---
title: "Science education in England"
chunk: 11/14
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_education_in_England"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:21:10.973540+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

A doctorate degree occupies the highest level of education covered by the national qualifications frameworks in the UK, at RQF level 8 (there are higher qualifications, but they are not covered by the frameworks). In England, it is possible to enter a doctorate course with just a bachelor's degree (the student would typically require a first or upper second class honours for such direct route); however, more commonly, a student would require a master's. In England, it is not uncommon for a student to be initially admitted to the doctorate at master's level (such as an MPhil), but then after two or so years, be promoted to the doctorate proper pending a satisfactory defence of their research findings in a transfer report in an examination (which can be oral). At the start of a doctorate programme in England, there may be some initial attendance at lessons, but the bulk of study in a doctorate degree course will be research-based. When it comes to science education at doctorate level, the emphasis is on advancing knowledge rather than mastering knowledge that is already known. Trying to unravel knowledge that has not already been unravelled by someone else somewhere in the world can be challenging (although AI may make the research easier today). The student must have a good general knowledge of their chosen topic or subtopic of science and identify where the gaps in the scientific community's understanding of that (sub)topic are. The selected 'hole' in the scientific community's understanding must be wide enough in scope for a doctorate but narrow enough in scope to enable a sufficiently detailed study within the period of the doctorate. The insight and guidance of the student's supervisor for the doctorate will be crucial for that initial assessment of the targeted gap in knowledge within the scientific community as well as determining when a satisfactory end-point has been reached. Even during the doctorate, the student will still need to be guided by the supervisor considerably, even at the later stages when the student will likely know more of the (sub)topic than the supervisor (certainly when it comes to the data collected). At the end of doctorate programme, the student must submit a thesis, which they will need to defend in a viva. Here, the student orally defends their work to a panel (typically of two examiners). If the thesis is finally accepted, a copy is typically kept in the university's library; in fact, the doctorate thesis is usually good enough for publication in an academic journal—at least in theory. Completion of the doctorate not only makes the holder an expert in their chosen (sub)topic of science (meaning they can teach their (sub)topic to master and bachelor degree students) but enables them conduct future research independently in their field. The same goes for all subjects and not just the sciences.

=== Post-doctorate level ===
A post-doctoral degree is usually awarded to an individual for a body of work published over a number of years. The body of work being recognised will typically be academic or research-related and the post-doctorate degree awarded by the university is entirely discretionary. When deciding whether to award the degree, the university will be assessing the impact the candidate's work has had, so in the case of science, the panel may be looking for evidence of any new beneficial technology (or technologies) to have emerged as a result of the candidate's work in science. Or perhaps, a change in government policy as a result of the candidate's work. Or maybe, confirmation of predictions the candidate's scientific work might have made. The quality of the publications is also taken into account. Because the award does not follow a period of formal study, it is not covered by the national qualifications frameworks, as alluded to earlier. That said, it is actually possible in England to be awarded a doctorate (which is covered by the frameworks) for a body of work (just like a post-doctorate), but the awarding of a doctorate this way (by publication) is relatively rare. It is also possible for a person to be awarded an honorary doctorate or post-doctorate. This is usually for the individual's philanthropic work, and it might be for providing funding for student doctorates or funding for underrepresented groups or even wider research funding.

=== Non-degree routes ===
In England, it is entirely possible to get university-level science education right up to RQF level 8 without obtaining a single degree. This is particularly so in some vocational fields such as engineering and health and social care. Such routes are often provided by further education colleges, and the content of university-level science education using non-degree routes are even more focussed on those KS3/4 core and derived areas relevant to the vocational field. The non-degree RQF level 8 course will tend to have a substantial research component in comparison to non-degree courses at RQF levels 4 to 7. Although qualifications using non-degree routes will have the same RQF levels as their degree counterparts, they will not necessarily be equivalent to their counterparts. For example, the Level 8 Professional Diploma in Environmental Engineering is not equivalent to a doctorate even though both are RQF level 8 qualifications.

== Challenges for science education in England ==