About

A Professional Doctorate is a specialist qualification that is appropriate if you are in, or are aspiring to, a senior professional appointment in practice, education or management in health or social care. It demonstrates your ability to perform at the level of 'expert' within your area of specialisation.

The aim of the course is to provide a unified approach to theory and practice within a professional context, so your learning is structured to allow you to develop your skills both in the workplace and within the university environment.

Depending on your individual circumstances, your study can be undertaken over the course of between 4 and 7 years. During this time, you will prepare two portfolios which chronical your development of expert practice in your workplace. In tandem, you also study taught modules at the University of Essex which provide you with the expertise in qualitative, statistical and other research methods required for researching healthcare.

Your own interests, experiences, and needs determine a great deal about how your course is structured, and what areas you focus on. A key part of demonstrating your expertise in your specialist area is the development of a 40,000-word dissertation on a relevant topic. Within the School we offer guidance and supervision in a wide range of areas which include amongst others:

• Analysis of large scale surveys

• Clinical decision making

• Cognitive behavioural therapy

• Consumerism and consumption in health care

• Educational psychology

• Health-related social movements

• Health services research

• Interpretative policy analysis of health care

• The third sector and health care provision

• Political economy of health care

• Professional/clinical education and practice

• Qualitative methods

• Quantitative methodologies and analysis of large-scale datasets (panel and cohort studies)

• Service evaluation and development

• Social inequality and health

• Social organisation of health care

• Understanding and application of research in health settings

You will have regular one-to-one meetings with your supervisor to develop your research topics and plan, and to discuss progress on your research. A full list of research interests can be found on our staff pages.
At the end of your time with us, you will have a qualification which demonstrate you to be a true expert in your field.

Our expert staff

Our School of Health and Human Sciences has an excellent reputation for research and teaching.

Our educational provision meets professional regulatory requirements and achieves high standards. We do so by having multi-professional staff with both clinical and academic expertise; our staff include sociologists and social policy and management specialists as well as clinically qualified lecturers in adult and mental health nursing, oral health, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, pharmacy, speech and language therapy, social work and sports therapy.

A unique feature of our School is that many of our staff work with local National Health Service (NHS) organisations and other local agencies, which enhances our grasp of the contemporary links between academic research, the major issues of the day and practice.

We have at our heart a commitment to making a difference to local, national and international health, social care and voluntary services through education, research and knowledge transfer. Our staff operate an 'open door' policy so are available to discuss any concerns with you throughout the year.