Doctoral Programme (PhD)
Doctorates are awarded for the creation and interpretation of knowledge, which extends the forefront of a discipline, usually through original research and critical thinking. Holders of doctorates will be able to conceptualise, design and implement projects for the generation of new knowledge and/or understanding.
Holders of doctorates will have the qualities needed for enterprise and employment requiring the ability to make informed judgements on complex issues in specialist fields, and innovation in tackling and solving problems.
There are a number of alternative routes. There is the traditional PhD by Thesis, PhD by Published Work (Routes 2 & 3) for researchers with an established track record and PhD by Practice (Route 3) designed for creative practitioners.
PhD by Thesis
- Full time students must submit within 36 months and part time students within 60 months. Conferment will take place within 48 and 72 months respectively.
- The text of the thesis should normally not exceed (excluding ancillary data such as footnotes, bibliographies, diagrams and references) 80,000 words.
- Where the submission is accompanied by material in other than written form the written component should normally be within the range of 30,000 - 40,000 words
PhD by Published Work (Route 1)
- Full time students must submit within 24 months and part time students within 48 months. Conferment will take place within 36 and 60 months respectively.
- The analytical commentary (thesis) which accompanies the submission should be within the range: 10,000 - 15,000 words
PhD by Published Work (Route 2)
- Full time students must submit within 6 months and part time students within 12 months. Conferment will take place within 18 and 24 months respectively.
- The analytical commentary (thesis) which accompanies the submission should be within the range: 10,000 -15,000 words
PhD by Practice (Route 3)
Designed for candidates who are practicing in a working research environment with the objective of producing outputs in a professional and/or studio context.
This route is suitable for established practitioners and recent postgraduates engaged in professional practice.
The submission is in two parts:
- A portfolio of work. The portfolio should contain work of a professional standard. The body of work would be what can be reasonably achieved within three years of full-time study or part-time equivalent.
- An analytical commentary (thesis). The analytical commentary provides the evidence for the contribution of the practice to the field (i.e. the level of intellectual engagement, context and originality) and it might be constituted in a number of different discursive forms. It will provide a critical reflection on the approaches, methods and theories deployed, an explanation of the technical procedures employed, and may discuss the works' aesthetic premises in its relevant historical, theoretical or critical contexts. It should normally be between 10-30,000 words in length.
Full time students must submit within 36 months and part time students within 48 months. Conferment will take place within 60 and 72 months respectively.
