Course summary
A PhD is generally considered the highest academic degree you can achieve and is an internationally recognised qualification.
If you have an existing portfolio of published work that addresses a central research question, you could fast-track to a PhD through a PhD by Published or Creative Work. This will progress your academic career and add credibility in applications for research funding.
This type of research degree is awarded if you have critically investigated an approved topic and demonstrated an understanding of research methods appropriate to the chosen field.
A submission for PhD by Published or Creative Work may comprise of:
- Academic papers
- Chapters
- Monographs
- Scholarly editions of texts
- Creative practice
- Artefacts
- Curatorial production.
All work should have been published in the last ten years, be traceable in publicly available databases such as catalogues, and must be accessible to scholars or other interested persons. The work submitted must have been subjected to peer review by the relevant academic community.
There's no defined number of publications but you need to ensure that the range of publications demonstrates that your work forms a coherent and significant contribution to knowledge. This should be of an acceptable national or international standing. For a substantial proportion of all the publications submitted, you must be the sole or senior author.
If your application is successful, you'll be assigned one or more supervisors. They'll advise you on which of your publications should form your final submission and how you should write your commentary. The commentary (usually between 10,000 and 20,000 words) describes the aims of the research you have undertaken to produce your publications, incorporates a critical discussion of the impact of your work, and will be examined through an oral defence.