Proferssional Doctorate (DProf)

The Professional Doctorate (DProf) is designed to be interdisciplinary, and recognises that real world professional practice problems are multi-facetted, dynamic and complex.

Professional Doctorates can be undertaken across a wide range of specialsim areas from private, public or third sector organisations. If you are considering undertaking such a doctorate please view all our PhD programme entries for special areas of interest as supervisors of PhD progammes also supervise across all Professional Doctorate pathways.

Your DProf studies facilitate an investigation into contemporary issues facing professionals and will enable you to make a contribution to professional knowledge that is applied and practical in nature.

During the first two-years of your Professional Doctorate studies (the 'taught' phase), you will develop and hone a range of transferable skills in advanced applied research as well as in-depth expertise specifically related to your profession.

Following the 'taught' phase, you will procede to the 'research' phase with a supervision team to support you to complete a piece of applied research and defend their resulting thesis. 

Many professionals enrol on the DProf when they are contemplating or preparing to move into senior leadership roles in their chosen profession. The programme of study is an extremely useful way to enliven change design with cutting edge theory, to deepen your understanding of transformative change and to enable you to support change within the context of reflective practice. 

Our research undertaken in Education maps onto 4 UN SDGs which include: 

• SDG 1 - No Poverty
• SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth
• SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities
• SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities

Our interdisciplinary approach means that the relationships within and across SDG’s are examined and key multipliers of impact explored as part of the development of each candidate’s research focus.

In the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2024, UWS was officially recognised in the top 400 universities worldwide as assessed against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UWS was recognised as the 2nd most impactful university in Scotland, and 16th globally, for 'reducing inequalities' (UN SDG 10).

Find out more about UWS and UN SDGs

Direct registration for the degree of DProf is subject to the approval at the discretion of the University. Ideally, you would be expected to hold an appropriate Master’s degree or equivalent from a UK University and is in appropriate professional employment or has verifiably granted access to an appropriate professional setting.

For applicants whose first language is not English, the University sets a minimum English Language proficiency level. The qualifications below must have been gained within two years of the start of your course.

General English language requirements at UWS: International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic module (not General Training)

For our research degrees (MRes, MPhil, PhD, DBA, DProf), applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:

• Overall score of 6.5
• No sub-test less than 6.0

ENGLISH LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS