Doctor of Education (Research)

This course is aimed at experienced educational professionals. It sets out to place you at the leading edge of your professional field.

Offered as a part-time distance-learning programme, the EdD is for educational professionals looking to make substantial and original contributions to the development of educational knowledge in a broad range of settings.

It meets the need for the highest levels of professional development and training of educators, and those concerned with educational policy and administration. The prime focus is the interaction between the multi-dimensional practices of education and scholarship.

You'll engage with practitioners with knowledge, awareness and understanding of the philosophical, organisational, political, social, managerial, interpersonal, and technical dimensions of schools and other educational institutions.

Exploration of the connection between theory and practice begins with a series of taught units that will develop your capability to perceive critical issues facing educators and policymakers through the lens of contemporary and historical research and philosophy. This broad foundation will allow you to refine your specific interests as you work towards the supervised research thesis that will make an original contribution to your field.

You can start this programme in January or June.
You will start this programme with one of the advertised units, usually either during our on-campus Summer School or our Winter School, with units being offered on a directed learning (online) basis.

Programme content
Learning

• Doctoral skills online

• Research project

• Seminars

• Supervisory team

Taught content
You are required to complete four taught units (two compulsory and two optional), before moving onto the Research Enquiry (thesis) stage. You must obtain at least two Merit grades or higher from these units to progress.

Normally, students complete all units through a mix of the on-campus Summer School intensive teaching weeks and the Winter School, currently being offered on a directed learning (online) basis.

You must complete this stage of the programme within five years, if studying part-time.

Core units:

• Educational Research: philosophy and practice

• Educational Policy: theory and practice

Optional units:

• Educational management, leadership and administration

• International education: philosophy and practice

• Language, culture and education

• Learning pedagogy and diversity

• Pilot Research Enquiry*

• Reading paper *

*If your background and experience is appropriate, and at the discretion of the Director of Studies, your fourth unit may be a reading paper or a pilot research enquiry. In this unit you would work under the supervision of an individual tutor, on a previously agreed education-related topic.

Research content
Units can be undertaken through our Intensive Teaching Weeks and via directed learning. Each unit is led by a specialist tutor and is made up of:

• Tutored time - approximately 40 hours involving you in lectures, group work and individual or paired tasks.

• Independent study - 160 hours in which you will research issues raised in tutored time and plan, research and write the Unit Assignment. You are assigned an individual tutor to support you in the process of writing your assignment.

In the Thesis phase, a supervisor and co-supervisor will be responsible for giving you advice and support, and monitoring your progress.

We encourage you to take your first unit at our Intensive Teaching Weeks. These are on-campus events that occur at specific times of the year in the form of Summer School.

The Summer School normally runs for two weeks from late June or the beginning of July. A different unit is offered each week. Two or three units are also usually offered in January.

Please check the University of Bath website for the most recently published course detail.

• Essay
• Thesis
• Viva Voce

Assessment description
Units will normally be assessed through one assignment of 8,000 words.

Your Thesis will be assessed through a viva voce examination at the University by a member of staff (not your supervisor) and by an external examiner specifically appointed to examine your thesis. The Thesis must provide evidence of originality of mind and critical judgement about your chosen aspect of education, and must contain material which is worthy of publication.

We expect our doctoral students to undertake 5 days skills training per year, if studying part-time.

There are a range of workshops and courses available from our DoctoralSkills catalogue which can help you develop skills, and are mapped against the UK national Researcher Development Framework. Other opportunities for skills training may come from employment-related training or external conference or workshop attendance.