Professional Doctorate in Education

Entry requirements

An upper second-class honours degree or equivalent in a relevant subject or equivalent professional experience, and demonstration of the ability to study at postgraduate level (60 level 7 credits, for example a PgCert, or equivalent). Applicants must be professionally engaged in the field of education in a way that enables them to achieve the programme learning outcomes. All applicants will be invited to attend an interview.

English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 6.5 with no component score below 6.0.

Months of entry

September

Course content

Overview

The EdD is a doctoral level qualification designed for professionals working within the education sector. It provides a structured programme of advanced scholarship and research which is of equivalent level to the traditional PhD, but which is orientated towards professional practice.

The course is aimed at professionals across a range of educational contexts – including teachers, lecturers, learning support professionals, trainers, educational consultants and early years practitioners.

On this course you can:

• Undertake a structured doctoral programme
• Engage in explicit reflection on professional knowledge and practice
• Experience peer learning and networking opportunities afforded by the cohort approach

Benefits of an EdD

Routes our graduates have pursued after successful completion of their Prof Doc include:

• lecturer
• head teacher
• educational consultant
• researcher

Structure and teaching

The taught element of the programme is completed over two years and focusses on developing the knowledge and skills to enable you to successfully complete a doctoral level research project. On successful completion of the taught phase and submission of a research proposal, you will be assigned a supervisory team to support you in the completion of your doctoral thesis.

Core units you will study include:

• Professionalism and Professional Practice
• Philosophy and Practice of Educational Research
• Publication, Dissemination and Impact
• Project Proposal

We use the best and most current research and professional practice, alongside feedback from our students, to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies.

Therefore, some course content may change over time to reflect changes in the discipline or industry and some optional units may not run every year. If a unit doesn’t run, we’ll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative unit.

Teaching and assessment

The taught element of the course is delivered through workshops and online discussions. The programme of themed workshops will include seminars led by the course team and opportunities for interactive group work. Workshops will take place on Friday afternoons and Saturdays in October and January during the taught component (years 1 and 2) of the programme. You will also have access to a Moodle site which contains relevant links and resources and which will enable discussions to continue between formal workshops.

As well as this, you will also be required to undertake independent study to supplement the formal teaching sessions, with appropriate guidance from a tutor or thesis supervisor.

How you're assessed

There is a wide variety of different assessments aimed at integrating academic knowledge and professional practice, including:

• a reflective practice assignment
• a small scale research project
• a portfolio demonstrating suitable dissemination and impact strategies
• a research proposal
• a thesis viva voce examination