PhD by Published Work: is it time to clarify and tighten-up the ground rules?

The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) by Published Work (PhD by PW) is gaining impetus as a format of doctoral output both nationally and abroad (Smith, 2015). Indeed, doing a PhD by PW makes perfect sense, particularly for many staff who have come into Higher Education to teach from other professions where “having a doctorate” has not traditionally been part of their professional culture, e.g. in nursing, social work, law or teaching. Frick (2019) is also optimistic about its popularity and expansion, and has recently explored whether this PhD route can act as a real panacea to the ills of high traditional doctoral dropout rates and slow doctoral completions. The PhD by PW is a great route for people who might have atypical career pathways into academia; or who have struggled with the financial and work/life juggling act of committing to the traditional PhD, including many NTFs. It is an inclusive route, enabling candidates to build incrementally on existing achievements – thus benefitting and giving opportunities to those who have taken a career break or for those with caring responsibilities (Lee, 2010; Smith, 2015).

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