DProf by Public Works

Overview & facilities

The Doctorate in Professional Studies by Public Works (DProf Public Works) is for high achieving professional practitioners who already have a substantial amount of outputs in the public domain which influence practice and contribute to knowledge (public works). These individuals will be considered by their peers to be innovators and opinion leaders. What is distinctive about  the DProf by Public Works offered by the IWBL is that it is open to all professional areas as the focus is defined by the candidate’s particular work context and area of activity and their own unique area of interest. This may be located within a profession or sector, or may be more individual in nature. The approach is inter-professional and cuts across disciplines (trans-disciplinary) even where candidates have strong roots in a particular profession or occupation. The public works can be in various forms from published works in the traditional sense to other embodied expressions of knowledge. Examples include the preparation of computer programmes, scholarly works, edited texts, specialist reports prepared for government departments and other public bodies, translations, collections of artefacts, videos, photographic records, musical scores, and diagrammatic representations. (Please refer to our case studies listed under the case studies tab)

This award is primarily concerned with the individual critiquing their own contributions and deriving further learning from the knowledge outcomes they have placed in the public domain. The value of this undertaking to the individual is the impact on future directions and outputs and to others it is a valuable insight into the processes and skills required to transform research into useful outputs that influence thinking, action and practice.

The time frame for this award is one year. As a candidate for this award you will undertake a 20 – 25,000 word critique of your public works and present it to a viva panel. With the successful completion of the examination you will achieve a doctorate and can be addressed with the title ‘Dr’. You will also be invited to join the Institute for Work Based Learning membership scheme as a Fellow of the Institute.

How is it studied?
You can enrol throughout the year at a time appropriate for you. The application process involves a detailed statement on which you receive written and oral guidance and the submission of your public works for review by a specialist in your area of influence and expertise. If the review is successful, an academic advisor is assigned to you at the start of your programme. They will advise you on structure and how to meet the doctoral criteria of this award, and are available to you during your period on the programme. An academic consultant who is a specialist in your area will also be nominated in consultation with you to engage with you on the specialist nature of your public works. You will also have resources such as handbooks and online materials to enhance your learning journey as well as access to seminars, workshops and lectures held at the campus.

What is distinctive about the DProf  by Public Works?
Candidates are mentored to develop an intense and individual critique of their works including positioning themselves and their works in the wider field.

• The DProf by Public Works acknowledges the contribution made to knowledge and practice of the doctoral level activities of innovators which have brought influential thinking and practice into the public domain. Through this programme doctoral academic credit can be gained in recognition of this achievement.  
• It is the professional equivalent to the PhD by published works. It has the same rigorous assessment methods and criteria but has a focus on the candidate’s quality of critique of outcomes which have emerged from their research outcomes of their professional practice. The focus of any DProf research, whether through the DProf programme or the DProf by Public Works, is situated within the professional working environment and places the candidate at the centre of the enquiry.
  

Content & modules

You can enrol throughout the year at a time appropriate for you. The application process involves a detailed statement on which you receive written and oral guidance and the submission of your public works for review by a specialist in your area of influence and expertise. If the review is successful, an academic advisor is assigned to you at the start of your programme. They will advise you on structure and how to meet the doctoral criteria of this award, and are available to you during your period on the programme. An academic consultant who is a specialist in your area will also be nominated in consultation with you to engage with you on the specialist nature of your public works. You will also have resources such as handbooks and online materials to enhance your learning journey as well as access to seminars, workshops and lectures held at the campus.

Delivery is through the advisor and consultant, the programme handbooks, the virtual learning environment and university learning resources. Candidates are invited to all research seminars and events which are also recorded and posted up on the VLE. A timetable of drafts is worked out between you and your advisor.  A viva will be arranged once there is notification of your intended submission date. The viva panel includes two external examiners and one internal.

Entry & applying

The Public Works are acceptable for review provided there is a permanent record of them; they are public and accessible; the work embodies a research and development process and influence on practice/knowledge can be evidenced.

In the context statement the candidate must demonstrate how they have  conceptualised, designed and implemented work that has generated new knowledge, applications or understanding at the forefront of the candidate’s professional field; the usefulness of the work to specific audiences; the creation and interpretation of new knowledge, through original research or other advanced scholarship, of a quality to satisfy peer review that has merited publication and placed them at the forefront of their profession as opinion leaders; their advanced research and development capability and advanced project management skills which have been applied to their professional field; their advanced conceptual understanding, often of an interdisciplinary nature, that enables the candidate to both critically evaluate current advanced professional knowledge in their area of study and evaluate their own methodologies and epistemologies and where appropriate, propose new approaches

Delivery is through the advisor and consultant, the programme handbooks, the virtual learning environment and university learning resources. Candidates are invited to all research seminars and events which are also recorded and posted up on the VLE. A timetable of drafts is worked out between you and your advisor.  A viva will be arranged once there is notification of your intended submission date. The viva panel includes two external examiners and one internal.

Previous experience of higher education is not a prerequisite.  However the public works have to be considered substantial and influential by the reviewer. Substantial may be one complex and impactful work or a series of works or a mixture of outputs that demonstrate research and development links between them. Part of the application process requires you to complete a grid of selected works and why you think they are substantial and the evidence to support your claim.

Find out more

For more information please contact Terri or Stephen on dpsadmissions@mdx.ac.uk

Downloadable application form, level descriptors and reference form

Fees & funding

The programme is one calendar year. Extending the time period will incur extra costs.

Fees for 2012/2013

Students for the DProf by Public Works enrol annually for the degree.  Many will be finished within the first year.  Those who have not submitted by the end of the first year are required to re-enrol in the following year and further fees will be incurred, with £3,000 payable per half year.

Institute for Work Based Learning DProf by Public Works Fee structure

£6000 per academic year for UK and International Students

Note:  There is an initial, non-refundable, application fee of £150 for each application.
This amount is deducted from the fees shown above if the application goes ahead.

When are the fee due?
The fees are due upon registration onto the course by credit or debit card on-line.

Careers & placements