Our Professional Doctorate (DProf) is designed for working professionals who want to explore a research question that connects directly to their own practice. It offers the opportunity to investigate real-world issues that shape your profession, helping you develop insights that can improve practice, influence decision-making and support meaningful change.
Professional challenges are complex, dynamic, and multi-faceted. The DProf is built to reflect that. We welcome professionals from a wide range of sectors - public, private, and third sector, and supports research that draws on multiple disciplines to address the issues that matter most in your field.
Areas of interest & supervision
Explore your special area of interest through our PhD programme study options. Our experienced supervisors support both PhD and Professional Doctorate (DProf) students, offering guidance across a wide range of research areas.
Practical, Multidisciplinary Research for Working Professionals
Part-time Study
A Professional Doctorate (DProf) programme of study is only offered on a part-time basis for working professionals. This way, you will not have any loss of income in during your doctoral studies and you will be perfectly placed to make a contrinbution to the body of professional knowledge in your field.
Structure
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.
Who's it for?
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.
United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
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).
Professional Doctorate (DProf)
- Qualification: Professional Doctorate (DProf)
- School: School of Education and Social Sciences
- Campus(es): Paisley
- Start date: October
- Admissions Deadline: August
- Duration: DProf: Minimum of 72 months part-time
- Fees: Tuition Fees for Research Degrees
Entry Requirements
DProf - direct application
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.
English Language Requirements
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
HOW TO APPLY
Applying for postgraduate research study at UWS has never been simpler.
I'm ready to apply
If you are ready to apply for the Professional Doctorate (DProf) then you can apply directly using our online application system:
Apply for Professional Doctorate
I need more information
In addition to contacting the Programme Leader (see below) you can also click the link below to find more information about everything you need to submit a successful application:
Applying for a Research Degree
CONTACT DETAILS
Contact: Dr Beth Cross
Email address: Beth.Cross@uws.ac.uk
School: Education and Social Sciences
Last updated: 13/03/2026