Research course

Doctor of Social and Public Policy

Institution
Cardiff University · Cardiff School of Social Sciences
Qualifications
SPPD

Entry requirements

You must possess a good first degree and usually have completed a master’s degree. You should also have two or more years’ professional experience in a field appropriate to your chosen pathway.

Months of entry

Anytime

Course content

The professional doctorate is a part-time doctoral research degree. It is fully equivalent to the PhD, but substantially different from it in that it is strongly professionally oriented, focussing on ‘applied’ rather than ‘pure’ research.

While the PhD generally prepares candidates for a research-based career, the professional doctorate is a more in-serviceorientated degree, addressing the career needs of practising professionals, particularly those in or who aspire to senior positions within their professions. The linkages between research-based knowledge and its application in a wide range of professional settings are central to this doctorate.

We offer an integrated professional doctorate scheme within which education, health, social work and social policy professionals engage together in integrated learning for some of the taught modules. This unique inter-professional learning allows you to reflect on what is shared across professional boundaries and what is distinctive to their own occupational traditions.

Above all, a professional doctorate is an opportunity to examine contemporary leading theories and research evidence, and to apply these within the professional context.

The SPPD taught modules are designed to respond to the developmental needs and interests of those employed within UK regional government and local authorities, as well as research institutions (both statutory and independent) with a professional interest in social and public policy. The modules prepare students to make informed judgements on complex issues such as the successful construction and operation of ‘multi-level’ and ‘inclusive’ governance and its implications for policy-making; negotiating the requirements of equal opportunities legislation; and administration responsibilities in public policy settings. The modules draw on a range of theoretical perspectives and explore empirical studies that relate to the public, private and voluntary sectors.

The other distinctive pathways within the professional doctorate scheme are:

Qualification, course duration and attendance options

  • SPPD
    part time
    60-84 months
    • Campus-based learningis available for this qualification

Course contact details

Name
Administrative Support
Email
graduateoffice@cardiff.ac.uk
Phone
+44 029 2087 0855