Professional Doctorate in a Nutshell

A Professional Doctorate degree is a research degree carried out over 9–12 Trimesters (3–4 years) full-time and 18 trimesters (6 years) part-time as detailed in the table below. Students who do not complete the requirements for the Professional Doctorate degree within these timelines must apply for permission to continue with written support from the School. 

Professional Doctorate Programme Boards will assign each professional doctorate student:

1. a Principal Supervisor, who has primary responsibility for your academic supervision. There may also be a co-supervisor, if appropriate, who supports the Principal Supervisor 
2. a Research Studies Panel (RSP) that provides advice, monitors your progress and supports the student-supervisor relationship. The RSP should be assigned to you within the first trimester of your registration and meet at least twice in the first year and at least once a year thereafter. 

Each Professional Doctorate programme will have very specific programme requirements that every student should make themselves aware of. However, every Professional Doctorate student must:

1. carry out doctoral level research that is written up in a thesis, which contains materials of a standard and form appropriate for peer-reviewed publication. This thesis forms the basis for the examination for the award of the doctoral degree and is examined through a viva voce examination by a Professional Doctorate Examination Committee
2. demonstrate that you have extended knowledge and skills within your professional environment. Credit for supervised professional practice is awarded after satisfactory completion of the practice element. Assessment of the practice element may include a review of activities such as placement in a professional setting, development of a portfolio, generation of case log, community outreach activities, presentation to peers and a submitted professional practice report in acceptable form and a satisfactory standard
3. progress from Stage 1 to Stage 2 of the Professional Doctorate programme by successfully undergoing a formal Stage Transfer Assessment within 5 trimesters of the date of registration for a full-time student and 7 trimesters  for a part-time student
4. complete a prescribed number of taught credits over the course of the Professional Doctorate programme. See table below.
   

   Professional Doctorate Degree	Minimum Taught Credits
   Doctor of Veterinary Medical Specialisation Degree (DVMS)	20
   Doctor of Educational Psychology Degree (DEdPsych)	60
   Doctor of Clinical Psychology degree (DPsychSc)	60

5. document your educational, training and personal and professional development needs, in collaboration with your your RSP, which along with the proposed programme of research, will inform the development of a Research and Professional Development Plan (RPDP). The completed RPDP forms part of the Stage 1 to Stage 2 assessment
6. successfully complete Research Integrity Training while registered to the programme.

• The final examination is based on:
  1. successful completion of the required taught and professional practice elements 
  2. a description of your research in a thesis describing the context, nature, methodology and outcomes of the research.

• Theses can only be submitted if fees are paid in full, student registration is current and the candidate is compliant with the programme requirements outlined above. 

• All professional doctorate theses are submitted as a PDF file to the University for examination via the eThesis Examination System. This system is accessed via the student’s SISWeb account. Students will be sent an email at every decision point, allowing tracking of the progress of the thesis through the examination process.