Hi Bob,
> Since
> incorporation to University status the awarding authority passed to
> the
> new universities themselves and much has been done in recent years to
> increase the rigour and quality of standards to support research
> degree
> study, including training for supervisors and the provision of taught
> modules to support the training needs analysis of candidates in
> both new
> and old universities alike.
One could argue (and I will) that the reason that 'much has been
done' is because so many new universities started taking doctoral
students with a) no or few qualified supervisors, and b) no adequate
research training provision. I'm sure we have all met students who
had no methods training whatsoever in the early years of doctoral
studies in design. This is still the case in some subject areas
where the PhD is regarded as a personal journey, and I still meet
people (thankfully fewer than there used to be) who advocate this
position.
The CNAA wasn't all bad, and it did provide a national standard for
degrees. It seems to me a pity that more universities did not stick
to the original principles instead of trying to re-invent the PhD.
I know also that just about every new university will have
implemented training for supervisors. The first training that a PhD
supervisor should have is to hold a PhD themselves. No amount of
supervisor training can compensate for this. I am amused that my
colleagues in traditional academic areas seem incredulous that anyone
without a basic training through a PhD could possibly be allowed to
supervise! We will get to that position in design one of these days,
but it is going to take a lot of years to graduate sufficient good
doctors who then get the necessary co-supervision experience. I will
certainly have retired or gone to that Valhalla for crusty old
researchers...
> The Centre for Design Research in the School of Design at
> Northumbria is
> now in the advanced stages of preparing for validation a Professional
> Doctorate in Design Practice to complement its existing doctoral award
> of PhD across new and emergent design disciplines. This represents
> another exciting development in study to support the production of
> knowledge about and through design practice. It follows research
> springing from earlier registrations with design practice elements to
> their process of enquiry.
Having thought about professional doctorates for a while now, and not
been involved with them at all (apart from examining a DEd which
seemed to me indistinguishable from a good PhD) it is interesting to
see them springing up in various places. Here at MDX we have a
validated 'shell' called, perhaps confusingly, the DProf into which
content is poured by the various schools. These are much larger
numbers than the PhD programmes, currently several hundred I believe.
I was wondering what your rationale is for a professional doctorate
and how that might differ from a PhD?
David
_______________________________________________
David Durling PhD FDRS | Professor of Design
School of Arts & Education, Middlesex University
Cat Hill, Barnet, Hertfordshire, EN4 8HT, UK
tel: 020 8411 5108 | international: + 44 20 8411 5108
email: [log in to unmask] | [log in to unmask]
web: http://www.dartevents.net http://www.durling.co.uk
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