Doctoral opportunities in education

The School of Education offers a number of different opportunities for pursuing doctoral research.

The Arts Tower with Western Bank Library in front of it.

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The Sheffield EdD

The Sheffield EdD is a vibrant part-time doctoral programme which attracts students from all over the world.

We are proud that the programme has now been running for more than 20 years and is continuing to grow in strength and popularity.

EdD - The Sheffield EdD EdD

Postgraduate taught

September 2025 start
2 years 3 years 4 years Part-time

This course will help you develop your own high standards of research that can be applied to a range of professional and managerial careers. You can study from anywhere at any time and share experiences with fellow students during the study weekends in Sheffield.

Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD)

Our research

The research taking place within the education discipline in the School of Education falls within one of our seven research clusters.

Course structure

The Code of Practice for Research Degree Programmes contains a wide range of information required by both students and their academic departments, from the point of registration onto a higher degree by research, to the point of award, including time scales allowed for the completion of a PhD.

However, a benchmark for this information is:

Full-time PhD

Three years (normal)
Four years (maximum)

Part-time PhD

Six years (normal)
Eight years (maximum)

Training

All PhD students within the Faculty of Social Sciences have access to world-class training alongside your doctoral study. The training you take can be tailored to your individual needs to ensure you have the right skills you need to develop your research.

This training programme is designed to exceed current UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) training and development guidelines and gives all our social science PhD students access to ESRC-funded White Rose Doctoral Training Partnership regardless of your source of funding.

Practice-based PhD

Find out more about our practice based PhD programme.

How to apply

Details on how to apply, including our entry requirements and the requirements of supporting materials.

How to apply for doctoral study

Doctor of Educational and Child Psychology (DEdCPsy)

Educational psychology is an ever-changing profession. This course aims for qualifying educational psychologists to possess all of the skills and knowledge to provide psychological services of the very highest quality.

Educational and Child Psychology Doctor of

Postgraduate taught

September 2025 start
3 years Full-time

This professional training course will give you the skills, competencies and HCPC registration required to practise as an educational psychologist. We teach you the theory and support your practice, so you’ll be well prepared for your future career.

Funding available

Studying for a doctorate

This is an exciting time because you are about to embark on your own research project, in an area that interests you. Producing a PhD thesis can be grouped into three phases.

Phase one

This phase involves becoming clearer about your title and research topic. You will refine and focus your research question.

You will get into a working routine and sorting out your personal time management, getting clear about your methodology and methods, and making plans for data collection.

You will also start doing some early writing and reading and forming a working relationship and a pattern with your supervisor, including a system for record-keeping.

Phase two

Phase two involves data collection, early data analysis, and critical reading and writing around the literature.

Phase three

The final phase includes finishing your data analysis and presenting at conferences when you're ready.

You will write concluding chapters, the discussion and the implications and completing the first draft for your supervisor to feedback on. You will also start to develop oral presentation skills, ready for your viva.

Your application

Our guidance details how to apply for a research or EdD degree with us.