Program Overview

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Clinical Doctorates

Overview

Our Clinical Doctorate is the only one of its kind in Scotland, tailored to the needs of nurses, midwives and allied health professionals – UK wide and internationally. The course is practice-focused and has been designed to prepare you for leadership roles in the healthcare sector.

Key Facts

• Award: Doctorate
• Start date: September 2025
• Duration: Doctorate full-time: 36 months, Doctorate part-time: 48 to 96 months
• Mode of study: full time, part time
• Delivery: on campus

Top Reasons to Study with Us

• This course is unique in Scotland for its clinical focus – work full-time, study part-time at Doctorate level
• 100% of our Allied Health Professions and Nursing research environment classed as world leading or internationally excellent (REF 2021)
• Learn from a team of world-leading academics and health professionals

Course Objectives

Our Clinical Doctorate course aims to develop you as a clinically focussed senior Nurse, Midwife or Allied Health Professional and put you at the cutting edge of clinical research and practice in your field. Working autonomously, you’ll be able to design and execute research that deals with problems and issues in practice, as well as applying integrated approaches to the evaluation of new and complex ideas and information.

Entry Requirements

Academic Requirements

• Candidates should normally hold a Masters degree and/or a good Honours degree or equivalent from a university or college recognised by the University of Stirling.
• UK candidates should hold an appropriate nursing, midwifery or allied health professional qualification and registration.
• International candidates should hold an appropriate nursing, midwifery or allied health professional qualification and be able to provide evidence of the governance of their professional standards and professional registration (where it exists).
• Candidates should normally have at least five years post-registration/qualification experience.
• Selection follows consideration of written application and statement.

International Entry Requirements

View the entry requirements for your country.

English Language Requirements

If English is not your first language you must have one of the following qualifications as evidence of your English language skills:

• IELTS Academic or UKVI 6.5 with a minimum of 6.0 in each sub-skill.
• Pearson Test of English (Academic) 62 overall with 60 in each sub-skill.
• IBT TOEFL 80 overall with 18 in reading, 23 in writing, 19 in listening and 21 in speaking.

Course Details

Aim for the top of your profession with our unique Clinical Doctorate course.

The course consists of three taught modules, an expert practice module and an empirical thesis. Taught components are clustered into two three-day sessions over the first three semesters, with each taught module studied over one semester.

Modules

• The module information below provides an example of the types of course module you may study. The details listed are for the academic year that starts in September 2025. Modules and start dates are regularly reviewed and may be subject to change in future years.

Teaching

Throughout your studies, you can expect easy access to staff through regular face-to-face contact, video conferencing, email and phone. You’ll benefit from tutorial time in preparation for each assignment, and detailed feedback afterward. Our online learning environment, Canvas, is also available to you via the University portal, and each taught module is supported by a bespoke set of web pages where information, teaching materials and learning resources are uploaded by the module coordinator. Keynote contributions are also made to the Clinical Doctorate course by UK and international academics.

You can study this course full-time over three years or, more commonly, over four to eight years on a part-time basis. The period of study will also vary depending on whether you study for a Doctorate, Masters Degree or Postgraduate Diploma:

• Full-time | Doctorate | 4-6 years
  | Masters | 2-3 years
  | Diploma | 1-2 years
• Part-time | Doctorate | 4-8 years
  | Masters | 3-6 years
  | Diploma | 1.5-4 years

Assessment

The main method of assessment for each module is coursework, with one practice-based examination. You’ll have to successfully complete all taught modules before progressing to the research stage of the course.

Classroom Hours

Each module consists of two three-day blocks and six weeks of independent study.

Course Director

• Dr Kathleen Stoddart

Key Staff

The core Doctorate team includes:

• Dr Kathleen Stoddart
• Dr Anne Taylor
• Dr Carina Hibberd

Far-reaching clinical academic expertise feeds into the course and into student supervision. Keynote contributions are made to the clinical doctorate programme by UK and International academics.

Fees and Funding

Fees and Costs

University of Stirling alumni will automatically be awarded a fee waiver for the first year of Masters studies through our Stirling Alumni Scholarship.

Applicants from the UK or Republic of Ireland who hold a first-class honours degree or equivalent will automatically be awarded a £2,000 scholarship through our Postgraduate Merit Scholarship.

If you need to extend your period of study, you may be liable for additional fees.

If you are studying part time, the total course fee will be split over the years that you study. The total fee will remain the same and will be held at the rate set in your year of entry.

For more information on courses invoiced on an annual fee basis, please read our tuition fee policy.

Eligible students could receive a scholarship worth between £4,000-£7,000. See our range of generous scholarships for international postgraduate students.

If you need to extend your period of study, you may be liable for additional fees.

If you are studying part time, the total course fee will be split over the years that you study. The total fee will remain the same and will be held at the rate set in your year of entry.

For more information on courses invoiced on an annual fee basis, please read our tuition fee policy.

• Fees | UK and Republic of Ireland students | International (including EU) students
  ---|---|---
  Full course fee | £18,600 | £37,300
  Full-time annual fee (charged years 1-3) | £6,200 | £12,433
  Part-time annual fee (charged years 1-4) | £4,650 | £9,325
• 2025/26 fees | UK and Republic of Ireland students | International (including EU) students
  ---|---|---
  Full course fee | £19,000 | £38,000
  Full-time annual fee (charged years 1-3) | £6,333 | £12,667
  Part-time annual fee (charged years 1-4) | £4,750 | £9,500

If you need to extend your period of study or repeat study, you will be liable for additional fees. Your fees will be held at the same level throughout your course.

This fee is charged as an annual course fee. For more information on courses invoiced on an annual fee basis, please read our tuition fee policy.

Doctoral Loans for 2024/25

If you're domiciled in England or Wales you may be eligible to apply for a doctoral loan from your regional body:

• English students can apply for a loan of up to £28,673 from Student Finance England.
• Welsh students can apply for a loan of up to £28,395 from Student Finance Wales.

Funding

Eligible international students could receive a scholarship worth between £4,000-£7,000. See our range of generous scholarships for international postgraduate students.

If you have the talent, ability and drive to study with us, we want to make sure you make the most of the opportunity – regardless of your financial circumstances.

Learn more about available funding opportunities or use our scholarship finder to explore our range of scholarships.

Additional Costs

There are some instances where additional fees may apply. Depending on your chosen course, you may need to pay additional costs, for example for field trips. Learn more about additional fees.

After You Graduate

Professional Doctorates are recognised internationally as a qualification granted to those who have reached the peak of professional and academic achievement in their field of expertise.

‌Increasingly within the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK and health services in other countries a Professional Doctorate in health is seen as an essential academic qualification for progressing to higher level posts.

Graduates have reported the benefits of studying a Clinical Doctorate as being:

• gaining the confidence to see themselves as an expert in their field
• the personal fulfilment of achieving the highest academic qualification
• enhanced critical and analytical thinking
• confidence within specialist areas
• the opening of new and advanced career opportunities

Employability Skills

As well as greatly enhancing your expertise in your field of healthcare, your studies at the University of Stirling will help you to sharpen transferrable skills in areas such as:

• Leadership
• Analytical thinking
• Research
• Communication and teamwork
• Decision making

Companies We Work With

Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professions Research Unit

The Faculty hosts the Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professions Research Unit (NMAHP-RU), funded by the Scottish Government's Health Directorates, Chief Scientist Office. NMAHP-RU has two programmes of research: interventions and quality and delivery of care.

The Institute of Social Marketing

‌The Institute of Social Marketing and Health (ISMH) conducts research in three key areas: the development and evaluation of behaviour change interventions based on social marketing principles; the impact of public policy on health and social welfare and the impact of commercial marketing on the health and behaviour of individuals and of society more generally.

Staff from across the Faculty, NMAHP-RU and ISMH are committed to sharing their expertise with you every step of the way as you study for your Clinical Doctorate.

What Our Students Said

View more student stories

Karn Cliffe
Republic of Ireland
Doctor of Midwifery

"I appreciated the relaxed and supportive atmosphere in class from lecturers and classmates."

Read Karn's story

View more student stories

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