Doctor of Professional Studies (Transdisciplinary) by Portfolio

2026-27 Year of entry

The Doctor of Professional Studies (Transdisciplinary) by Portfolio programme focuses on leadership across a range of sectors such as (but not restricted to) arts and humanities, digital technologies and science.

Students
Code
004X913
Start
September 2026
Fees
£14,500 (UK and INT)
Location
Online
Course overview

Why undertake Doctor of Professional Studies (Transdisciplinary) by Portfolio at Middlesex University?

This exciting programme has been designed to stimulate new insights from a critique of your own works and achievements your field of expertise.  

In this professional doctorate the emphasis is on practice and your agency as a practitioner, as well as your responsibility, accountability, curiosity, creativity and mediating perspectives, the quality of which is needed for a complex world.  

The programme is unique in the UK for its transdisciplinary approach to thinking and practice, focussing on complexity and futures, and how these may be approached confidently.

Is the DProf (Transdisciplinary) by Portfolio for you? 

  • You will be a high achieving professional practitioner with a capacity for critical reflection, motivated by inherent curiosity
  • You will already have a substantial portfolio of outputs in the public domain that evidence influence on practice and ideas recognised by colleagues, teams, members of your individual sectors and beyond
  • You are looking for new forms of leadership in response to the increasing complexity of the local and global challenges facing us today
  • You want to push the boundaries of your own thinking and practice and are prepared to challenge your assumptions. 

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About your course

About the programme

The Doctor of Professional Studies (Transdisciplinary) by Portfolio recognises the impact of your professional achievements and contributions to knowledge and practice. This award focuses on critically reflecting on work you have already placed in the public domain and examining how it has influenced your field and the wider community. The programme can be completed in up to two years.

You’ll work closely with your supervisors in a supportive environment that encourages critical thinking and creative exploration. Your portfolio may include a range of outputs, such as scholarly publications, artistic work, policies, education programmes, inventions, performances, musical compositions or other forms of professional practice. You will demonstrate how these achievements have contributed to public thinking, professional practice, or innovation in your field.

As part of the programme, you will produce a 25,000 to 45,000 word critical commentary analysing your public works and their impact. This will be examined through a viva voce, and successful completion will lead to the award of Doctor of Professional Studies by Portfolio, allowing you to use the title Dr.

After selecting and organising your achievements for submission, you will prepare a critical and creative articulation of your contribution to professional practice.

Regular contact with your primary supervisor (Director of Studies) is essential for progress at the correct academic level and helps to ensure effective management of any problems which may arise.

Six months into the programme you will present, for review, a context statement and description of your approach to critiquing your achievements. This is intended to show how you are progressing and whether you have enough support. If progress is deemed satisfactory, you may continue to prepare your work for submission.

Once your supervisor is satisfied that your submission is likely to fulfil the doctorate requirements the work may be submitted for examination.

You will need to develop in levels of criticality to mature your critical commentary to doctoral level. It is essential for your progress that you attend the virtual cafes, where you will find invaluable peer support, contact with your supervisory team and raise any problems that may arise.

There are also viva presentation rehearsals where you can present your work or be an audience member. All sessions are recorded and readings to support the workshops uploaded onto the programmes learning site in case you miss the occasional one.

The degree is assessed through written submission, portfolio and viva (oral presentation).

The written critique of your professional achievements links to your portfolio, which will have been reviewed prior to you starting the programme. This supports the viva panel to focus on the quality of the critique.

Facilities

Facilities and support

Our Sheppard Library has over 1000 study areas and 600 computer spaces

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Entry requirements

Entry requirements

This programme is for individuals with substantial senior-level professional experience who have made a significant impact on their profession, practice and knowledge through their contributions and achievements, beyond traditional entry requirements. You must demonstrate proficiency in written and spoken English.

This is a competitive programme with limited places. The application process includes the following steps:  

  • An initial conversation with a member of the core team 
  • The preparation of your portfolio of achievements and a personal statement 
  • An independent review of your works to see if they meet our criteria 
  • An in-depth conversation with two other team members; leading to the submission of a completed formal application on the university admissions system. 

It is important that you have a conversation with the Admissions Tutor for this programme before applying: contact the DProf by Portfolio Admissions Tutor to request an appointment.  

The initial conversation will help you to decide whether you want to proceed to application. If you decide that you do want to proceed, the team will be able to guide you through the process. 

If you decide that you do not meet the full criteria for this doctoral route, for example you may not have enough achievements in the public domain or you want to carry out a piece of innovative research rather than a critical commentary on what you have already done, the team will be happy to discuss with you alternative programmes offered by the Centre for Transdisciplinary Futures or in other departments or faculties.

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

In the context statement you must demonstrate:

  • how you have conceptualised, designed and implemented work that has generated new knowledge, applications or understanding at the forefront of your 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 you at the forefront of your profession as opinion leaders
  • your advanced research and development capability and advanced project management skills which have been applied to your professional field
  • their advanced conceptual understanding, often of an interdisciplinary nature, that enables you to both critically evaluate current advanced professional knowledge in your area of study and evaluate your own methodologies and epistemologies and where appropriate, propose new approaches.

Delivery of this programme is through the advisor and consultant, the programme handbooks, the virtual learning environment and university learning resources. You 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 portfolios 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

Once you have read the application process, and would like to have further discussion about whether this programme would be suitable for you, please email the Programme Leader, Kate Maguire.

For more information, please email our team.

Fees and funding

Fees and funding

The fees below are for the 2026/27 academic year.

UK students1

Part-time students: £14,500 per year

International students2

Part-time students: £14,500 per year

The following study tools are included in your fees:

  • Free access to the resources, learning materials and software you need to succeed on your course;
  • Free laptop loans for up to 24 hours;
  • Free specialist software for your course;
  • Free printing for academic paperwork.

You may be eligible for one of our scholarships including:

  • The Alumni Postgraduate Award: a 20% fee reduction for UK/EU Middlesex alumni who studied eligible undergraduate courses;
  • The Chevening Scholarship: full course fees;
  • The European Academic Awards: £1,000 to £7,000 for students showing academic excellence;
  • Regional or International Merit Award: up to £2,000 towards course fees.

For international students, we also have a limited number of other awards specific to certain regions, and work in partnership with funding providers in your country to help support you financially with your study.

Find out more about our postgraduate scholarships.

Help from your employer

Your employer can contribute towards the cost of your postgraduate study as part of their staff development programme.

Work while you study

If you are not currently working, we can help you find work that fits around uni and your other commitments. We have hundreds of student jobs on campus that pay the London Living Wage and above.

Fees disclaimers

1. UK fees: The university reserves the right to increase postgraduate tuition fees in line with changes to legislation, regulation and any government guidance or decisions. The tuition fees for part-time UK study are subject to annual review and we reserve the right to increase the fees each academic year by no more than the level of inflation.

2. International fees: Tuition fees are subject to annual review and we reserve the right to increase the fees each academic year by no more than the level of inflation.

Any annual increase in tuition fees as provided for above will be notified to students at the earliest opportunity in advance of the academic year to which any applicable inflationary rise may apply.

Important information

We’ll carefully manage any future changes to courses, or the support and other services available to you, if these are necessary because of things like changes to government health and safety advice, or any changes to the law.

Any decisions will be taken in line with both external advice and the University’s Regulations which include information on this.

Our priority will always be to maintain academic standards and quality so that your learning outcomes are not affected by any adjustments that we may have to make.

At all times we’ll aim to keep you well informed of how we may need to respond to changing circumstances, and about support that we’ll provide to you.

Your next steps