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Are you looking to become a pioneer who can shape policy and practice in your profession? This exciting programme will facilitate your personal career development, helping you become a leader in your field.

As a professional doctorate student, you will gain a fresh perspective on service development, looking at the inter-relationships between research, policy and practice in your work setting and wider professional context. You will develop skills around critical reflection, such as the ability to analyse, evaluate and synthesise data from a wide range of sources, so that you may innovate, form unique interpretations, and drive services forward within your sector.

This programme is suitable for professionally qualified and experienced individuals based in the UK and internationally, who wish to undertake doctoral study. It is suitable for a variety of career paths, and available to a range of professional backgrounds within or linked to education, health and children’s services settings. The programme will be offered on a part-time basis over 5 years, with flexible study, enabling you to work at your own pace and that of the sector in which you practice.

The programme is based around a range of individual and group learning activities. You will explore organisational goals and vision, working collaboratively with peers and colleagues to develop ideas and relate them to practice. Classroom based teaching and learning sessions will be provided 3 times a year and are held on weekends, to facilitate your employment demands. The sessions are comprised of teacher-led discussions, group and individual presentations and discussions, tasks and activities and communities of enquiry to further develop your knowledge and its application to your practice. The programme modules provide a progressive framework for undertaking Doctoral level research culminating in a Professional Doctorate thesis and viva voce defence.

Upon completion you will have the tools and knowledge to drive progress and make an impact in your field. The focus on relating research to practice throughout the doctorate will help you stand out as a pioneer practitioner, giving you a competitive edge in the world of employment.

 

 

Are you looking to become a pioneer who can shape policy and practice in your profession? This exciting programme will facilitate your personal career development, helping you become a leader in your field.

As a professional doctorate student, you will gain a fresh perspective on service development, looking at the inter-relationships between research, policy and practice in your work setting and wider professional context. You will develop skills around critical reflection, such as the ability to analyse, evaluate and synthesise data from a wide range of sources, so that you may innovate, form unique interpretations, and drive services forward within your sector.

This programme is suitable for professionally qualified and experienced individuals based in the UK and internationally, who wish to undertake doctoral study. It is suitable for a variety of career paths, and available to a range of professional backgrounds within or linked to education, health and children’s services settings. The programme will be offered on a part-time basis over 5 years, with flexible study, enabling you to work at your own pace and that of the sector in which you practice.

The programme is based around a range of individual and group learning activities. You will explore organisational goals and vision, working collaboratively with peers and colleagues to develop ideas and relate them to practice. Classroom based teaching and learning sessions will be provided 3 times a year and are held on weekends, to facilitate your employment demands. The sessions are comprised of teacher-led discussions, group and individual presentations and discussions, tasks and activities and communities of enquiry to further develop your knowledge and its application to your practice. The programme modules provide a progressive framework for undertaking Doctoral level research culminating in a Professional Doctorate thesis and viva voce defence.

Upon completion you will have the tools and knowledge to drive progress and make an impact in your field. The focus on relating research to practice throughout the doctorate will help you stand out as a pioneer practitioner, giving you a competitive edge in the world of employment.

 

 

Course Information

Level of Study
Research

Mode of Study
5 years Part Time

Location
Coach Lane Campus, Northumbria University

City
Newcastle

Start
January 2025

Fees
Fee Information

Modules
Module Information

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Funding and Scholarships

Discover the funding options available to you.

Find out more

Learn all about Professional Doctorates

Discover more / Explore Northumbria University

Take a look at what Northumbria has to offer and discover what studying with us can do for you.

Entry Requirements 2024/25

Standard Entry

Applicants should normally have:

  • A minimum of a 2:1 honours degree normally in a relevant subject area or equivalent
  • A professional qualification/ registration
  • Normally the equivalent of at least 2 year’s verifiable relevant practical experience of working in a professional capacity, excluding any experience gained as part of first-degree studies.

International qualifications:

If you have studied a non-UK qualification, you can see how your qualifications compare to the standard entry criteria, by selecting the country that you received the qualification in, from our country pages. Visit www.northumbria.ac.uk/yourcountry

English language requirements:

International applicants are required to have a minimum overall IELTS (Academic) score of 6.5 with 6 in each component (or approved equivalent*). *The university accepts a large number of UK and International Qualifications in place of IELTS.  You can find details of acceptable tests and the required grades you will need in our English Language section. Visit www.northumbria.ac.uk/englishqualifications

Fees and Funding 2024/25 Entry

UK Fee in Year 1: £2,981

International Fee in Year 1: £8,990

Please note, the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) programme is not eligible for the Doctoral Loan.  Further information can be found on the Government website.


Click here for UK and International Scholarship, Fees and Funding information.




ADDITIONAL COSTS

There are no Additional Costs

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Modules

Module information is indicative and is reviewed annually therefore may be subject to change. Applicants will be informed if there are any changes.

PP7000 -

Module 1: Examining Personal Context (Core,30 Credits)

This module encourages you to reflect on your professional journey and motivation for undertaking doctoral study, to identify personal and professional development needs and discuss the purpose of a reflexive approach during the research journey. You will explore early iterations of your research interest and critically discuss ideas to research real world problems. You will identify and share different personal and professional perspectives, values and beliefs and consider this in designing a future research proposal. You will identify and critically appraise relevant literature to support and demonstrate familiarity with a topic of interest, developing your skills in designing literature search strategies.

More information

PP7001 -

Module 2: Your Work Context as a Site of Research (Core,30 Credits)

You will critically consider your work/place as a site of research, appraising the challenges and opportunities of negotiating a potential study with your employer. You will be encouraged to develop a reflexive and critical appreciation of your work/place, challenging constructions of it, thereby maximising the potential of your work/place as a site for theoretically informed, innovative and transformative research. You will engage with and apply diverse perspectives, paradigms and pedagogies to your work context, including critical evaluation of epistemological, axiological and practical differences within your own positionality and identity.

More information

PP7002 -

Module 3: Theory and Professional Practices (Core,30 Credits)

Students will be introduced to theory as a lens through which an interrogative analysis of social and professional contexts can be viewed. Students will be encouraged to analyse aspects of their professional practice and culture, and to identify elements of their professional context which may provide opportunities to enact change and show impact. Students will appraise and apply components of various theoretical perspectives to aspects of their professional practice, and receive a grounding in axiology, hermeneutics, ontological perspectives and epistemological articulations on research impacts.

More information

PP7003 -

Module 4: Research Design: Methodology, Methods & Ethics (Core,60 Credits)

This module aims to equip you with the skills and knowledge to develop a robust research proposal. Delivered in two parts, the first reviews and consolidates learning from previous modules to understand your own positionality, practice-research context and philosophical / theoretical perspectives; the second will focus on the process of identifying, appraising and applying relevant methodological approaches aligned to your research proposal. You will relate philosophical positions on reality (ontology) and knowledge (epistemology) derived from module 3, to the thinking found in different methodological approaches, and explore synergies and tensions between academic and professional positions.

More information

PP7004 -

Researcher Development: Presenting and Disseminating your Research (Core,30 Credits)

This module will develop student’s abilities to present, articulate and disseminate research ideas through several modes of delivery. Building upon the knowledge and skills encountered and developed in preceding modules, students will explore some of the ways peer support and appraisal forms part of the research journey. Students will gain experience of critically assessing research ideas by examining potential research through an ethical, practical and theoretical frameworks, fostering an understanding of the ways in which research and academic work is appraised. Through a simulation of different but complementary research forums, students will be exposed to the rigors of delivering research ideas through contexts experienced by researchers and academics. This will prepare students in disseminating their research through a variety of methods. Students will refine their research ideas to construct a research proposal for presentation to possible supervisors.

More information

To start your application, simply select the month you would like to start your course.

Professional Doctorate in Health, Education and Society

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Any Questions?

Our Applicant Services team will be happy to help.  They can be contacted on 0191 406 0901 or by using our Contact Form.

 

All information is accurate at the time of sharing. 

Full time Courses are primarily delivered via on-campus face to face learning but could include elements of online learning. Most courses run as planned and as promoted on our website and via our marketing materials, but if there are any substantial changes (as determined by the Competition and Markets Authority) to a course or there is the potential that course may be withdrawn, we will notify all affected applicants as soon as possible with advice and guidance regarding their options. It is also important to be aware that optional modules listed on course pages may be subject to change depending on uptake numbers each year.  

Contact time is subject to increase or decrease in line with possible restrictions imposed by the government or the University in the interest of maintaining the health and safety and wellbeing of students, staff, and visitors if this is deemed necessary in future.

 

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Northumbria University is committed to developing an inclusive, diverse and accessible campus and wider University community and are determined to ensure that opportunities we provide are open to all.

We are proud to work in partnership with AccessAble to provide Detailed Access Guides to our buildings and facilities across our City, Coach Lane and London Campuses. A Detailed Access Guide lets you know what access will be like when you visit somewhere. It looks at the route you will use getting in and what is available inside. All guides have Accessibility Symbols that give you a quick overview of what is available, and photographs to show you what to expect. The guides are produced by trained surveyors who visit our campuses annually to ensure you have trusted and accurate information.

You can use Northumbria’s AccessAble Guides anytime to check the accessibility of a building or facility and to plan your routes and journeys. Search by location, building or accessibility feature to find the information you need. 

We are dedicated to helping students who may require additional support during their student journey and offer 1-1 advice and guidance appropriate to individual requirements. If you feel you may need additional support you can find out more about what we offer here where you can also contact us with any questions you may have:

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