Education Doctorate EdD

ABOUT THE COURSE

The Doctor of Education (EdD) has been specifically designed to meet the needs of educational professionals in teaching, management or administration in a range of sectors. Students recruited to the programme come from occupations such as teaching, advisory roles, police work, social work and in the health sector, and often but not always hold senior positions. Common to them all is a desire to pursue an area of research related to and drawing on their professional work, and with the aim of creating new knowledge, applications and understanding that will bring both personal benefits and for the wider professional community.

There is a strong emphasis on individualised learning and personal critical reflection related to professional identities, values and contexts. The programme provides a structured environment in which students engage at an advanced level with a range of academic and professional issues relevant to their own practice. The learning and teaching strategy seeks to develop the three key skills of independent learning, independent research, and sustained critical and self-reflexive analysis integrating academic and professional considerations.

The programme is divided into two parts. In the first of these, students undertake three ‘strands’ of taught study (equalling 40 credits each). This is followed by the writing of a substantial research proposal (60 credits), which forms a good foundation for the supervised thesis in part 2, on a research question broadly related to professional practice.

CAREERS

Students on the Professional Doctorate are usually experienced professionals. Our students come from a range of professions engaging with childhood, education and social care. Past students have included senior teachers, headteachers and senior leaders in schools, school inspectors, civil servants and independent consultants, Higher Education lecturers and support staff, social workers, chaplains and special educational needs co-ordinators.

The Professional Doctorate focuses on enabling our graduates to become researching professionals. For some, this means a move into Higher Education, but for many others, it is about taking a critical, evidence-informed perspective at a senior level within their professional setting.

The design of the course, with its weekend delivery and focus on researching practice, is designed to accommodate students with busy professional careers.

An applicant should normally possess a Bachelor’s First or Upper Second Class degree in a relevant discipline from a UK University (or an equivalent qualification from outside the UK), and have at least three years’ experience of professional practice relevant to the programme of study. A Master’s degree in a relevant discipline from a UK University (or an equivalent qualification from outside the UK) is desirable. Applicants who do not satisfy the above requirements may nevertheless be considered eligible for admission if they have relevant experience. Such applicants may be asked to submit a written review of contemporary issues in their field that is judged by the University to demonstrate both a critical understanding of those issues and the potential to undertake research at doctoral level. Applicants must be able to demonstrate a high level of competence in written and spoken English.