Text only

Programmes of Study

Back to Homepage | Undergraduate | Graduate | Postgraduate | Erasmus Information

Postgraduate - Research Degrees

Courses Leaflet (pdf)

Three research degrees are available - Master of Philosophy (MPhil); Doctor of Philosophy (PhD); Doctor of Education (EdD).

• Master of Philosophy (MPhil)

  For this award you submit a thesis of up to 70,000 words in length, based on independent research, which makes a contribution to knowledge and gives evidence of originality.

• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

  For this award you submit a thesis of up to 100,000 words, based on independent research, which makes a distinct contribution to knowledge and provides evidence of originality as shown by the exercise of independent critical powers.

• Doctor of Education (EdD) - Not recruiting 2012/13

For this award you must successfully complete five assessed courses, each worth 45 credit points at doctoral level, prior to completing a thesis of around 60,000 words based on your independent research. Currently the courses are:

• Education, Professionalism & Research
• Issues in Evaluating Research
• Research, Policy & Practice
• Institutional Change
• Research Proposal

Each course is assessed through an assignment of 8,000 words which might later form the basis for a conference paper of journal article.

Resources provided by the Graduate School

Admission to MPhil, PhD & EdD

MPhil & PhD require a first or upper second class Honours degree or a postgraduate Masters degree. EdD requires a postgraduate Masters degree and a minimum of 4 years of relevant professional experience.

Which one is Best For You?

If you are someone who has already decided on a specific research topic and are happy to work independently, with help from your supervisors, the MPhil or PhD may be the better choice.

The EdD offers an attractive alternative if you want to do some research but are not yet sure what your research topic will be.  The five courses on research and professional issues, which make up the first part of the EdD, provide a solid basis for identifying a topic for your subsequent thesis.  Equally, if you are drawn to the idea of working as part of a cohort of fellow professionals during the assessed courses and having shorter term targets, the EdD is ideal.  Or, it may be that your first and second degrees are in Education and you feel that the EdD is the obvious award to progress towards.  An MRes award is available if you successfully complete four of the courses and decide at that point you do not wish to complete the EdD.

Duration

MPhil: 24 months full-time/ 42 months part-time. PhD and EdD: 36 months full-time/60 months part-time. Currently, the EdD is only offered on a part-time basis.

Teaching & Learning

For the thesis work on the EdD, MPhil and PhD, you will have individually arranged meetings with your supervisors, normally lasting 1 to 2 hours. The EdD courses involve a considerable amount of independent work. Each of the five EdD courses has a small number of on-campus days arranged to coincide with school holidays or at week-ends.

Research Proposal

With the MPhil and PhD, the first step is to submit a research proposal of 3-4 pages in which you:

1. identify a specific topic, explaining its importance & clarifying the main concepts
2. show outline knowledge of the main writings about the topic
3. identify a practicable research question
4. indicate how you think this research question might be answered.

Research Topics

Currently staff in the School are interested in supervising research on aspects of the following areas:

Cost (2010-2011)

Dates & Delivery

Programmes start either on 1 October or 1 February each year. The EdD only starts on these dates if there is a viable cohort.

Contact Details

Programme Director: Laura Colucci-Gray
Tel: +44 (0) 1224 274963
Email: l.t.gray@abdn.ac.uk