Professional studies

"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. 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 of a profession.[1]

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, also called practical intelligence or knowledge (see Dunne 1997; McGuirk 2013).

Professional studies may lead to academic degrees such as the Bachelor of Professional Studies (BPS), Master of Professional Studies (MPS), or Doctor of Professional Studies (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), 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.[2] The US National Science Foundation considers a DPS to be equivalent to a PhD.[3]

See also

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

  1. US Department of Education. "First-Professional Studies". Archived from the original on 2007-12-14. Retrieved 2007-04-25.
  2. US Department of Education. "Master's Degrees Programs". Archived from the original on 2007-02-19. Retrieved 2007-04-25.
  3. US Department of Education. "Research Doctorate Programs". Archived from the original on 2007-03-03. Retrieved 2007-04-25.


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