1.1         The University of Wolverhampton may award Higher Doctorates in recognition of a substantial portfolio of original research of high academic distinction as defined in the following Regulations for the award of such degrees.

1.2         Applications may be made for the following higher doctorates:

• Doctor of Arts (DArt)
• Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)
• Doctor of Design (DDes)
• Doctor of Engineering (DEng)
• Doctor of Letters (DLitt)
• Doctor of Laws (LL.D.)
• Doctor of Music (DMus)
• Doctor of Science (DSc)
• Doctor of Social Science (DSocSc)
• Doctor of Technology (DTech)

1.3         Applicants are required to state the higher doctorate for which they wish their work to be considered.

2.1         Higher Doctorates are awarded to individuals who have demonstrated a command over a field of study and who have made a significant original contribution to the advancement of knowledge or to the application of knowledge (or to both).

2.2         Higher Doctorates are awarded on the basis of a submission of a substantial portfolio of research-based work. The applicant must have published research outputs in the accepted media within their field of significant quality and number and be involved in peer reviews of their subject.

2.3         The work submitted must be of high distinction and must establish that the applicant is a leading authority in the field or fields of study concerned. Applicants must evidence a sustained and coherent contribution in their field over a number of years that is consistent with the applicant playing a leading role in their subject area. Applicants must demonstrate leadership in their field, the nature of which must be set out clearly in the applicant’s statement.

3.1         The following shall be eligible to make application for the Higher Doctorate degree:

a) Any member of the University’s staff who at the time of application have been employed by the University for not less than three years.

b) An honorary or visiting member of staff of the University of Wolverhampton who have served for not less than four years

c) Any alumnus of the University of Wolverhampton or the former Wolverhampton Polytechnic

d) A person who has carried out research at or in association with the University of Wolverhampton for a period of at least fifteen years, which has led to publications that will form a substantial component of the body of work presented in support of the application

3.2         Such applicants should be holders, of at least seven years’ standing, of a doctoral degree awarded by a UK University (or equivalent body), or of a qualification of equivalent standard.

4.1         The conferment process for Higher Doctorate awards is a thorough and therefore lengthy one. Students who wish to have their award conferred in a particular calendar year are therefore advised to make application at least nine months beforehand.

4.2         A student must make an initial application to the Dean of Research to submit for the degree.

4.3         An initial application must consist of one copy of each of the following, all of which must be produced and submitted electronically in PDF format:

a) A completed application form, the current version of which may be obtained from the University.

b) A curriculum vitae.

c) A list of published works. Each submitted publication should have the following symbols entered against it, as appropriate: R = refereed U = un-refereed S = sole author P = principal author J = joint author. The list of publications as a whole should be arranged in a logical sequence and grouped where appropriate.

d) A submission title.

e) A statement of approximately 1,000 words setting out the applicant’s view of the nature and significance of the work submitted. This detailed statement must summarise the case for support, bringing the separate strands of the work together into a coherent theme in the context of the subject and the conclusion must bring out the main points and make the case for the award.

f) A full statement of the extent of the applicant’s contribution to work submitted, involving joint authorship or other types of collaboration. The statement must be set out in such a way that it is absolutely clear what constitutes the applicant’s own original and significant contribution to the field.

g) A statement describing any previous submission of the works for a degree of this or any other University.

h) The names of two academic referees who shall not be members of the University. 

4.4         On submission of an initial application the Dean of Research, with advice from appropriate Faculty Research Committee (FRC), will consider whether the application is eligible of proceeding to examination.

4.5         Ineligible applicants will be informed if it is not possible to progress the application outlining the reason(s) why.

4.6         If the application is premature and is rejected, this shall not prevent the student from applying on a further occasion at a later stage. This would not normally be earlier than 2 years after the first application was rejected.

4.7         If any documents are missing to support the application then the applicant will be informed of what is required and given 60 working days in which to supply the outstanding documents. If documents are not received during this timeframe, then the application will be rejected and the applicant informed. 

5.1         Eligible applicants will be informed that their candidature has been approved and shall be invited to submit for examination three hard copies of the portfolio of published works upon which the application is based.

5.2         All material other than books must be secured in chronological order in one or more hard-backed folders, each containing a title and contents page. The contents of a submission must be in English unless specific permission to the contrary has been given by the University.

5.3         The applicant will also be required to pay the candidature fee.

5.4         The submission may take the form of books, contributions to journals, patent specifications, reports, specifications and designs, compositions, digital artefacts, research datasets and may also include other relevant evidence of original work:

a) Books: Those focused on the specialism(s) and research area(s) of the applicant; those, which have become standard undergraduate and postgraduate texts; those bodies of work edited by and/or contributed to by applicants.

b) Papers: While contributions to the full range of published material in a student's field may be submitted, the greatest weight is likely to be given to publications of substance appearing in learned journals (including electronic journals) and which are subjected to academic peer refereeing; conference papers, which ultimately appear in appropriate scholarly media, are acceptable.

c) Other Contributions: Patent specifications, reports, designs, compositions, digital artefacts and other relevant evidence of original work may be submitted as part of an applicant’s portfolio. Work yet to be published, provided that there is firm evidence of its having been accepted for publication (such as the copy of a proof or some other pre-printed stage) may be considered as part of a student's case, although a preponderance of work in press may convey the impression of insufficient research maturity.

5.5         A list of potential examiners may be included as part of the submission although it is at the discretion of the Higher Doctorate Conferment Panel as to whether any persons on that list are approached at any stage.

6.1         On receipt of a submission that proceeds to examination, the Dean of Research following approval by the University Research Committee (URC) will convene a Higher Doctorate Panel to examine the evidence.

6.2         The Panel will determine whether a prima facie case for proceeding to External examination has been established.

6.3         The panel will consist of the Dean of Research (or delegate, in case of a conflict of interest), a member of the University's Offices of the Vice Chancellor, at least two other members of the University whose expertise is relevant and at least one specialist in the field from outside the University.

6.4         The panel may take whatever advice it considers appropriate, including the use of external advisors. 

6.5         If satisfied that a prima facie case has been established, the Panel will nominate two external examiners.

6.6         Examiners will be selected according to the following criteria:

a) Examiners must be experienced in research in the specific area of the student’s submission and have experience as a specialist in the topic(s) to be examined;

b) At least one of the examiners must hold a higher doctorate, equivalent qualification, or a similar academic standing and recognition;

c) All examiners will be external and wholly independent of the University.

6.7         URC must approve any examination arrangements before any further action can be taken. When approval has been given, the full application and accompanying submission will be sent to the examiners for scrutiny.

6.8         If the Higher Doctorate Panel declares that a prima facie case is not established, the application will not be permitted to go forward for examination.

6.9         For applicants who fail to establish a prima facie case, debriefing advice will be available from a nominated member of the panel.

7.1         The University will send the submission to the two approved examiners each of whom shall make an independent report to the University.

7.2         The award of the degree shall be based wholly or to a substantial extent on original work of distinction carried out independently by the student.

7.3         There is no requirement under the University’s Regulations for students to undergo a viva voce examination.

7.4         Following receipt of the examiners’ reports, the panel will reconvene to consider the recommendations and proceed as follows:

a) If the examiners are unanimous, the panel will consider the reports and, if the recommendations are supportive of the award, ask the University Research Committee to ratify the award

b) In the event of a disagreement between the examiners, the panel may either appoint a third examiner or reject the submission.

7.5         In circumstances where an additional examiner is appointed, the panel may then accept a majority recommendation and proceed as in (a) above.

7.6         The recommendation of the panel and the examiners' reports will be put before URC who will decide whether a recommendation to confer the award will be made to Academic Board. The student will be advised of the decision of URC at this stage.

7.7         Upon recommendation of the panel that the award be conferred, the applicant must submit one copy of the portfolio on which the application is based in electronic format. The hard copy portfolios shall be returned to the applicant. 

7.8         The University shall retain the portfolio in the open access online repository, which is available for anyone to consult. A student is therefore advised to mark the portfolio as copyright.

7.9         In the case of applications that are unsuccessful, a nominated member of the panel shall inform students of the weaknesses, which are deemed to exist in the case made for the higher doctorate and advise them whether it is in their best interests to resubmit at some future date.

7.10       By the nature of higher doctoral submissions, unsuccessful students may be permitted to re-apply with a revised and updated application in not less than two years from the date of the initial application.

PDF Version of the Regulations for the award of Higher Doctorate to download