Educational Research - Higher Education (thesis and coursework) PhD

Course Overview

This part-time programme was developed to meet the needs of experienced professionals in the areas of higher and further education. The aim is to provide an opportunity for you to become an autonomous researcher and gain deeper and more critical insight into your own and others’ professional practices and concerns.

The four year course is structured, supported and assessed, through modules involving directed study and residential teaching. The course is organised around a series of residentials which enable participants to meet, socialise, and participate in seminars and lectures. You will focus on your final research thesis from the third year onwards.

The PhD in Educational Research - Higher Education has been designed for those currently working in higher education who wish to advance their career and increase their research skills. It is a well-established and successful route to a PhD, having been delivered successfully for over 20 years.

This is a part-time structured programme that is undertaken through directed distance study and residential-based learning over 4 years. Participants focus on their final research thesis from the third year onwards.

Who is this programme for?

To be accepted onto the programme you must have a current role in a higher education context. This role is very broadly defined - for example teaching, research, professional services; leadership and management, educational/academic development. Please also check that you meet the entry requirements.

You will also enjoy this programme if you want to be involved in residentials at Lancaster four times a year, meeting and discussing research issues in person with other programme participants and with the Department’s specialists in higher education. Departmental research events are frequently timed to coincide with these residentials and so you will more easily be able to attend these in person.

Current programme participants and alumni are from a range of higher contexts and roles from all the world’s continents. Some participants come from organisations which are not themselves higher education institutions but they have professional roles which support such institutions or do work which is post-school. Examples include educational work for zoos, the British Council and private bodies which deliver higher education in very specific areas of study.

You will find that the participants’ mix of backgrounds, experiences and perspectives adds to your own understanding of the sector and gives you a rich resource of ideas for your own research.

Course aims

The aim of the programme is to provide an opportunity for higher education professionals to become autonomous researchers and to gain deeper and more critical insight into their own and others' professional practices and concerns.

The programme's objectives are to enable you to:

• design research projects, and collect and analyse appropriate data;
• make an original contribution to knowledge in your chosen area/s;
• produce written work suitable for publication in academic journals;
• engage others with the outcomes of your research in order to maximise its impact.