The Professional Doctorates Survey, which was run jointly by UKCGE and University Alliance, has now closed. The survey sought to understand in more detail what is happening in the sector regarding Professional Doctorates and will inform wider research undertaken to understand the perspectives of institutions, funders, employers and the candidates themselves.
It also sought to understand the different professional doctoral programmes offered, their classification as either Research or Taught Doctorates and the longer-term institutional strategies for professional doctorate provision.
We can reveal some initial findings ahead of the full survey report, which will be published in autumn 2025.
We are pleased to announce that the survey gained 73 responses — a 46% response rate across UK and Ireland. This provides us with a substantial picture of the professional doctorates landscape as it now stands.
The results also show that 77% of the institutions surveyed offer research professional doctorates, while only 18% offer taught professional doctorates – a clear indication that most of the institutions consider the professional doctorate to be a research degree.
Meanwhile, 45% said that enrolments have increased and only 26% said they have decreased over the last five years, which means that the professional doctorate continues to be attractive. 52% said they are planning to increase the number of research professional doctorate programmes in the future.
Finally, 33% respondents said that professional doctorates have improved the rate of participation amongst under-represented groups. This indicates that they are a useful tool for increasing overall engagement in doctoral research.
