As doctoral education continues to diversify, the distinction between the traditional PhD and the professional doctorate has become more pronounced — not only in form and focus but in the supervisory approaches each requires. While both lead to the award of a doctoral degree, they are underpinned by different epistemologies, candidate profiles, and intended outcomes. As supervisors, we must be attuned to these differences and prepared to adapt our practice accordingly.
The PhD, long established as the standard academic doctorate, is typically oriented towards the production of original knowledge within a disciplinary framework. It is often pursued by individuals aiming for academic or research-intensive careers, with an emphasis on theoretical rigour, independent inquiry, and contribution to scholarly discourse. Supervision in this context tends to prioritise research design, literature positioning, methodological depth, and the development of academic voice.
In contrast, professional doctorates — such as EdD, DBA, or DClinPsy — are explicitly practice-focused. They are designed for experienced professionals who wish to interrogate and transform their own fields of practice through critical engagement with research. The knowledge produced in these programmes is often contextually situated, problem-based, and intended for application as much as for dissemination. Candidates may be balancing full-time professional responsibilities with their studies, and their research may involve complex ethical, institutional, or organisational dynamics.
These distinctions have profound implications for supervision. For example, the framing of research questions in a professional doctorate may begin with a problem identified through practice rather than a gap in the academic literature. This requires us to support students in bridging the often significant gap between professional intuition and scholarly critique — helping them translate lived experience into researchable questions without diluting academic rigour.
Moreover, the writing conventions, assessment criteria, and thesis formats in professional doctorates may differ from the monograph-style PhD. Supervisors must guide candidates through these differences and, in some cases, navigate unfamiliar forms of evidence, such as reflective practice or workplace evaluations. A sensitivity to practice-based epistemologies is crucial — as is a willingness to learn alongside the student when their domain of expertise sits outside our own.
Professional doctorate candidates also often bring substantial professional authority into the supervisory relationship. This can shift traditional dynamics, requiring careful negotiation of roles and expectations. Supervisors may be asked to support projects that involve sensitive organisational data, external stakeholders, or action research methods that require iterative collaboration rather than linear progression. These complexities demand a high degree of reflexivity, boundary-setting, and, at times, advocacy on behalf of the student within institutional processes.
It is also important to recognise that students on professional doctorate programmes may not identify as “students” in the conventional sense. Their motivations, timelines, and measures of success can diverge markedly from those of full-time PhD candidates. Supervision, therefore, must be both academically robust and professionally relevant — attending not only to the thesis, but to the contexts in which knowledge will be applied.
“Supervision, therefore, must be both academically robust and professionally relevant — attending not only to the thesis, but to the contexts in which knowledge will be applied.”
As the sector moves towards recognising multiple forms of legitimate doctoral inquiry, we must ensure that our supervisory practices are equally pluralistic. This means valuing the distinctive contributions of both the PhD and the professional doctorate — not as hierarchical alternatives, but as parallel forms of advanced scholarship. It also means continuing to build a shared language and community of practice among supervisors, regardless of programme type, so that we can learn from the insights and challenges each pathway offers.
Supervising across these different models calls for flexibility, humility, and a deep understanding of purpose. As we expand the boundaries of what doctoral study can be, our supervision must evolve in tandem — grounded in scholarly integrity, but open to diverse forms of knowledge and modes of impact.
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