"Professional studies" is a term used to classify academic programs which are applied or interdisciplinary in focus. The term can also be used for non-academic training for a specific
profession
A profession is a field of work that has been successfully ''professionalized''. It can be defined as a disciplined group of individuals, '' professionals'', who adhere to ethical standards and who hold themselves out as, and are accepted by ...
. Research on professionals can be seen as a multidisciplinary field of research with a multiple of perspectives in theory and by methods.
Professional studies usually combine theory and
practice-based professional learning, focusing on a
body of knowledge that is more strictly delineated and canonical than non-professional studies. Students are trained to ensure expected
standards and adequate service delivery in the
best practice
A best practice is a method or technique that has been generally accepted as superior to other known alternatives because it often produces results that are superior to those achieved by other means or because it has become a standard way of doing ...
of a profession.
One aspect of professional action that has been widely studied in professional studies is tacit knowledge (cf. Polyani 1967), including professional judgment, discretion or
fronesis, a term from the Greek philosopher
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ...
, also called practical intelligence or knowledge (see Dunne 1997; McGuirk 2013).
Professional studies may lead to
academic degrees
An academic degree is a qualification awarded to students upon successful completion of a course of study in higher education, usually at a college or university. These institutions commonly offer degrees at various levels, usually including unde ...
such as the Bachelor of Professional Studies (BPS),
Master of Professional Studies
Master or masters may refer to:
Ranks or titles
* Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans
* Grandmaster (chess), National Maste ...
(MPS), or
Doctor of Professional Studies
The Doctor of Professional Studies (or sometimes awarded as Doctorate in Professional Practice) (most commonly DProf, but also available as DProfSt, ProfD and DPS) is a doctoral degree for experienced professionals who wish to undertake a program ...
(DPS). A BPS is similar to a
Bachelor of General Studies with a greater emphasis on practical and technical training (and a corresponding lower emphasis on
liberal arts
Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term '' art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically th ...
), and therefore of greater interest to mid-career students. MPS degrees are usually course-based with a report or project component rather than a research
thesis
A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...
. The
US National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...
considers a DPS to be equivalent to a
PhD.
Professional Studies Certificate
Some music schools like
Curtis Institute of Music offer postgraduate programs that result in a ''Professional Studies Certificate''. Other schools, like the
Manhattan School of Music require a master's degree or postgraduate diploma in order to attend the program.
See also
*
Bachelor
A bachelor is a man who is not and has never been married.Bachelors are, in Pitt & al.'s phrasing, "men who live independently, outside of their parents' home and other institutional settings, who are neither married nor cohabitating". ().
Etymo ...
External links
Bachelor of Professional Studies
Further reading
* Dunne, J. (1997). ''Back to the Rough Ground. Practical Judgment and the Lure of Technique.'' Notre Dame, Indiana, University of Notre Dame Press.
* McGuirk, J. (2013). «Dreyfus, Merleau-Ponty and the phenomenology of practical intelligence.
Norsk filosofisk tidsskrift 48(3-4): 289-303. Open Access.* Polanyi, M. (1967). ''The tacit dimension.'' New York, Anchor.
References
Vocational education
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