Most students wishing to work at doctoral level in education will have already been working in the education sector for a number of years, as teachers, administrators, advisers, inspectors, etc. For some, the established PhD route of individual, in-depth study of one specialised topic is the most appropriate approach to research. For many others, however, there is a need for a new approach which provides a broad-based knowledge of a number of aspects of education together with the opportunity to research a specific issue of professional concern. The EdD programme provides for those needs by combining taught units with an individually supervised thesis.