Nursing

Entry requirements

Our Professional Doctorates are only open to UK applicants(except for the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology).

• You need to be registered with a UK regulatory body (where appropriate)
• You should also be currently employed in management, practice or education, or in a senior position in a health or social care organisation, and possess a Masters qualification (or equivalent)
• Employment in a senior position within a health or social care organisation

To make a full application, you will need to:
• complete the University's online application form
• provide two academic references
• provide academic transcripts/certificates
• provide a language certificate (if relevant)
• provide a 500 word personal statement
• attach a 300-word description of:
• your clinical practice (for clinical programmes)
• Your managerial responsibilities (for management programmes)

Months of entry

October

Course content

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 undertake significant personal development and research within your specialist area of practice.

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 academic environment.

Depending on your individual circumstances, your study can be undertaken over 5 years (with an additional period of completion of up to 1 year, if required). During this time, you will prepare two extended essays which chronical your personal development over the programme of study. 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.

At the end of the programme you will have prepared a 40,000 word research study, this research will make an original contribution to own area of practice.

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.

Fees and funding

There are a wide range of funding options for postgraduate study, including scholarships, bursaries and alumni discounts. You can check your eligibility at https://www.essex.ac.uk/postgraduate/research/fees-and-funding.