The Doctor of Professional Studies (DocProfSt) is a doctoral course of supervised research and research tasks designed for professional practitioners, comprising:
• Six (6) Professional Research Tasks that are submitted for scholarly peer review, and that shall culminate in the production of a portfolio of written work;
• A Confirmation of Candidature process that encompasses the production of a written research proposal and an oral presentation of that proposal; and
• A Thesis that is based on a substantial investigation into a selected aspect of professional practice.
The course is governed by the C ourse Rules for the Degree of Doctor of Professional Studies. These rules provide details pertaining to all aspects of admission, progression, submission and examination.
Course Structure
The course will normally be undertaken by candidates through full-time study over 3-4 full-time years or part-time study over 6-8 years.
Six (6) Professional Research Tasks will be completed over the first 1.5 years (full-time equivalent). Tasks focus on the following professional research topics: Applied Research, Transdisciplinary Research, Research Scenarios, The Evaluative Framework, Social Research Methods, Ethics in Applied Research. A portfolio of written work will be produced (notional length for each task of 5,000words; 30,000words in total).
The Confirmation of Candidature is undertaken upon the satisfactory completion of all Professional Research Tasks. The Confirmation of Candidature (CoC) process encompasses the production of written research proposal that is submitted for peer review and an oral presentation.
Thesis: A candidate shall prepare under supervision a thesis based on the research proposal that has been approved via the Confirmation of Candidature process. The thesis shall constitute a substantial investigation into a selected aspect of professional practice (with a notional length of 60,000words minimum). The thesis is submitted for external examination as per course rules for the Doctor of Professional Studies and the procedures for submission of theses for Research Higher Degrees.