Physiotherapy

Entry requirements

You will need a relevant Masters degree, or equivalent, and be currently registered with a relevant professional body. You must also have two years post-qualifying experience in a relevant senior role.

You will normally be required to attend an interview/Skype interview for acceptance, and acceptance is subject to research expertise in the department.

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 physiotherapy. 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. Within the School we offer guidance and supervision in a wide range of areas which include amongst others:

• Analysis of large scale surveys
• Approaches to pain management
• Health-related social movements
• Health services research
• How life events and conditions influence health
• The third sector and health care provision
• Physiotherapy education and practice
• 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 epidemiology and health inequalities
• 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.