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]