Programme
Access to Doctorate
Foundation Pathway — One Year — £2,800 total
The Access to Doctorate programme is a structured, one-year preparatory pathway for professionals who are interested in doctoral study but want to build their academic confidence, research skills, and proposal quality before applying to a full programme.
Part-time, designed to fit around a professional schedule
Total fee. Two instalments available.
Successful completion may lead to entry exemptions on Brenkley Doctoral College doctoral programmes
Who It's For
Building Your Foundation
The Access to Doctorate programme is for professionals who know they want to pursue doctoral study but are aware of specific gaps in their academic preparation. Perhaps you completed your undergraduate degree many years ago and want to refresh your academic writing and critical thinking. Perhaps you have no postgraduate qualification and want to demonstrate research capability before applying to a DBA or EdD. Perhaps you have a research idea but it is not yet clearly formulated.
This programme bridges that gap. It is not a lesser substitute for doctoral study — it is a deliberate investment in your preparedness for it.
- Professionals without a recent Master's degree
- Candidates wanting to test doctoral readiness before committing
- Professionals whose research idea needs development
- Career changers moving into a new research domain
- Professionals returning to academic study after a long break
What You Will Develop
Outcomes
Academic Reading and Critical Thinking
Systematic approaches to reading academic literature, evaluating evidence quality, and developing critical analytical skills appropriate for doctoral-level scholarship.
Academic Writing
The conventions of academic writing — argumentation, referencing, structure, and the discipline of clear scholarly prose. Practice assignments with detailed feedback.
Research Thinking
Introduction to research paradigms, basic research design, and the difference between research questions and management problems. Foundation for formal methods training in a doctoral programme.
Doctoral Research Proposal
A completed, supervisor-reviewed draft doctoral research proposal, ready for submission as part of a formal doctoral application.
Programme Content
What You Will Cover
Term 1: Foundations of Scholarly Inquiry
- Introduction to academic reading and critical analysis
- Academic writing: conventions and practice
- What is a research question?
- Overview of research paradigms
- Foundations of literature searching and management
Term 2: Developing Your Research Idea
- Identifying and refining a research question
- Introduction to qualitative and quantitative approaches
- Research ethics overview
- Practitioner-research positionality
- Writing the doctoral research proposal
Term 3: Proposal Refinement and Application Preparation
- Proposal workshop — peer review and feedback
- Proposal finalisation with academic mentor feedback
- Doctoral application guidance
- Interview preparation
- Programme completion and certificate
Academic Mentoring
Throughout the programme, you have access to an academic mentor — a Brenkley Doctoral College faculty member who provides guidance on your research idea and academic writing. Three formal mentor meetings are included, with email support between sessions.
Begin your doctoral journey
The Access to Doctorate programme is the right first step if you are not quite ready for a full doctorate but know that is where you are heading. Invest one year in building your foundation — and enter your doctoral programme with confidence.