Doctor of Professional Studies (DProf) by Public Works

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). 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. 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 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.