A PhD can be a major step in either launching your career or in reaching your employment aspirations. The Durham University School of Education PhD programme, consisting of both training and supervised research, is perfect for those graduates who aspire to an academic career in educational research teaching in higher education institutions or to positions of professional leadership and responsibility in the field of education. Even though all PhD topics are different, all students will research a subject in great depth, acquire advanced skills in practical and intellectual problem-solving and critical analysis of theories and evidence, and contribute to an extensive piece of original work (a dissertation of up to 100,000 words) to the field of education. Your research topic could relate to any aspect of the theory, policy or practice of education and may be drawn from any phase of education, including early years and post-compulsory education. As all doctoral students agree their topics with their supervisory team, the topic you choose must align with the research interests of a potential supervisor at the time of application.