England

Please tell us where you live so that we can provide you with the most relevant information as you use this website.
If you are at a BFPO address please choose the country or region in which you would ordinarily be resident.
Accessibility statement
Our Professional Doctorate programme could be the opportunity and challenge you seek.
A Professional Doctorate is the highest degree qualification it is possible to achieve. It has been developed to meet the needs and interests of those working in education or health and social care with a thirst for professional excellence and knowledge. It supports original research that will have an impact on professional practice and/or policy, as well as theory.
Professional Doctorates are studied part-time and designed to enable committed professionals to study and develop their own practice-based research in a structured and supported environment. They offer you the chance to enhance your career at doctoral level, enabling you to make a unique contribution to your profession or area of practice while continuing to work and progress in your field.
Successful completion of a Professional Doctorate (Doctorate in Education or Doctorate in Health and Social Care) confers the use of the title ‘Dr’.
This is an innovative programme of part-time study designed for professionals working in the field of education and related areas who want to extend and deepen their knowledge and understanding of contemporary educational practice. It is for professionals in education, including school leaders, teachers and trainers, but also other professionals working in any educational context in formal and non-formal settings including the public, voluntary and private sectors.
The EdD programme not only draws on existing research expertise across the Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies (WELS), but it also draws on the wide educational research expertise across the University.
We welcome research proposals that fall into one of the following areas of study:
The Doctorate in Health and Social Care (DHSC) is an innovative programme of part-time study designed predominantly for health and social care professionals, including registered nurses and social workers, but also other professionals working across health and social care including the public, voluntary and private sectors. The degree will also be open to people working as carers, whose role involves them working with the health and social care sector. Informal carers, ‘experts by experience’ advocates and ‘expert patients’ may also make an application to the programme. Applicants whose field of practice is through an informal, rather than paid, role, will need to carefully describe their field of practice and what access arrangements would be needed.
The Doctorate in Health and Social Care (DHSC) programme is located within the Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies (WELS) and therefore draws on existing research expertise specifically from within the School of Health, Wellbeing and Social Care (HWSC).
We welcome research proposals that fall into one of the following areas of study:
The OU has a successful track record of delivering innovative and highly flexible education, and of supporting students to combine study alongside professional and personal commitments. The Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies, in which the EdD/DHSC are located, has a world-class reputation for pioneering participatory and inclusive research, and has a history of engaging with communities of practice and policy-makers to generate critical, impactful and solution-orientated research. The OU has a long history of Professional Doctorate programmes, having delivered a well-established Doctorate in Education (EdD) for over 25 years.
Studying with students on both the EdD and DHSC you will have access to professional researchers across a broad range of education, health and social care fields of practice. This means your study and research will be able to reflect the increasingly multidisciplinary and multi-agency culture of these areas of practice. You will acquire skills in research and enquiry and be able to use these to carry out research that will contribute to professional knowledge and practice. Our doctoral training programme will help you develop transferrable skills that will be invaluable throughout your career.
The UK Professional Doctorate is an internationally recognised and respected academic qualification and many of our Professional Doctorate graduates come from outside of the UK. Employers across the world recognise and value the quality of a UK university education; however, before you apply to study a Professional Doctorate, you should ensure that potential employers (within the country in which you wish to work) recognise the Professional Doctorate qualification. You may need to obtain equivalency certification at your own expense in order for your degree to be recognised within the country you wish to work.
The Professional doctorates are blended-learning part-time research degrees (rather than a distance learning degree or a taught course).
Professional doctorates have a dedicated website for interaction and access to resources.
4–8 years
You will study together with students enrolled in other Professional Doctorates.
You will be required to maintain regular email contact with your UK-based supervisors and travel to the UK at your own expense to attend residential weekends and for your viva examination.
You will be allocated two supervisors when you commence your studies and will have regular supervision sessions with them via a variety of options including telephone, online conferencing or face-to-face.
These are structured part-time programmes of study in two stages: Stage 1 (2 years structured) and Stage 2 (2–6 years supervised research component).  You may take more time with Stage 2 if necessary.
Stage 1 of the programme aims to equip you with the skills and knowledge to support your engagement with the research and the practice field in which your project is located. This phase will involve you studying self-taught online modules on topics including:
Stage 2 forms the ‘research’ component of the programme. During this time, you will carry out your study and work towards completing your thesis. In both stages (1 and 2) you will be supported through online seminar discussions and annual residential weekends at the OU’s campus in Milton Keynes.
There is an annual residential weekend which is compulsory for all students to attend. The Year 1 residential weekend will provide an initial induction to the professional doctorate and will consist of supported discussions, seminars and workshops providing a great opportunity to meet up with your peers, supervisors and the programme team on our campus in Milton Keynes. The Year 1 residential weekend normally takes place in early October each year.
As well as supported self-taught modules there is a programme of online seminars on subjects such as:
While the programme is structured to meet the needs of those learning at a distance, there are plenty of opportunities to work alongside a community of other doctoral researchers.
You will complete two formative assessments in both Year 1 and Year 2 of the programme and will receive feedback from your main supervisor. In addition, there is a summative assessment at the end of Year 1 and Year 2. The Year 2 summative assignment will be the end of the first stage of your studies. You must pass each summative assessment before you can progress to the next stage of your studies.
The assessment in Years 1 and 2 will focus on developing your literature review, refining your research questions and extended proposal for research, preparing you for Stage 2 of the programme. Stage 2 has a structured schedule of submission of formative assignments which will pace your through ‘work in progress’ pieces that work towards your thesis chapters and provide regular opportunities for feedback.
At the end of your research you must complete a 65,000-word thesis which you then defend to the satisfaction of the examiners via an oral examination. Your thesis must meet the expectations specified in the QAA Framework for Higher Education Qualifications.
The thesis must demonstrate the relationship between theory and practice in education (EdD) or health and social care (DHSC), and the ability to select and apply appropriate research methods.
You can register for a Professional Doctorate from anywhere in the world.
Applicants should normally hold, or be expecting to obtain before the start of the degree in October, a Masters Degree in Education or in Health/Social Care, or a related discipline from a UK/EU university or another recognised degree-awarding body. Applicants should also have at least two years of relevant professional experience or, on the DHSC, informal expertise as a carer, expert patient or advocate.
In exceptional circumstances, we may accept applications from candidates without a masters degree, if they are able to demonstrate suitability for postgraduate research. This requires evidence of publications, written reports or previous research relevant to the nature and scope of the proposed work.
To study with us, you will need to have a good command of English. If your first language is not English, you will need to verify your competence in the English Language in all four elements (reading, writing, listening and speaking). The University requires a minimum IELTS score of 6.5 with no less than 6.0 in any of the four categories (or approved equivalent). If you are an overseas student, you must have your level of proficiency certified through a provider approved by UK Visas and Immigration and provide your certificate and grade with your application.
If you need to prepare for an IELTS test, you may want to consider doing the free course Inside IELTS: Preparing for the Test with the Experts.
Find out how to apply.
4 minutes and 39 seconds
Introducing our innovative Doctorate in Education (EdD).
By the end of the first year of my EdD, I felt confident enough to call myself a doctoral researcher. The more I study and discuss my research with my supervisor, the more I feel that I am poised to make a significant impact into the world of Higher Education. My supervisor is totally invested in the development of my investigations, and I look forward to our sessions as I always leave them inspired and energised.
I have really enjoyed the first two years of my DHSC. It’s been a long time since I had such a good opportunity to stop and think, which does feel like a luxury at times. The Covid-19 pandemic was a particular challenge to studying. However, the flexibility of OU study really came into its own, and the support of supervisors and the DHSC Team made it possible to get this far.
For advice about applying for a research degree, or sponsoring a research student, email the Graduate School or call +44 (0)1908 653806.
Level info