 2016, the Oxford D.Litt. was suspended, pending a reform of the higher doctorates. The reforms were completed in June 2018 and applications reopened in September 2018. The new regulations reduced the number of higher doctorates to five by dropping the Doctor of Medicine as a higher doctorate. The standards for the remaining doctorates, including the D.Litt. (now also referred to as "Doctor of Letters" rather than Doctor of Literature), require the judges "to consider whether the evidence submitted demonstrates excellence in academic scholarship and is: