A vidwan (or vidvan) is a person who has vidyā (knowledge) of a particular science or art. This term is usually used for indian classical musicians to denote their scholarship and experience in performing classical music concerts. Vidwan may also be referred to as a doctorate in layman's terms.
In Hindu philosophy, the word, vidvān, alludes to an expert in discrimination, to the one who is an expert in the Vedanta.
References
Vidwan Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA