Final Projects Module

This Module follows your Learning Agreement approval. It helps you to become familiar with assessment criteria for final projects and examination procedures.

Doctoral Project

The undertaking and completion of a Doctoral Project, unlike a traditional research dissertation, can take many different forms, but must meet all the assessment criteria of a doctoral standard of work and be shown to be relevant and useful to the professional field of psychotherapy.

There are two possible sizes of Doctoral project: 360 credits and 240 credits.

If you have not applied for RAL 8 then you undertake a 360 credits project of 65,000 words or equivalent.

If you have gained a RAL 8 of 120 credits then you undertake a 240 credits project of 50,000 words or equivalent

The Final Doctoral Project must always contain or be accompanied by critical inquiry, commentary and reflection. However the focus and product(s) of the research inquiry can take a variety of forms. The following are a few examples:

• the establishment and evaluation of a psychotherapy or counselling agency/service.
• a video, film or CD ROM presentation of your professional contribution to the field.
• a written textbook.
• an illustrated manual.
• a practice based case study involving mutual evaluation of the therapeutic encounter.
• a training course design.
• a report on a consultancy exercise involving the application of psychotherapeutic theory in an organisational context.
• a series of articles in professional journals.

The Final Projects will be required to show that they are of Doctoral standard in terms of:

• distinctiveness of thought, knowledge and depth of reflection appropriate to this level of academic and professional ability.
• thorough, creative and appropriate use of a method/s of enquiry from the wide range of research approaches now available.
• evidencing a significant contribution to the fields of psychotherapy and counselling and/or evidencing that this piece of psychotherapy research has significantly influenced a related field.
• having been tested and evaluated for their usefulness within the field of psychotherapeutic or counselling practice.
• being able to stand up to ethical and professional scrutiny and challenge.

As a doctoral candidate on this Programme you will have your own Academic Adviser throughout the programme and while carrying out your final project you will have access to an Academic Consultant for subject specialism, whom you can nominate for approval by the Programme team.