Doctoral Degrees
What are Doctoral Degrees and What is the Distinction Between the PhD and the DEd?
Doctoral degrees at the University of Melbourne seek to develop graduates who demonstrate academic leadership, increasing independence, creativity and innovation in their research work.
In addition, professional doctoral studies, such as Doctor of Education , provide advanced training designed to enhance professional knowledge in a specialist area, and encourage the acquisition of a wide range of advanced and transferable skills.
The University expects its doctoral graduates to have the following qualities and skills:
- an advanced ability to initiate research and to formulate viable research questions;
- a demonstrated capacity to design, conduct and report sustained and original research;
- the capacity to contextualise research within an international corpus of specialist knowledge;
- an advanced ability to evaluate and synthesize research-based and scholarly literature;
- an advanced understanding of key disciplinary and multi-disciplinary norms and perspectives relevant to the field;
- highly developed problem-solving abilities and flexibility of approach;
- the ability to analyse critically within and across a changing disciplinary environment;
- the capacity to disseminate the results of research and scholarship by oral and written communication to a variety of audiences;
- a capacity to cooperate with and respect the contributions of fellow researchers and scholars;
- a profound respect for truth and intellectual integrity, and for the ethics of research and scholarship;
- an advanced facility in the management of information, including the application of computer systems and software where appropriate to the student's field of study;
- an understanding of the relevance and value of their research to national and international communities of scholars and collaborators;
- an awareness where appropriate of issues related to intellectual property management and the commercialisation of innovation; and
- an ability to formulate applications to relevant agencies, such as funding bodies and ethics committees.
The degree of Doctor of Philosophy signifies that the holder has undertaken a substantial piece of original research, which has been conducted and reported, in a thesis, consisting normally of 80 000 words, and not exceeding 100 000 words by the holder under proper academic supervision and in a research environment for a prescribed period. The same can be signified of the holder of a Doctor of Education, except that the thesis would total 55 000 words, and is complemented by coursework relevant to the thesis research topic, totalling another 24 000 words. A Doctor of Education with smaller thesis (30 000 words) and more coursework is also available.
In scope, the thesis for Doctoral level differs from a research Masters thesis chiefly by its deeper and more comprehensive treatment of its subject, and is normally written in English.
The thesis demonstrates authority in the candidate's field and shows evidence of command of knowledge in relevant fields.
It shows that the candidate has a thorough grasp of the appropriate methodological techniques and an awareness of their limitations.
It makes a distinct contribution to knowledge.
Its contribution to knowledge rests on originality of approach and/or interpretation of the findings and, in some cases, the discovery of new facts.
It demonstrates an ability to communicate research findings effectively in the professional arena and in an international context.
The PhD is a careful, rigorous and sustained piece of work demonstrating that a research “apprenticeship” is complete and the holder is admitted to the community of scholars in the discipline.
By contrast, the DEd, which is also a careful, rigorous and sustained piece of work, demonstrates how an issue, problem, or experience that arises in the work environment of the holder of the degree, has been subject to research and scholarship that transforms that issue, problem or experience, and effectively enhances professional practice.
If you are interested in applying for a Doctoral degree with the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, please first complete the Expression of Interest form.
Courses
- Doctor of Education
- Doctor of Educational Psychology
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Master of Educational Psychology/PhD
Don't know which qualification level is for you? Take a look at our explanation.